A 15-week online course for water professionals
January 22nd, 2025 - April 30th, 2025
A Foundational Course for Water Professionals
- The science behind floods
- Flood governance, policy, politics worldwide
- Mapping and assessing flood risk
- Planning for, managing, and mitigating flood risk
- Resilience, multi-benefits, future directions
"The search for solutions” ... to flooding, climate, and water ... “needs to draw upon the talents and innovative ideas of scientists, engineers, and societal leaders worldwide to overcome traditional and nationalistic paradigms that have so far been inadequate to meeting these challenges." (Sharp and Leshner, 2014, Science)
Why take this class?
This 14-week course on fundamentals of flood risk management brings experts across the UC system to teach the state of the art in flood risk management worldwide. Enrollment is open to professionals working in flood management or related fields, including:
- floodplain managers working for local, state, or federal agencies
- regulatory professionals and planners working on rivers and floodplains
- environmental and engineering consultants working on flood management and mitigation
- insurance and reinsurance professionals managing flood risk
- and others
Logistics and Eligibility
This course is open to professionals working in flood-risk related fields. Course format includes twice-weekly
synchronous class meetings (MW 9-10:30am Pacific Time), with an additional Discussion section, readings, group
project work, and optional in-person field trips. Instruction is led by Dr. Anna Serra-Llobet, UC Berkeley, in
collaboration with University of California and external flood experts. A course syllabus is available upon request.
Students in this class will not receive University of California credits, but students completing the course in good
standing will receive a certificate recognizing their successful completion of the course and will be eligible to apply for the World Water program Summer School, to be held in Delft, the Netherlands, July 7-11, 2025.
Continuing Education Credits
Participants who complete this course are eligible to receive 12 Continuing Education Credits through the US
Association of State Floodplain Managers’ (ASFPM’s) Certified Floodplain Manager (CFM) Program.
Cancellation Policy
Full refunds are permitted before the start of the class on January 22, 2025 (9:00am PST). No refunds will be
available thereafter.