The University of Arizona is ranked amongst the world’s finest for water resource programs, according to the 2022 ShanghaiRanking’s Global Ranking of Academic Subjects.

Coming in at No. 2 nationally and No. 6 internationally, the UA beats out top universities in water resources alongside other outstanding programs like ecology and geography. 

Betsy Cantwell, the senior vice president for Research and Innovation at the UA, facilitates these programs and gives both aspiring students and UA affiliates access to funding, resources and mentorship.

“For over 100 years it [has] been our physical location in the arid southwest that attracted people here from institutions, we’ve gotten their PhDs all over the country,” Cantwell said. “They came here, even 100 years ago, because we were in a really, really interesting place to study and look at water.”

The accolades received by the UA encompass a variety of programs offered. Some of the organizations Cantwell works alongside include the Arizona Institute for Resilience, which according to their website, tackles research “from climate science to public policy, law, the arts, water resources and beyond.” 

The Water and Energy Sustainability Technology Center is another program where sustainable water supplies research is conducted. WEST works to collaborate with the UA, private sectors, facilities and the entire Tucson community to ensure safe water for both humans and the environment.

The Indigenous Resilience Center is another research program created last year where graduate and undergraduate students are learning to consult with Tucson’s local tribal nations on ways to be more water resilient.

The culmination of these programs alongside individual research ensures the UA’s top-ranking spot. Between elite and diverse faculty members and generations of eager students, the UA assumes to maintain the top spot in water resource rankings, according to Cantwell. 

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