UAIDC Units

The UAIDC works in colloboration with other departments of the University of Arizona who are working on development issues. Following are some of the member departments:

Office of Arid Land Studies
ALRS is a unique interdisciplinary doctoral program aimed at addressing the complex problems of sustainability of arid lands.

Center for Latin American Studies
Latin American Studies at the University of Arizona hosts an outstanding faculty with particular strengths in Mexico, Brazil, Environmental Studies, Border Studies, Indigenous Studies, and Women’s Studies.

Center for Applied Spatial Analysis (CASA)
CASA at the University of Arizona is a Geographic Information Systems research facility within the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. It supports and develops research projects and encourages the wider use of GIS and related techniques in the social sciences.

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
The Semi-Arid Land-Surface-Atmosphere (“SALSA”) Program is a multi-agency, multi-national global-change research effort that seeks to evaluate the consequences of natural and human-induced changes in semi-arid environments. Current SALSA research is focused on the upper San Pedro River basin in southeastern Arizona, USA, and northeastern Sonora, Mexico.

Water Resources Research Center
To advance understanding of critical state and regional water management and policy issues through coordinated programs of applied research, community outreach and public education.

Sustainability of Semi-Arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas
SAHRA’s mission is to identify critical stakeholder-relevant knowledge gaps and conduct basin-focused multidisciplinary research to fill them; and to convey what is known and what is being learned to improve water management and policy.

Tree Ring Research Laboratory
Our faculty, students, and scientific staff are engaged in a diverse array of research programs which include fire history and fire ecology, multiproxy paleoclimatology, archaeology, biogeography, isotope geochemistry, paleoecology, biogeochemistry, geomorphology, numerical and statistical modeling, and even public health.

Earth Surface Processes Research Institute
The Earth Surface Processes Research Institute (ESPRI) is a joint venture between the University of Arizona and the U.S. Geological Survey to provide a venue for ground breaking research on landscape change and ecosystems response in arid and semi-arid environments.

Institute for Study of Planet Earth
The Institute for the Study of Planet Earth (ISPE) works to build the research and educational programs needed to understand and deal with environmental change.

Geography and Regional Development
Geography and Regional Development works to understand the complex relations among people, places, and environments.


Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
The Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE) is affiliated with both the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the College of Engineering and offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Science, Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Engineering. Major areas of emphasis merge the physical with the biological sciences and include two main focus areas of Water Resource Engineering and Biosystems/Biological Engineering


School of Natural Resources
The School of Natural Resources provides instruction, research and extension/outreach in a range of disciplines related to the conservation and management of these renewable natural resources.


Agriculture and Life Sciences
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences educates students for a wide range of career opportunities in agriculture, natural resources, and in family and consumer sciences.


Family and Consumer Sciences
The John and Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences offers innovative programs, a concern for society, a focus on hands-on experience and cutting-edge research unite.


Department of Anthropology
Offers academic training in cultural anthropology, linguistic anthropology, archaeology, and biological anthropology.


Arizona Cooperative Extension
Extension serves as a statewide network of knowledgeable faculty and staff that provides lifelong educational programs for all Arizonans. We are part of a nationwide educational network of scientists and educators who help people solve problems and put knowledge to use.

Department of Plant Sciences
The Department of Plant Sciences at the University of Arizona introduces students to a wide variety of subjects important to understanding and improving plants for human use and enjoyment.

Agricultural and Resource Economics
ALRS is a unique interdisciplinary doctoral program aimed at addressing the complex problems of sustainability of arid lands.

International Affairs
International Affairs serves the campus community at the University of Arizona by supporting and facilitating international programs and initiatives for faculty, staff and students.

School of Public Administration and Policy
The School of Public Administration and Policy prepares men and women for leadership positions in the public and nonprofit sectors, as well as in private organizations which interact with government.

College of Law
A nationally prominent law school with a rigorous academic program that prepares lawyers for leadership and service throughout the nation and world.

College of Public Health
Focuses on health promotion, prevention of disease, and public health education. Research programs involve health promotion in border communities, smoking prevention and cessation, women’s health, substance abuse among youth and environmental hazards along the Arizona/Mexico border.

International Studies and External Affairs
International Studies is a problem oriented, customized option within the Interdisciplinary Studies major at the University of Arizona.

Hydrology and Water Resources
Offers programs to undergraduate and graduate students in the applied science of water use from many perspectives including social, economic, legal, environmental and scientific.

Soil, Water and Environmental Science
SWES houses several research and outreach units closely associated with water quality research including the Environmental Research Laboratory (ERL) and the Water Quality Center Laboratory.

Agricultural and Resource Economics
ALRS is a unique interdisciplinary doctoral program aimed at addressing the complex problems of sustainability of arid lands.