The chairperson of the teaching committee is: Prof. Roy Bernstein.
Microbiology and Water Quality Academic Program
The M.Sc. program is a two-year program.
Academic Program for students who began from November 2024
Students are required to complete the following courses during the two-year program:
Subject | Credits |
Courses within the track of study A. Mandatory Course (2 credits) B. Core courses (10 credits) C. Departmental and student seminars (1 credit) D. Mandatory Core Courses Within the Track of Study (7 credits) E. Elective courses (8 credits) F. General courses (2 credits) | 30 |
Thesis Writing | 12 |
Total | 42 |
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0153 | Dr. Scott Hansen and Dr. Christopher J. Arnush | Writing a Scientific Paper | 2 |
Students are required to complete all courses from the list below*.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0003 | Prof. Oded Nir | Chemistry of Water | 3 |
| 001-2-0016 | Prof. Roy Bernstein | Physicochemical Technologies for Water Treatment | 2 |
| 001-2-5024 | Prof. Ofer Dahan | Groundwater Hydrology | 2 |
| 001-2-5059 | Prof. Osnat Gillor | Water Microbiology+ | 3 |
+Nonmicrobiologists may take the course:
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-5159 | Prof. Osnat Gillor | Introduction to Microbiologists | 1 |
* Students who previously completed courses that were similar/equivalent to certain courses listed above are required to complete the remainder of the required core course credits by enrolling in courses either from the list of Mandatory Core Courses (C) or from the list of Elective Courses (D) or from a combination of both (with the approval of the student's supervisor and the chairperson of the teaching committee).
Students are required to attend 4 Departmental Seminars (one seminar per semester).
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-5555 | Please check the university course file | Departmental Seminar | 0 |
Students are required to present two seminars (one student seminar per year).
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-9995 | Please check the university course file | Student Seminar (first year) | 0.5 |
| 001-2-9996 | Student Seminar (second year) | 0.5 |
In the third and fourth semesters, students must register for Thesis Writing.
| Course # | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-9991 | Thesis Writing A | 6 |
| 001-2-9992 | Thesis Writing B | 6 |
Students who have completed the above Thesis Writing courses and continue their studies for a fifth semester must register for the following course:
| Course # | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-1000 | Thesis Writing – Continuation | 0 |
Students are required to complete at least 7 credits*.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0004 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Vadose Zone Hydrology | 2.5 |
| 001-2-5005 | Prof. Amit Gross, Prof. Zeev Ronen | Laboratory Methods for Environmental Studies | 3 |
| 001-2-5011 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Environmental Microbiology | 3 |
| 001-2-5060 | Prof. Moshe Herzberg | Biological Processes in Wastewater Treatment | 2 |
| 001-2-5062 | Prof. Edo Bar-Zeev | Microbial Sociology: From a Single Bacterium to Biofilm and Biofouling | 3 |
| 001-2-5069 | Prof. Amit Gross | Water & the Environment: Current Challenges and Solutions | 3 |
* Mandatory Core Courses can be also selected as Elective Courses (on top of the required 7 credits).
This is a partial list. The student is allowed to select other courses that are related to the area of his/her research with the approval of the chairperson of the teaching committee.
Students are required to complete at least 8 credits.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0009 | Prof. Avraham Be'er | Physics of Bacterial Communities | 3 |
| 001-2-0015 | Prof. Roy Bernstein | Membrane Preparation and Characterization | 3 |
| 001-2-0017 | Prof. Roni Kasher | Polymer Science and Polymeric Membranes | 2 |
| 001-2-0021 | Dr. Christopher Arnush | Biomimetic Innovation Approaches | 2 |
| 001-2-0022 | Dr. Anat Bernstein | Stable Isotope Application in Contaminant Hydrology | 2 |
| 001-2-0027 | Prof. Shai Arnon | Flow and water quality in streams: Theory and practice | 2 |
| 001-2-2015 | Prof. Dina Zilberg and Prof. Amit Gross | Introduction to Desert Aquaculture | 3 |
| 001-2-3086 | Prof. Hadas Hawlena | Microbial Ecology from the Ecologist Point of View | 3 |
| 001-2-5006 | Dr. Tuvia Turkeltaub | Flow and Contaminant Transport modelling in the unsaturated zone | 3 |
| 001-2-5010 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Groundwater Microbiology | 2 |
| 001-2-5012 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Biodegradation Process of Synthetic Organic Compound in Water Soil | 2 |
| 001-2-5028 | Prof. Moshe Herzberg | Microbial Biofilms in Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes (prerequisite: Introduction to Microbiology) | 2 |
| 001-2-5029 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Rural Water Development | 2 |
| 001-2-5034 | Prof. Yoram Oren | Environmental Oriented Electrochemistry | 2 |
| 001-2-5036 | Dr. Avner Ronen | Environmental micropollutants & emerging contaminants | 2 |
| 001-2-5038 | Prof. Amit Gross | Water Sanitation | 3 |
| 001-2-5063 | Prof. Edo Bar-Zeev | Lab-course: New Methods in Biofilm Characterization | 3 |
| 001-2-5065 | Prof. Shai Arnon | Transport Processes in Streams: Theory and Practice | 2 |
| 001-2-5066 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Introduction to Scientific Computing with Python | 3 |
| 001-2-5067 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Introduction to Contaminant Hydrology | 3 |
| 001-2-5068 | Prof. Oded Nir | Aqueous Chemistry Modeling with PHREEQC | 2 |
| 001-2-5070 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Practical Data Science and Machine Learning | 3 |
| 001-2-5071 | Prof. Gideon Oron | Management and Optimization of Natural Resources and Water Systems | 2 |
| 001-2-5074 | Dr. Elad Levintal | Envirotech - do it yourself sensors for environmental research | 3 |
001-2-5075 Fall 001-2-5076 Spring | Dr. Elad Levintal | Do-it-yourself sensors for environmental research - advanced course | 3 |
| Prof. Gideon Oron | Advanced Management and Optimization of Water Systems and Wastewater Reclamation | 2 | |
| 001-2-5129 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Rural Water Development (field trip) – Prerequisite: Course # 001-2-5029 | 2 |
Students can complete up to 3 credits.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-1200 | Prof. Simon Barak & Dr. Buzi Raviv | BGU Radio Academy – Podcast production course | 2 |
| 001-2-3001 | Prof. Ariel Novoplansky | Evolutionary Ecology of Phenotypic Plasticity | 3 |
| 001-2-3021 | Prof. Itamar Giladi | Biostatistics | 3 |
| 001-2-4028 | Prof. Arnon Karnieli | Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Rangelands, and Forestry (no prerequisites required) | 3 |
| 001-2-4029 | Prof. Yosef Ashkenazi | Introduction to Statistics and Probability | 3 |
| 001-2-4031 | Prof. Isaak Rubinstein | Topics in Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics and Electrodiffusion - A | 2 |
| 001-2-4033 | Prof. Isaak Rubinstein | Topics in Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics and Electrodiffusion - B | 2 |
| 001-2-4047 | Prof. Iris Visoli-Fisher | Surface Science for the Environment | 3 |
| 001-2-4049 | Dr. Arik Yochelis | Nonlinear Dynamical Aspects of Electrochemical Systems | 3 |
| 001-2-5040 | Dr. Eli Zaady | Soil Microbial Ecology | 2 |
| 001-2-6002 | Dr. Aviva Peeters | Theory and Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (limited to 15 students) | 3 |
Academic Program for students who began up until April 2024
Subject | Credits |
Courses within the track of study A. Mandatory Course (2 credits) B. Core courses (10 credits) C. Departmental and student seminars (1 credit) D. Mandatory Core Courses Within the Track of Study (7 credits) E. Elective courses (8 credits) F. General courses (2 credits) | 30 |
Thesis Writing | 12 |
Total | 42 |
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0153 | Dr. Scott Hansen and Dr. Christopher J. Arnush | Writing a Scientific Paper | 2 |
Students are required to complete all courses from the list below*.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0003 | Prof. Oded Nir | Chemistry of Water | 3 |
| 001-2-0016 | Prof. Roy Bernstein | Physicochemical Technologies for Water Treatment | 2 |
| 001-2-5024 | Prof. Ofer Dahan | Groundwater Hydrology | 2 |
| 001-2-5059 | Prof. Osnat Gillor | Water Microbiology+ | 3 |
+Nonmicrobiologists may take the course:
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-5159 | Prof. Osnat Gillor | Introduction to Microbiologists | 1 |
* Students who previously completed courses that were similar/equivalent to certain courses listed above are required to complete the remainder of the required core course credits by enrolling in courses either from the list of Mandatory Core Courses (C) or from the list of Elective Courses (D) or from a combination of both (with the approval of the student's supervisor and the chairperson of the teaching committee).
Students are required to attend 4 Departmental Seminars (one seminar per semester).
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-5555 | Please check the university course file | Departmental Seminar | 0 |
Students are required to present two seminars (one student seminar per year).
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-9995 | Please check the university course file | Student Seminar (first year) | 0.5 |
| 001-2-9996 | Student Seminar (second year) | 0.5 |
In the third and fourth semesters, students must register for Thesis Writing.
| Course # | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-9991 | Thesis Writing A | 6 |
| 001-2-9992 | Thesis Writing B | 6 |
Students who have completed the above Thesis Writing courses and continue their studies for a fifth semester must register for the following course:
| Course # | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-1000 | Thesis Writing – Continuation | 0 |
Students are required to complete at least 7 credits*.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0004 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Vadose Zone Hydrology | 2.5 |
| 001-2-5005 | Prof. Amit Gross, Prof. Zeev Ronen | Laboratory Methods for Environmental Studies | 3 |
| 001-2-5011 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Environmental Microbiology | 3 |
| 001-2-5060 | Prof. Moshe Herzberg | Biological Processes in Wastewater Treatment | 2 |
| 001-2-5062 | Prof. Edo Bar-Zeev | Microbial Sociology: From a Single Bacterium to Biofilm and Biofouling | 3 |
* Mandatory Core Courses can be also selected as Elective Courses (on top of the required 7 credits).
This is a partial list. The student is allowed to select other courses that are related to the area of his/her research with the approval of the supervisor.
Students are required to complete at least 8 credits.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-0009 | Prof. Avraham Be'er | Physics of Bacterial Communities | 3 |
| 001-2-0010 | Prof. Jack Gilron | Principles for Synthesis of Hybrid Processes for Water Treatment | 2 |
| 001-2-0012 | Prof. Daniel Ronen | Selected Issues Related to Groundwater Hydrology: Quality & Quantity | 2 |
| 001-2-0015 | Prof. Roy Bernstein | Membrane Preparation and Characterization | 3 |
| 001-2-0017 | Prof. Roni Kasher | Polymer Science and Polymeric Membranes | 2 |
| 001-2-0021 | Dr. Christopher Arnush | Biomimetic Innovation Approaches | 2 |
| 001-2-0022 | Dr. Anat Bernstein | Stable Isotope Application in Contaminant Hydrology | 2 |
| 001-2-0027 | Prof. Shai Arnon | Flow and water quality in streams: Theory and practice | 2 |
| 001-2-0030 | Dr. Anat Bernstein and Prof. Amit Gross | Lab Methods in Soil Science | 3 |
| 001-2-2015 | Prof. Dina Zilberg and Prof. Amit Gross | Introduction to Desert Aquaculture | 3 |
| 001-2-3021 | Prof. Itamar Giladi | Biostatistics | 3 |
| 001-2-4028 | Prof. Arnon Karnieli | Remote Sensing for Agriculture, Rangelands, and Forestry (no prerequisites required) | 3 |
| 001-2-4031 | Prof. Isaak Rubinstein | Topics in Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics and Electrodiffusion - A | 2 |
| 001-2-4033 | Prof. Isaak Rubinstein | Topics in Physico-Chemical Hydrodynamics and Electrodiffusion - B | 2 |
| 001-2-4047 | Prof. Iris Visoli-Fisher | Surface Science for the Environment | 3 |
| 001-2-4049 | Dr. Arik Yochelis | Nonlinear Dynamical Aspects of Electrochemical Systems | 3 |
| 001-2-5010 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Groundwater Microbiology | 2 |
| 001-2-5012 | Prof. Zeev Ronen | Biodegradation Process of Synthetic Organic Compound in Water Soil | 2 |
| 001-2-5026 | Prof. Ali Nejidat | Nitrogen Transformations and Environmental Quality | 2 |
| 001-2-5028 | Prof. Moshe Herzberg | Microbial Biofilms in Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes (prerequisite: Introduction to Microbiology) | 2 |
| 001-2-5029 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Rural Water Development | 2 |
| 001-2-5034 | Prof. Yoram Oren | Environmental Oriented Electrochemistry | 2 |
| 001-2-5037 | Dr. Michal Sela-Adler | Organic Micropollutant Identification and Quantification in the Lab | 1 |
| 001-2-5038 | Prof. Amit Gross | Water Sanitation | 3 |
| 001-2-5040 | Dr. Eli Zaady | Soil Microbial Ecology | 2 |
| 001-2-5041 | Dr. Menachem Sklartz | Practical Bioinformatics for Environmental Studies | 3 |
| 001-2-5042 | Prof. Roni Kasher | Amino Acids and Peptides: Chemistry and Biology | 2 |
| 001-2-5044 | Prof. Arnon Shai | Biogeochemical Processes in Surface Water Systems | 3 |
| 001-2-5063 | Prof. Edo Bar-Zeev | Lab-course: New Methods in Biofilm Characterization | 3 |
| 001-2-5065 | Prof. Shai Arnon | Transport Processes in Streams: Theory and Practice | 2 |
| 001-2-5066 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Introduction to Scientific Computing with Python | 3 |
| 001-2-5067 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Introduction to Contaminant Hydrology | 3 |
| 001-2-5068 | Prof. Oded Nir | Aqueous Chemistry Modeling with PHREEQC | 2 |
| 001-2-5069 | Prof. Amit Gross | Water & the Environment: Current Challenges and Solutions | 3 |
| 001-2-5070 | Dr. Scott K. Hansen | Practical Data Science and Machine Learning | 3 |
| 001-2-5074 | Dr. Elad Levintal | Envirotech - do it yourself sensors for environmental research | 3 |
001-2-5075 Fall 001-2-5076 Spring | Dr. Elad Levintal | Do-it-yourself sensors for environmental research - advanced course | 3 |
| Prof. Gideon Oron | Advanced Management and Optimization of Water Systems and Wastewater Reclamation | 2 | |
| 001-2-5129 | Prof. Noam Weisbrod | Rural Water Development (field trip) – Prerequisite: Course # 001-2-5029 | 2 |
| 001-2-6002 | Dr. Aviva Peeters | Theory and Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (limited to 15 students) | 3 |
Students are required to complete 2-3 credits.
| Course # | Lecturer | Subject | Credits |
| 001-2-1200 | Prof. Simon Barak & Dr. Buzi Raviv | BGU Radio Academy – Podcast production course | 2 |
| 001-2-4029 | Prof. Yosef Ashkenazi | Introduction to Statistics and Probability | 3 |
| 001-2-6012 | Dr. Moshe Schwartz | Guided Reading in Water Politics in Arid Regions | 2 |
