Please first read all of the hydro field camp web site pages very carefully. If you have remaining questions please do not hesitate to contact Crystal Ng at gcng@umn.edu.

No, despite its name, hydrocamp does not involve any camping. The 2-week (in person) "camp" is held at Itasca (where we all stay in dorm rooms - about 5-10 students per room that has 10 beds). Meals are provided in a cafeteria and there is reliable internet. 

No, this course does not require any prerequisite courses even though it is a senior-level undergraduate (and 1st year graduate) field course. The reason for this is that students with very diverse backgrounds ranging from early undergraduate to graduate students and hydro(geo)logic professionals are interested in taking this course. It is impossible to expect a common knowledge base for such a varied group of students and professionals, but it is possible for hydrocamp participants to learn from each other (and from the instructors of course). Also, there is plenty of time (3 weeks of virtually all-day access to 3 or more instructors) to ask questions on topics you have difficulties with. We also disperse small lectures throughout hydrocamp to get everybody on about the same page and to new levels of understanding regarding hydro(geo)logy. So come on in (or out into the field) and have fun learning about, and playing with, ground and surface water.

This question is harder to answer than one might think because every year we have guest lecturers. Also, every once in a while a UMN (Univ. of MN) faculty member won't be able to teach for various reasons. So a good estimate of the number of instructors is: 2 to 4 UMN instructors (full time, i.e., for the whole 3 weeks) and 2 to 4 guest lecturers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS). The UMN instructors are faculty in various aspects of physical, chemical, numerical, and environmental hydro(geo)logy. Guest lecturers teach certain aspects of hydro(geo)logy they are experts in. As an example, during hydrocamp 2023, instructors included: Crytal Ng (UMN, full time), Scott Alexander (UMN retired, 1 week), Peter Kang (UMN, full time), Jordan Mayer (MGS, 2 weeks), Angela Radke (MGS, 1 week) as well as various guest presentations. Consequently, the student to instructor ratio for a total of about 3 to 4 instructors at any given time and 15 to 25 students in a given year is very low (between about 3 and 5 students per instructor).

In most cases, yes! Hydrocamp is a very hands-on and applied laboratory and field methods course and chances are high that your more lecture-based hydrogeology course was more theoretical (even though it probably had some lab and/or field component). The hydrocamp home page contains a list of activities (under the heading "Overview") you will be doing during this intense 3-week course so you can get an idea of how much of this was covered in previous courses you may have taken. We also have the USGS drill a new monitoring well for us each year so students can observe this process in detail and ask the well driller lots of questions, something that is virtually impossible when commercial well drillers are busy getting the job done as quickly as possible. Finally, hydrocamp is taught by a large number of expert hydrogeologists (faculty from the University of Minnesota (UMN) and guest instructors from the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)) covering a wide range of research interests. So chances are high you'll learn lots of new things as well as new ways of looking at what you thought you already know.

Yes, our hydrocamp is worth 4 undergraduate or 2 graduate credits. Most students are able to count them toward their undergraduate field camp requirement at their respective college but ask your particular college to make sure.

Our own students at the University of Minnesota (UMN) also need 6 weeks of field camp to receive their Bachelor of Science degrees. We offer 2 to 3 field camps each year in the Department of Earth Sciences at UMN. Thus, our students take at least two of our three 3-week field camps before they graduate. You could take another one of our 3-week field camps (during the same year as they are non-overlapping or during different years) or you could take another field camp at a different university to fulfill your requirement of having completed 6 weeks of field camp. But double-check with your college to see if you are allowed to take two 3-week field camps rather than one 6-week field camp (it should be OK in most cases).

Yes in most cases unless you have a very good reason why you have to skip a day or arrive a day later or leave a day earlier (leaving earlier is particularly difficult as we are coming back from north-central Minnesota on the last day of the field camp).

It depends. Itasca (where we stay) is a UMN facility withing the larger Itasca State Park. The facility has reliable internet (eduroam) in common areas, and in some cases the dorm/cabins. Cell reception is relatively good at Itasca as well, depending on your carrier. Cell reception has been improving at the field site. It is somewhat reliable if you have Verizon. Some other carriers might not be as good. 

Yes, Itasca was reliable internet in common areas and in some cases the cabins/dorm. 

Yes, if you have one. If not, no problem, we also have several laptops for student use. (See also "What to bring" below). 

Yes, Itasca has laundry facilities on site. Bring your own laundry soap!

Yes, if you have to, but most students will ride in the vans we are providing. Know that if you take your own vehicle you will need a MN State Park Pass as the research station is within Itasca State Park. 

No, we are providing ample time to finish the assignments on time including whole write-up days in between field and lab days. There is also time during most evenings and sometimes even in the field (e.g., while you are waiting for some measurement). So there is no excuse for handing in material late. Also, the field camp ends with about 2 days that are reserved for data reduction and report writing (see a previous example schedule), so there should not be any need for extra write-up days after the camp. The reason why we want assignments handed in on time is so that we can provide detailed one-on-one feed-back on your work in form of a discussion in addition to comments written on the margins. Often explaining why something is (in)correct and how it is done correctly or differently provides the best opportunities for learning because you can ask follow-up questions.