The Hydrologic Sciences Graduate Group (HSGG) at the University of California at Davis spans departments to offer M.S. and Ph.D. degrees founded on coursework and research that may be geared toward hydrology as a specialized discipline or problem-oriented, interdisciplinary training taking advantage of the breadth of Earth, environmental, agricultural, social science, and/or engineering resources on campus.  Courses emphasize process-oriented critical thinking and quantitative analysis, with increasing use of environmental informatics.  Faculty expertise spans the understanding of pattern and process in the Earth's subsurface and surficial critical zone (i.e., the thin veneer of Earth that extends from the top of the vegetation to the base of weathered bedrock) as well as biogeochemistry, land-atmosphere interaction, and water resources management.  UC Davis is known for blending basic and applied science, with examples of societal problems that students work on including water quality and contaminant transport, impacts and uncertainties of climate change, ecosystem services and restoration, sustainable agriculture, watershed management, and water systems optimization.