Assess graduate-level ability to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of groundwater nitrate contamination in agricultural regions, identify and rank natural and anthropogenic drivers (e.g., land use, fertilizer application, hydrogeology, climate variability), choose and justify appropriate data sources and analytical methods (GIS, spatial statistics, time‑series/trend analysis, regression/mixed models), interpret maps and plots, evaluate data quality and uncertainty, and recommend evidence-based monitoring or mitigation strategies.