Of the nearly six billion human inhabitants of planet earth, nearly two thirds lack access to sufficient quantities of potable water and access to basic sanitation. These appalling conditions result in the deaths of millions of children each year from preventable waterborne diarrheal disease. At the University of Cincinnati, two female graduate students have undertaken MS degrees with the specific objective of performing service learning where the research focus of their respective degrees is validating and deploying appropriate technology for water quality treatment in developing countries. This presentation will highlight the results of these research projects as well as the difficulties associated with implementing a service-learning approach to MS degrees within a traditional research-intensive graduate program.