View all Degrees

Minor in Sustainable Energy Systems

Providing affordable energy without further damaging the natural environment and the Earth’s climate system is a grand challenge. Our quality of life ultimately depends on having accessible energy resources and an equitable and sustainable energy supply and distribution system. Achieving these goals requires the collaboration, participation, ingenuity, and hard work of people with a range of specialized backgrounds.

Format

In-Person

Page Contents

Eligibility and Academic Standards

The minor is open to all undergraduate students.

Students must earn a grade of C- or better in each course in the minor. S is acceptable in S/U only courses.

Course Requirements

To earn the minor, students must complete six courses and a minimum of 18 credits with at least 2 credits in each category. Category 2: Energy Sources and Technologies for a Transition to Sustainability requires at least two courses, together totaling no less than 3 credits.

At most two courses may be specific requirements in the student’s major; not a course decided on, like an elective, this restriction applies when everyone in the major must complete the course.

At least one course from each of four breadth categories:

  • Category 1: Energy Systems Analysis
  • Category 2: Energy Sources and Technologies for a Transition to Sustainability
  • Category 3: Natural Systems Impacted by Energy Production and Use
  • Category 4: Social Impact: Policy, Economics, Business, History, Ethics, and Risk Analysis

Category 1: Energy Systems Analysis

  • CEE 4210

    Renewable Energy Systems

  • CHEME 6660

    Analysis of Sustainable Energy Systems

  • MAE 5010

    Future Energy Systems

Category 2: Energy Sources and Technologies for a Transition to Sustainability

  • AEP 5500

    Applied Solid State: Physics of Renewable Energy

  • BEE 2510 or ENGRD 2510

    Engineering Processes for Environmental Sustainability (crosslisted)

  • BEE 4880

    Applied Modeling and Simulation for Renewable Energy Systems (crosslisted)

  • CEE 3410

    Introduction to Geotechnical Engineering

  • CEE 5420

    Energy Technologies and Subsurface Resources

  • CEE 6200

    Managing Water Resources in a Changing World

  • CHEME 6661

    Bioenergy and Biofuels Module

  • CHEME 6662

    Solar Energy Module

  • CHEME 6663

    Geothermal Energy Module

  • CHEME 6664 or CEE 6364

    Hydrokinetic and Aerodynamic Energy Module (crosslisted)

  • CHEME 6667 or CEE 6667

    Transportation Energy Systems Module (crosslisted)

  • CHEME 6670

    Fossil Fuels Module

  • CHEME 6671

    Nuclear Energy Module

  • CHEME 6679

    Energy Storage Module

  • CHEME 6681 

    Energy Analysis Project

  • EAS 4010

    Fundamentals of Energy and Mineral Resources

  • EAS 3450

    Environmental Geophysics

  • EAS 4370

    Field Geophysics

  • ECE 4130 or AEP 4130 or CHEME 4130 or MAE 4580

    Introduction to Nuclear Science and Engineering (crosslisted)

  • ECE 4840 or MAE 4590

    Introduction to Controlled Fusion: Principles and Technology (crosslisted)

  • ECE 4150

    Electric Power Systems I

  • ECE 4520

    Power Systems and Market Operations

  • ECE 5870 or CHEME 5870 or MAE 5459

    Energy Seminar I (crosslisted)

  • ECE 5880 or BEE 5469 or CHEME 5880 ir MAE 5469

    Energy Seminar II (crosslisted)

  • MAE 4020

    Wind Power

  • MAE 4120 or EAS 4120

    Community Wind Energy Research (crosslisted)

  • MAE 5430

    Combustion Processes

  • MAE 6350

    Wave Interactions with Offshore Systems

  • SYSEN 5100

    Model Based Systems Engineering (crosslisted)

  • SYSEN 5200 or CEE 5252 or ECE 5130 or MAE 5920 or ORIE 5142

    Systems Analysis Behavior and Optimization (crosslisted)

Category 3: Natural systems impacted by energy production and use

  • BEE 3710

    Physical Hydrology for Ecosystems

  • BEE 4800

    Atmospheric Chemistry: From Air Pollution to Global Change (crosslisted)

  • BEE 6740

    Ecohydrology

  • BIOEE 4560 or NTRES 4560

    Stream Ecology (crosslisted)

  • CEE 1165

    Climate Change and You, the Engineer (crosslisted)

  • EAS 2250 

    The Earth System (crosslisted)

  • EAS 3030 or NTRES 3030

    Introduction to Biogeochemistry (crosslisted)

  • EAS 3050

    Climate Dynamics

  • EAS 3530

    Physical Oceanography

  • EAS 3880

    Global Geophysics

  • EAS 4443

    Global Climate Change Science and Policy (crosslisted)

  • EAS 4570

    Atmospheric Air Pollution

  • EAS 6480 or MAE 6480

    Air Quality and Atmospheric Chemistry (crosslisted)

  • PLSCI 2400 

    Green World, Blue Planet

Category 4: Social Impact: Policy, Economics, Business, History, Ethics, and Risk Analysis

  • AEM 2770

    Excursions in Computational Sustainability (crosslisted)

  • AEM 4510

    Environmental Economics (crosslisted)

  • AEM 4515

    Business and Economics of Energy (crosslisted)

  • BEE 2510

    Engineering Processes for Environmental Sustainability (crosslisted)

  • BEE 3299

    Sustainable Development

  • BSOC 2061

    Ethics and the Environment (crosslisted)

  • BSOC 3181

    Living in an Uncertain World: Science, Technology, and Risk (crosslisted)

  • CEE 3230

    Engineering Economics and Management (crosslisted)

  • CEE 5970

    Risk Analysis and Management (crosslisted)

  • CHEME 6667

    Transportation Energy Systems Module (crosslisted)

  • CHEME 6676

    Energy Markets and Regulations Module

  • GDEV 3240

    Environmental Sociology (crosslisted)

  • EAS 4443

    Global Climate Change Science and Policy (crosslisted)

  • ENGRG 3600

    Ethical Issues in Engineering Practice (crosslisted)

  • SYSEN 5170

    Energy Policies for Systems Transition