MSEEM Curriculum

The Master of Sustainable Energy & Environmental Management (30 credits)

The Master of Sustainable Energy and Environmental Management (MSEEM) is designed to have a professional focus in Sustainable Energy & Environmental Management. The MSEEM can be completed either full-time (4-4-2 courses in a single year) or part-time (2-2-1 courses each year for 2 years).

To earn the MSEEM degree, students are required to complete 30 credit hours.

1. Two Required Courses

2. Two courses from Methods Electives

3. Three courses from the Sustainable Energy & Environmental Management (SEEM) Electives

4. One course from the Policy & Management (P&M) Electives

5.Capstone Research/Project Paper

Illustrative Curriculum, One Year, Full Time

Fall Semester (12 Credit Hours)

PUBP 8803/6360: Sustainable Energy & Environmental Management (Required) 

• Topics to be covered will include the Tragedy of the Commons; Complex Socio-ecological systems; Defining Sustainability & Sustainable Development; Defining Institutions; Action Arenas; Social Dilemmas; Big Debates & Discourses; and Energy Fundamentals. Bureaucratic Management/Command and Control/ Deliberative Democracy/Participatory Models/Market – based solutions/Corporate Social Responsibility and Voluntary Initiatives will also be discussed.

PUBP 6352: Utility Regulation & Policy (SEEM Elective)

• This course covers governance and policy issues impacting electricity and water systems. It will include approaches to integrated resource planning, rules around solar integration, rate setting including dynamic rates and smart meters, decoupling of sales from profits, and modeling tools that support regulation and utility planning including the National Energy Modeling System. The focus will be on U.S. systems, but there will be some case study coverage of several European countries as well as China.

PUBP 6120: Cost Benefit Analysis (Methods Elective)

• This course provides an introduction to theory and methods used for Cost-Benefit analysis.

PUBP 6300: Earth Systems (SEEM Elective)

• Describes the scientific principles and interactions that make up the Earth's environmental system. The course examines the interaction of natural and human influences that shape the development and operation of the Earth system and how public and private decision-making impacts this system.

Spring Semester ( 12 Credit Hours)

PUBP 6312: Economics of Environmental Policy (Required)

• This course addresses key concepts in environmental economics, including externalities, efficiency, social welfare and environmental quality as a public good. Addresses environmental problems (i.e., water resources, air quality, urbanization) and vehicles of collective environmental action.

PUBP 6701: Energy Technology and Policy (SEEM Elective)

• This course examines energy production, use, and policy using quantitative engineering and policy analysis. Addresses resource constraints, physical principles, and policy analysis methods.

PUBP 8751: Big Data & Public Policy (Methods Elective)

• This course will provide an introduction to data science tools and methodologies for social science applications. Students will learn to conduct experiments and to identify causal mechanisms in large-scale social and administrative data.

PUBP 6354: Climate Policy (P&M Elective)

• Climate change is a global problem requiring unprecedented international cooperation and interdisciplinary investigation. This course aims to address the whole complexity of climate change, by bringing together the science of climate change, the analysis of impacts, and the economic, political and engineering strategies to reduce emissions. In class we will look from these different perspectives to answer to the following questions: What is Climate Change? How should we respond to Climate Change? This class will be taught as a seminar: students will be actively engaged in exploring the different issues underlying the threat of climate change and the institutions engaged in negotiating an international response.

Summer Semester (6 Credit Hours)

PUBP 6801: Capstone Research/Project Paper

• The summer term of the MSEEM will be devoted to the Capstone Project in which students identify and define a real-world problem in the area(s) of energy, sustainability and/or environment and a methodology (from one learned in the methods electives courses) to address the problem. During the identification of the problem and the development of the project, students will apply their knowledge and skills in order to deliver valuable solutions.

• Public Policy (PUBP)
• Aerospace Engineering (AE)
• Chemical & Biomolecular Engr (CHBE)
• City Planning (CP)
• Earth and Atmospheric Sciences (EAS)
• History, Technology & Society (HTS)
• International Affairs (INTA)
• Materials Science & Engr (MSE)
• Architecture (ARCH)
• Chemistry (CHEM)
• Civil and Environmental Engr (CEE)
• Economics (ECON)
• Industrial & Systems Engr (ISYE)
• Management (MGT)
• Mechanical Engineering (ME)