Programs by Campus
Bloomington
Sustainable Energy Science
College of Arts and Sciences
Departmental E-mail: rbarthel [at] indiana [dot] edu
(Please note that when conferring University Graduate School degrees, minors, certificates, and sub-plans, The University Graduate School’s staff use those requirements contained only in The University Graduate School Bulletin.)
Curriculum
Ph.D. Minor in Sustainable Energy Science
The supply of affordable energy is a pre-requisite for economic development around the world. The U.S. faces considerable challenges in meeting current and future energy demands while also addressiing pressing environmental and national security concerns. Hence there is a need for research into various aspects of energy supply and demand. The Sustainable Energy Science Program encoursages interdisciplinary study of the physical sicneces that under-pins energy use and supply. The Ph.D. minor program embraces a multidisciplinary approach drawing expertise from a number of Departments and Schools with an emphasis on the understanding of the scientific basis of sustainability and the implications of energy use.
Admission and Program of Study
In collaboration with the Sustainable Energy director and the student’s graduate advisor, students are required to submit a Program of Study to the Sustainable Energy Advisory Committee for final approval. The Program of Study will provide the rationale for the student’s proposed curriculum and will list the courses, with alternative selections in the event such courses are not offered on a timely basis, that will serve as the student’s minor program. With the Sustainable Energy Advisory Committee’s approval of the Program of Study, the student will become officially enrolled in the Sustainable Energy Science Program.
Ph.D. Minor Requirements
Requirements encourage graduate students to develop a program of scientific inquiry that complements their doctoral program and takes advantage of the wide range of faculty from a number of departments with training and research in the fields of wind energy, solar energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, fossil fuels, carbon sequestration, air pollution and climate change. Each program is developed in consultation between the student and the graduate advisor and the Sustainable Energy Science director. Students must complete a total of 12 credit hours (Of hours counted toward the minor, at least 6 must be from outside the student's major field). Additionally, the Sustainable Energy Program will submit one question for the student's qualifying examination.