Students take a minimum of three courses that relate to energy science during their time at Penn. These energy courses can be taken at any point over a typical VIPER student's four-year course plan. The list of approved energy courses is given below.
Other important aspects to consider:
- Students may request for additional courses to be considered for approval and must demonstrate their relevance to energy science.
- Students may request to count one graduate-level course from a STEM major as an energy course provided that the course helps further their career goals as future energy leaders.
Additionally, the energy course requirement is waived for VIPER students who have been accepted into and are in the process of completing an Accelerated Masters program at Penn.
Approved Energy Courses
If courses are cross-listed, the course it is also offered as is listed in parentheses. Please note that Penn has recently transitioned to a 4-digit course numbering scheme. Courses can be searched for at Path@Penn.
Biology
- BIOL 1019* – Biological Science and Public Policy
- BIOL 1604 – Humans and the Environment (Fulfills Sector 7)
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE)
- CBE 3750 – Engineering and the Environment
- CBE 5050 – Carbon Capture
- CBE 5430 (EESC 6610) – Sustainable Development and Water Resource Systems
- CBE 5450 – Electrochemical Energy Conversion & Storage
- CBE 5460 – Fundamentals of Industrial Catalytic Processes
- CBE 5250 – Molecular Modeling and Simulations
Chemistry (CHEM)
- CHEM 1200* - Environmental Chemistry
Engineering and Applied Science (EAS)
- EAS 3010 (EAS 5050) – Climate Policy and Technology
- EAS 4010 (EAS 5010) – Energy and its Impacts: Technology, Ecology, Economics, Sustainability
- EAS 4020 (EAS 5020) – Renewable Energy and its Impacts
- EAS 4030 (EAS 5030) – Energy Systems and Policy
Engineering (ENGR)
- ENGR 2500 (MEAM 2500) – Energy Systems, Resources and Technology
Environmental Studies (ENVS)
- ENVS 4336 (EESC 4336 / PHYS 3314) – Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics and Implications for Future Climate Change
- ENVS 3103 – Penn Global Seminar: Case Studies in Environmental Sustainability
Earth and Environmental Sciences (EESC)
- EESC 2300 – Global Climate Change
- EESC 4400 (EESC 6400) - Biogeochemistry
- EESC 4336 (PHYS 3314 / ENVS 4336) – Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics and Implications for Future Climate Change
- EESC 5010 – The Geology and Geography of Energy Resources
- EESC 6610 (CBE 5430) – Sustainable Development of Water Resource Systems
Electrical & Systems Engineering (ESE)
- ESE 2180 – Electronic, Photonic, and Electromechanical Devices
- ESE 5210 – The Physics of Solid State Energy Devices
Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics (MEAM)
- MEAM 2500 (ENGR 2500) – Energy Systems, Resources and Technology
- MEAM 5020 – Energy Engineering
- MEAM 5030 – Direct Energy Conversion: from Macro to Nano
- MEAM 5040 – Tribiology
- MEAM 5430 – Performance and Design of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
- MEAM 5610 - Thermodynamics: Foundations, Energy, Materials
Materials Science and Engineering (MSE)
- MSE 2150 – Introduction to Nanoscale Materials
- MSE 5450 – Energy Storage and Technology
- MSE 5610 – Atomistic Modeling in Materials Science
Physics (PHYS)
- PHYS 0016* – Energy, Oil and Global Warming
- PHYS 3314 – Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics and Implications for Future Climate Change
* Introductory courses. Students should consider these courses carefully in the context of their four-year plans as they may not count towards major or other degree requirements outside of the energy course requirement.