Minor in Energy Studies
The Energy Studies Minor complements the deep expertise obtained in any MIT major with broad, interdisciplinary training in science, technology, and the social sciences, including policy issues surrounding energy and climate change.
Students take classes in three core areas, plus 36 units of electives. The core consists of:
- Science Foundations: fundamental laws and principles that govern energy sources, conversion, and uses;
- Social Science Foundations: social scientific perspectives that help explain human behavior in an energy context, and;
- Energy Technology/Engineering in Context: the application of laws and principles to a specific energy context.
The elective component (generally three classes) allows students to focus on their individual areas of interest.
Developed and administered by the MIT Energy Initiative, the Energy Studies Minor sets students on the path to tackle the world’s complex climate and energy challenges. Through the minor, students build strong foundational knowledge of diverse energy topics while benefiting from hands-on learning opportunities to work with world-renowned researchers, policy analysts, and thought leaders. Students also make groundbreaking discoveries and prepare for exciting careers in industry, government, and academia.
| Core Curriculum | ||
| Science Foundations | ||
| Select one of the following: | 12 | |
| Physics of Energy | ||
| Earth Science, Energy, and the Environment | ||
| Social Science Foundations | ||
| Select one of the following: | 12 | |
| Energy Systems for Climate Change Mitigation 1,2 | ||
| Geography of the Global Economy | ||
| Urban Energy Systems and Policy 2 | ||
| Energy Economics and Policy | ||
| Climate and Energy in the Global Economy | ||
| Energy Technology/Engineering in Context | ||
| Select one of the following: | 12 | |
| Energy Systems for Climate Change Mitigation 1,2 | ||
| Physics and Engineering of Renewable Energy Systems 1 | ||
| Fundamentals of Advanced Energy Conversion 1 | ||
| Environmental Technologies in Buildings | ||
| Electric Energy Systems 1 | ||
| Urban Energy Systems and Policy 2 | ||
| Renewable Energy Facility Siting Clinic | ||
| Introduction to Sustainable Energy | ||
| Introduction to Energy in Global Development | ||
| Applications of Energy in Global Development | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select 36 units from the following: 3 | 36 | |
| Climate and Sustainability Undergraduate Advanced Research | ||
| Fundamentals of Ecology | ||
| Modeling and Decision-Making for Sustainability 1 | ||
| Global Change Science 1 | ||
| Carbon Management | ||
| Environmental Law, Policy, and Economics: Pollution Prevention and Control | ||
| Machine Learning for Sustainable Systems and Modeling with Machine Learning: from Algorithms to Applications | ||
| Thermal-Fluids Engineering I 1 | ||
| Thermal-Fluids Engineering II 1 | ||
| Design of Compliant Mechanisms, Machines and Systems 1 | ||
| Nano-to-Macro Transport Processes 1 | ||
| Marine Power and Propulsion 1 | ||
| Fundamentals of Photovoltaics | ||
| Solving for Carbon Neutrality at MIT | ||
| Energy, Materials, and Manufacturing 1 | ||
| Exploring Sustainability at Different Scales | ||
| Materials for Energy and Sustainability | ||
| Small Planet Engineering: Climate, Energy, and Sustainability | ||
or 3.004 | Small Planet Engineering: Climate, Energy, and Sustainability | |
| Structure of Materials 1 | ||
| Thermodynamics of Materials 1 | ||
| Microstructural Evolution in Materials | ||
| Materials Science and Engineering of Clean Energy 1 | ||
| Modeling Urban Energy Flows for Sustainable Cities and Neighborhoods | ||
| From the Solar House to Net Zero Buildings | ||
| Synthesis of Coordination Compounds and Kinetics 1 | ||
| Continuous Flow Chemistry: Sustainable Conversion of Reclaimed Vegetable Oil into Biodiesel 1 | ||
| Chemistry of Renewable Energy 1 | ||
| Thermodynamics I | ||
| Thermodynamics II and Kinetics | ||
| United States Energy Policy: Lessons Learned for the Future | ||
| Power Electronics Laboratory 1 | ||
| Introduction to Nanoelectronics 1 | ||
| Micro/Nano Processing Technology | ||
| Principles of Modeling, Computing and Control for Decarbonized Electric Energy Systems 1 | ||
| A Philosophical History of Energy | ||
| Foundational Analyses of Problems in Energy and the Environment | ||
| Chemical and Biological Engineering Thermodynamics 1 | ||
| Energy Engineering Projects Laboratory 1 | ||
| Chemical-Biological Engineering Laboratory 1 | ||
| Transport Processes 1 | ||
| Separation Processes | ||
| Electrochemical Energy Systems 1 | ||
| Introduction to International Development | ||
| Cybersecurity Clinic | ||
| Decarbonizing Urban Mobility | ||
| Alternate Energy Sources | ||
| Climate Science 1 | ||
| People and the Planet: Environmental Governance and Science | ||
| Environmental Policy and Economics | ||
| Unified Engineering: Materials and Structures 1 | ||
| Unified Engineering: Signals and Systems 1 | ||
| Unified Engineering: Fluid Dynamics 1 | ||
| Unified Engineering: Thermodynamics and Propulsion 1 | ||
| Living Through Climate Change | ||
| The History of US Environmental Governance | ||
| NEET Seminar: Renewable Energy Machines | ||
| Seminar in Fusion and Plasma Physics | ||
| Nuclear Systems Design Project | ||
| Social Problems of Nuclear Energy | ||
| Materials Performance in Extreme Environments 1 | ||
| Fission Energy Systems 1 | ||
| Fusion Energy 1 | ||
| Analog Electronics and Analog Instrumentation Design | ||
| Anthro-Engineering: Decarbonization at the Million-Person Scale | ||
| Energy, Environment, and Society | ||
| The Bioeconomy and Society | ||
| Total Units | 72 | |
| 1 | Subject has prerequisites that are outside of the program. |
| 2 | Subject can fulfill either the Social Science Foundations requirement or the Energy Technology/Engineering in Context requirement, but not both. |
| 3 | See the Energy Studies Minor website for potential elective and core subject substitutions or additions. |
Students who take more than the required subjects from any of the core curriculum subject lists may count the additional coursework toward the elective requirement. A minimum of three subjects (or 36 units) taken for the Energy Studies Minor cannot also count toward a student's major or other minor.
Contact Rowan Elowe, Education Program Manager, MIT Energy Initiative Education Office, Room E19-432K, 617-324-1967, or visit the Energy Studies Minor website for more information.