Sustainable Energy, Minor - COLSA, UNH

Undergraduate

Sustainable Energy

Explore cutting-edge approaches to energy challenges, learning advanced techniques for reducing carbon footprints and developing sustainable technologies.
Degree
Minor
Location
Durham, NH
Courses
5
Credit
19-20 hrs.
Full-time
- -
Part-time
- -
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Natural Resources and the Environment

The Sustainable Energy minor at UNH provides a forward-looking education that prepares you to lead in green energy innovation. You’ll explore advanced approaches to energy challenges and learn techniques to reduce carbon footprints and develop sustainable technologies. 

The program emphasizes hands-on experience, equipping you for careers in environmental engineering, renewable energy and sustainable development across industries.

Department Natural Resources and the Environment

Contact Cards

Julia Novak Colwell
Sr Lecturer
Julia.Colwell@unh.edu
James Hall, Room 268, Durham, NH 03824
(603) 862-3923

What is sustainable energy?

In the sustainable energy minor, you’ll be introduced to the complex challenges of safeguarding the environment while using natural resources to produce renewable energy for a growing global population. This interdisciplinary minor focuses on critical thinking in the areas of technology, engineering, and social and economic policy. You’ll explore domestic energy systems and ways to develop and build acceptance of sustainable energy resources. You’ll study topics such as renewable technologies, energy engineering, green building and development, or innovations in policy and economics. This minor is a great compliment to majors in business, engineering, chemistry or environmental studies.

Why study sustainable energy at UNH?

You’ll work across departments with award-winning faculty who have expertise in areas ranging from natural resources and chemical, civil and environmental engineering to community and environmental planning and sociology. UNH is among nation’s highest-performing research universities, and you’ll be encouraged to gain hands-on experience by participating in research projects. The electives in the minor offer you the opportunity to design a program that meets your individual interests.

Potential career areas

  • Electricity transmission and storage
  • Energy engineering
  • Green architecture
  • Natural resources management
  • Oil and gas industry
  • Policy analysis
  • Renewable energy
  • Research
  • Solar panel engineering

Curriculum & Requirements

01
Program Description
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The Minor in Sustainable Energy provides the flexibility and focus that allows for students to expand their exposure to the topic within the context of their own major.  The goal of the program is to match the developing nature of the field with the skills needed to understand sustainable energy in the greater context of its opportunities and challenges.  Courses in the minor will build on existing competencies and create an experience that provides an exposure to new the perspectives and conceptual framework that is at the core of the developing field of sustainable energy.   

Objectives
The objectives of the Minor in Sustainable Energy are to provide students with the educational experience necessary to participate in one of the fastest growing fields of employment.  Coupled with an ability to focus on meaningful employment, is our challenge to confront a changing climate; students will be given an opportunity to be a part of the solution. 

Curriculum and Requirements
The curriculum and requirements for the minor are based on exposure to three competencies that reflect the exposure necessary to grasp the basic understanding of sustainable energy: 

  • Technical – Requires a basic understanding of the grid, energy flow, energy usage and the technologies of efficiency, generation and management of energy and generation sources. 
  • Economics and Finance – Requires a basic understanding of utility structure, energy markets and utility rate-making.  An additional focus includes the business aspect of financing and projecting the cost-effectiveness of energy generation sources and fuels – including the development of innovative business models for deploying sustainable energy. 
  • Policy – Requires a basic understanding in policy-making and implementation, including a historic perspective of our utilities, incentives and subsidies and their impact on market forces.  An additional focus includes the policy impacts of aspects related to sustainable energy deployment, including, interconnection, net metering and feed in tariffs and tax incentives. 
02
Requirements for the Program
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Academic policies related to Minors.

  • Appropriate course substitutes from other study-abroad programs may also be used with permission.  
Required Courses
Introduction:
NR 507Introduction to our Energy System and Sustainable Energy4
Critical Thinking:
NR 606International Energy Topics3-4
or CEE 505 Introduction to Sustainable Engineering
Competency:
NR 787Advanced Topics in Sustainable Energy4
Elective Courses
Technology/Engineering Category
Select one course from the following:3-4
CHBE 410
Energy and Environment
CEE 520
Environmental Pollution and Protection: A Global Context
CEE 719
Green Building Design
Social & Economic Policy Category
Select one course from the following:4
CEP 673
Green Real Estate
NR 572
Introduction to Natural Resource Economics
NR 602
Natural Resources and Environmental Policy
NR 606
International Energy Topics
NR 767W
Social Impact Assessment
SOC 565
Environment and Society
Total Credits18-20

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