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Sustainability Management and Policy Track

The Sustainability Management and Policy Track is designed for students who aim to lead sustainability project planning and policy development, given the systems approach of sustainability in business and government. The demand is already high for graduate leaders with deep understanding of the science of sustainability, combined with systems acumen to assess risk and plan for renewable energy projects, and communication skills to develop new policy implementation. The expanded fields of renewable energy, energy trading, and sustainability systems management dictate that master's level education be centralized to the science of sustainability, analysis of market and non-market strategies, communication to facilitate energy policy development, and systems thinking approaches to unify the project development approach.

Course Work (33 credits total)

All RESS MPS students are required to take the following core courses (15 credits):

  • EME 504: Foundations in Sustainability Systems (3 cr.)
  • EME 801: Energy Markets, Policy and Regulation (3 cr.)
  • EME 802: Renewable and Sustainable Energy Systems (3 cr.)
  • BIOET 533: Ethical Dimensions of Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems (3 cr.)
  • EME 589: Management and Design of Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems - Capstone Course (3 cr.)

Students in the Sustainability Management and Policy Track are required to take the following track courses (12 credits):

  • EME 803: Applied Energy Policy (3 cr.)
  • EME 805: Renewable Energy and Nonmarket Enterprise (3 cr.)
  • EME 807: Technologies for Sustainability Systems (3 cr.)
  • BA 850: Sustainability Driven Innovation (3 cr.)

In addition to the above, students can choose 6 credits of electives to count towards program requirements.

Click here to review the list of approved electives.

If you plan taking electives outside RESS, please be sure to discuss those options with your academic adviser beforehand. Enrollment in non-RESS electives depend on home program permission and seat availability. For help with elective registration, please contact World Campus Registration at 814-863-5256 or registration@outreach.psu.edu

To review the offerings of RESS courses semester by semester, please visit the RESS Course Schedule page.

If you have questions about the Sustainability Management and Policy Graduate track in RESS, please contact  Dr. Erich Schienke at info@ress.psu.edu.