The Penn State RESS program, presented by EME and delivered online by Penn State World Campus, provides a world-class interdisciplinary education to empower professionals in diverse fields to lead the transformation of the world's energy economy to a sustainable basis of operation.
This 33-credit program provides students with a well-rounded education in renewable energy technology, policy, and markets, emphasizing project management and system-thinking skills relevant to jobs in industry, business, and government. This program is set to meet the nation’s critical need for energy professionals with fundamental competencies in sustainable development. It prepares students to assume advanced roles and leadership responsibilities within their organizations and provides the credentials to enter the renewable energy sector.
RESS master’s program enables students to:
- Gain advanced technical expertise in renewable energy resources and technologies.
- Develop renewable energy and sustainability projects in the context of the national and global economy.
- Analyze the feasibility of energy solutions for businesses and organizations.
- Apply technical, economic, and ethical frameworks to policy and business development.
- Articulate ideas and solutions to a variety of stakeholders.
RESS programs are designed for part-time adult learners. They are delivered via an interactive online learning network that allows students to learn while actively remaining in their current employment and location.
RESS graduates excel in various commercial and industrial occupations, including renewable energy consultants, energy project managers, energy efficiency analysts, sustainable policy representatives, and sustainability entrepreneurs.
Curriculum
The program provides broad coverage of topics from energy technologies and resources to economics and policy. Students follow a focused curriculum that combines rigorous requirements with flexibility appropriate to the rapidly changing field. The core courses provide an in-depth understanding of the sustainability framework relevant to energy and sustainability systems, as well as science fundamentals and principles of key technologies. Further, students may choose to follow one of the two program tracks: (i) Renewable Energy Systems or (ii) Sustainability Management and Policy. The former provides specialized technical instruction in various engineering aspects of energy systems, while the latter considers broader aspects of the energy business and its role in sustainable development.
A comprehensive Scholarship and Academic Research Integrity (SARI) plan embeds ethics and integrity training both at the start and at the end of the Master’s program. The Capstone experience course is required of all students and serves to aggregate the material and skills learned throughout the program and apply them to a real-world scenario. Capstone is a group project in which students work with real clients and industry stakeholders.
Requirements
The MPS-RESS degree is conferred upon students who earn a minimum of thirty-three credits of coursework at the 400, 500, or 800 level while maintaining an average grade-point average of 3.0 or better, including at least 18 credits at the 500 or 800 level, and who complete a capstone experience (capstone course or scholarly paper) in consultation with a graduate adviser.
The program curriculum includes:
- 12 credits of core courses
- 12 credits of courses from either program track
- 6 credits of electives
- 3-credit capstone experience
MPS-RESS Tracks
The Renewable Energy (RE) Track in RESS is recommended for students who aim for careers in the renewable energy industry, business, and consulting. Students in the RE track acquire expertise in project assessment and technical knowledge pertinent to the fast-changing energy industry. The master's level skills for renewable energy project development include solar resource assessment for selected locales, knowledge of electric-derived and thermal solar conversion technologies, technical knowledge in hybridized solar systems design, effective communications to maximize the solar economic utility to the client/stakeholders, and the social and policy context of solar systems project design. Courses in the renewable energy track address both utility-scale and distributed solar conversion systems for residential and commercial power generation.
For the Renewable Energy Track, a background in science or engineering, or professional experience in the energy industry, is recommended.
Course Work (33 credits)
All MPS RESS 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 Renewable Energy Track are advised to take four of the following track courses (12 credits):
- EME 810: Solar Resource Assessment and Economics (3 cr.)
- AE 878: Solar Project Development and Finance (3 cr.)
- AE 868: Commercial Solar Electric Systems (3 cr.)
- EME 812: Utility Solar Power and Concentration (3 cr.)
- AERSP 886: Engineering of Wind Project Development (3 cr.)
In addition to the above, students can choose 6 credits of approved electives to count towards program requirements.
If you plan to take electives outside RESS, please be sure to discuss those options with your academic adviser beforehand. Enrollment in non-RESS electives depends 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.
Please contact Mark Fedkin at info@ress.psu.edu with any questions about the Sustainability Management and Policy Graduate track in RESS.
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 a deep understanding of the science of sustainability, systems acumen to assess risk and plan for renewable energy projects, and communication skills to develop new policies for implementation. The expanding fields of renewable energy, energy trading, and sustainability systems management require a master's-level education centered on 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 process.
Course Work (33 credits)
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 approved electives to count towards program requirements.
If you plan to take electives outside RESS, please be sure to discuss those options with your academic adviser beforehand. Enrollment in non-RESS electives depends 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.
Please contact Erich Schienke at info@ress.psu.edu with any questions about the Sustainability Management and Policy Graduate track in RESS.