Energy Degree Programs and Courses

The sorts of people that use our degree days calculator are often interested in studying energy-related disciplines further. As awareness of energy and environmental issues increases, more and more institutions are offering energy-related degree courses. We have researched and compiled this information to act as a guide to the different energy-related degree programs on offer around the world, and the career prospects that a graduate of those programs might expect.

We will probably expand this section of the site over time, so please let us know if there are other courses that you think we should mention. Also, if you run an energy- or education-related website, and you consider this to be a useful resource (we're not aware of any other such energy-focused lists online), we'd really appreciate it if you mentioned this resource on your website. Many of these courses were pretty hard to find, and we'd like to do our bit to make things easier for potential students of energy-related disciplines.

Energy Management Courses

"Energy management" is a term that has a number of different meanings, but, in broad terms, it is about managing available resources to make the most efficient use of energy. (You can read our article on energy management for more information on the various meanings of the term.) Courses with "energy management" in their names or descriptions often cover broader environmental and economic issues as well the implementation of practical solutions.

As corporations and public-sector organisations are continually facing pressure to reduce their energy consumption, there are lots of opportunities for energy-management graduates.

Economics and Policy

The following energy-management courses are focused on economics and policy. They look at the overall view of the issues of energy consumption and climate change, and developing policies and strategies to address those issues.

Typical career paths:

• Energy manager for a corporation or other organization
• Policy maker in local or national government
• Working for an energy consulting firm
• Working for an energy utility company

Built Environment

The following courses are also energy management degrees, but they have a specific focus on making buildings (including factories) as energy-efficient as possible.

Typical career paths:

• Facility manager for business or public sector organisation
• Energy auditor
• Building control system specialist

MBA Courses

The following MBA courses specialising in energy are aimed at people who are already managers or energy-industry professionals. There is currently a high demand for managers who have specialist training in energy management, particularly in developing economies such as Eastern Europe.

Typical career paths:

• Leading position in an energy company
• Energy manager in a private or public sector organisation

Engineering Courses

The following are engineering courses that specialise in the technical side of energy, although many of them also cover topics such as energy policy and economics.

Building Services and Industry

As well as traditional engineering subjects, these courses cover the design and maintenance of environmentally-friendly buildings.

Typical career paths:

• Working alongside architects to design buildings
• Design and installation of building control systems

Sustainability / Renewable Technology

These engineering courses focus on renewable technologies such as wind, solar and hydropower, as well as improving the efficiency of fossil fuel energy.

Typical career paths:

• Turbine designer
• Power station engineer
• Environmental consulting
• Design and development renewable energy technologies
• Working on government advisory boards