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The utility sector, including energy systems, has evolved from a static field to being one of the most exciting and dynamic industries of today. The world of energy covers an immense array of technologies and responsibilities, from power generation (e.g., liquid fuel production) to sustainable energy systems (e.g., geothermal energy), energy management, grid design, and so much more, with new opportunities emerging constantly!
This page explores the vast field of energy bachelor’s degree programs. Learn what energy degree programs are, the specialized program types available to undergraduates, and what students can expect if they decide to pursue a bachelor’s degree in energy. Or, skip ahead to our listings of energy degree programs.
Takeaways
- Earning a BA or BS in an energy field can set you on a path to creating new energy systems & technologies, discovering unique sources of power, and helping communities to a clean energy future.
- Bachelor’s degrees in energy are now available in an array of intriguing specialties, including renewable and sustainable energy. Use our listings to find a 4-year program in your area.
- The best degree in energy is going to be one that matches your strengths. If you’re not comfortable with a “hard science” field like energy engineering, you have the option to focus on areas like public policy and environmental management.
What Is an Energy Degree?
Like other bachelor’s degree programs, a bachelor’s in energy is a four-year undergraduate commitment. While students may earn a BA or BS, depending on program focus, both pathways require certain critical building blocks such as physics, mathematics, and economics.
In the latter stages of the degree program, students focus on more specialty topics dedicated to their desired field, which can include the business of energy, engineering of energy technologies, environmental management, and energy-related policy.
Deciding to pursue an energy degree is only the first step in your decision because the sector is so immense. The next step is to decide on your focus, which can include clean energy, energy management, energy business, and much more. Generalist energy degrees, like “energy studies,” are available at certain universities.
If you see your future somewhere in the massive energy industry, a four-year degree can provide the best and most comprehensive starting point. While aspiring technicians (e.g., linemen on the grid or wind turbine technicians) will likely view community college or trade school as the best move, students who want to develop new technologies, design utility programs, or manage business and policy decisions around our energy future will see an energy bachelor’s degree as the best path.
Types of Energy Bachelor’s Degrees
The proliferation of undergraduate energy programs means they’re not necessarily consistent from school to school. Degrees dedicated to energy are a more recent development, leading schools to create unique programs. Students won’t find many general “bachelor’s in energy” programs, and instead find energy degree programs that fall into the following categories:
- Bachelor in Renewable Energy: This degree teaches students about the emerging world of renewable generation technologies—such as solar, wind, hydropower, and geothermal—and prepares them to understand their operation, the associated economics, and impacts on the land. These degrees require thinking like both an engineer and a business person. For example, Texas Tech University offers a Bachelor of Science in Renewable Energy.
- Bachelor in Sustainable Energy: This degree focuses on minimizing the environmental impact of energy, not only via carbon emissions but also the impact of fuel source production, localized air pollution, and environmental impact of the whole lifecycle. These programs, like the Bachelor’s in Sustainable Energy Management from SUNY College of ESF, have a strong crossover with environmental management.
- Bachelor in Energy Engineering: Engineers are the backbone of the energy sector, not only at the power-plant level but also with technology like transmission and distribution, smart energy technologies, and electric vehicles. These programs take an engineering base and focus on how those principles of applied technology push the energy systems of tomorrow forward. Indiana University’s Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering is an excellent example.
- Bachelor in Energy Management: Energy management deals more with the actual use and consumption of energy, such as in a building, at a campus, or across a city. Energy management programs teach how to optimize technologies, make financial and risk-focused decisions, and embrace available energy systems. Students can consider the Bachelor of Science in Land and Energy Management from Everglades University.
- Bachelor in Energy Policy: The future of energy systems is constantly being shaped by public policymakers, and too often these decisions are made by people without the scientific background in energy. As such, a bachelor in energy policy generates the type of professional who can best shape these important policies, such as Penn State’s Bachelor of Science in Energy and Sustainability Policy.
Which Major Is Best for Energy Careers?
When it comes to the major that is best for energy, the real question is which energy major is best for you? Students should answer the following questions:
- What area of the energy industry do you want to work in?
- Which subjects are your strengths vs. your weaknesses?
- Are you interested in technical energy applications or the management of energy efforts?
- Why do you want to work in energy?
Answering these questions will highlight which sectors of the vast energy field are best suited to your skills and goals. If students have a STEM background, for instance, and want to design energy systems, then energy engineering may be the right path; if they want to work on the country’s transition to clean energy, they should consider degrees focused on renewable energy.
Remember that each of these pursuits will have different academic requirements, develop different skillsets, and deliver different results. The most accurate answer to the question of the “best” energy degree thus comes from matching career goals with your skills and interests.
All Bachelor's in Energy Degree Programs
70Schools Found
Arizona
Arizona State University
Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering
Tempe, Arizona
California
Stanford University
Global Studies
Stanford, California
University of California-Berkeley
Department of Engineering Science
Berkeley, California
University of California-San Diego
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
La Jolla, California
University of Southern California
College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
Los Angeles, California
Colorado
Colorado Mesa University
Davis School of Business
Grand Junction, Colorado
University of Colorado Boulder
College of Engineering & Applied Science
Boulder, Colorado
Connecticut
Eastern Connecticut State University
Department of Environmental Earth Science
Willimantic, Connecticut
Delaware
University of Delaware
Department of Environmental Earth Science
Newark, Delaware
District of Columbia
Georgetown University
Walsh School of Foreign Service
Washington, District of Columbia
Florida
Everglades University
Department of Alternative and Renewable Energy
Boca Raton, Florida
University of Central Florida
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Orlando, Florida
University of South Florida-Main Campus
Department of Electrical Engineering
Tampa, Florida
Georgia
Kennesaw State University
Department of Engineering Technology
Kennesaw, Georgia
Illinois
Illinois State University
Department of Technology
Normal, Illinois
Northern Illinois University
Institute for the Study of Environment, Sustainability and Energy
Dekalb, Illinois
University of Illinois at Chicago
Department of Chemical Engineering
Chicago, Illinois
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department of Agricultural & Biological Engineering
Champaign, Illinois
Indiana
Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis
Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering
Indianapolis, Indiana
Louisiana
Tulane University of Louisiana
Freeman School of Business
New Orleans, Louisiana
University of Louisiana at Lafayette
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Lafayette, Louisiana
Maine
Unity College
Technical Institute for Environmental Professions
Unity, Maine
Massachusetts
Fitchburg State University
Department of Engineering Technology
Fitchburg, Massachusetts
Massachusetts Maritime Academy
Department of Engineering
Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Michigan
Ferris State University
Department of Corporate & Professional Development
Big Rapids, Michigan
Jackson Community College
Department of Energy Systems
Jackson, Michigan
Minnesota
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Missouri
University of Missouri-Columbia
Mizzou Engineering
Columbia, Missouri
Washington University in St Louis
McKelvey School of Engineering
Saint Louis, Missouri
Nebraska
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
College of Engineering
Lincoln, Nebraska
Nevada
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Howard R. Hughes College Of Engineering
Las Vegas, Nevada
University of Nevada-Reno
Electrical & Biomedical Engineering
Reno, Nevada
New Hampshire
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth Engineering
Hanover, New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Durham, New Hampshire
New Jersey
Rutgers University
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
New Brunswick, New Jersey
Stockton University
School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics
Galloway, New Jersey
New Mexico
Eastern New Mexico University-Main Campus
Department of Mathematical Sciences
Portales, New Mexico
New Mexico State University-Main Campus
Department of Engineering Technology & Surveying Engineering
Las Cruces, New Mexico
New York
Alfred University
Inamori School of Engineering
Alfred, New York
Morrisville State College
Department of Renewable Energy
Morrisville, New York
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Department of Sustainable Resources Management
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse University
College of Arts and Sciences
Syracuse, New York
North Carolina
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Raleigh, North Carolina
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Charlotte, North Carolina
North Dakota
Bismarck State College
National Energy Center of Excellence
Bismarck, North Dakota
University of North Dakota
Department of Energy Studies
Grand Forks, North Dakota
Ohio
Marietta College
Department of Business & Economics
Marietta, Ohio
Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma Norman Campus
Price College of Business
Norman, Oklahoma
University of Tulsa
School of Energy Economics, Policy and Commerce
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Oregon
Oregon Institute of Technology
Department of Electrical Engineering and Renewable Energy
Klamath Falls, Oregon
Oregon State University
College of Engineering
Corvallis, Oregon
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering
University Park, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University-World Campus
Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering
University Park, Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
Department of Science, Technology, and Society
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus
Division of Physical and Computational Sciences
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
South Carolina
College of Charleston
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Charleston, South Carolina
Texas
Texas Tech University
Rawls College of Business
Lubbock, Texas
The University of Texas at Arlington
College of Engineering
Arlington, Texas
University of Houston
Department of Finance
Houston, Texas
University of North Texas
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Denton, Texas
West Texas A & M University
WTAMU Graduate School
Canyon, Texas
Utah
Weber State University
Department of Engineering
Ogden, Utah
Vermont
Vermont Technical College
School of Engineering and Computing
Randolph Center, Vermont
Washington
Central Washington University
Institute for Integrated Energy Studies
Ellensburg, Washington
Western Washington University
Institute for Energy Studies
Bellingham, Washington
West Virginia
West Virginia State University
Department of Business Administration
Institute, West Virginia
West Virginia University
Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
Morgantown, West Virginia
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
College of Engineering and Applied Science
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
College of Engineering, Mathematics, and Science
Platteville, Wisconsin
Wyoming
University of Wyoming
School of Energy Resources
Laramie, Wyoming