Overview

Sustainable electrical engineering is focused on developing renewable electricity sources such as wind and solar power; systems for integrating renewable power into the grid; hybrid and electric vehicles; and energy efficient lights, motors, appliances, and heating and cooling systems.

Depending on the courses selected, sustainability area coursework can provide additional understanding of topics in energy generation, control systems, energy resource management and environmental issues, while satisfying the requirements for a Certificate in Sustainability.

Electrical engineers completing coursework in the computer interest sustainability focus area find employment in the renewable energy industry, in the electric and hybrid electric vehicle industry, in power utilities, in consulting, and more generally, anywhere energy efficiency is a concern.

Students interested in this FA are encouraged to consider the course suggestions listed below when completing their plan of study form.

Certificate in Sustainability        Plan of Study Form

Computer Track Requirements Suggested Options
Track Computer
Depth Elective
(Select One)
ECE:5320 High Performance Computer Architecture (Same as: CS:5610)
ECE:5800 Fundamentals of Software Engineering (Same as: CS:5800)
Breadth Elective
(Select One)
ECE:3410 Electronic Circuits
ECE:3400 Linear System II
ECE:3540 Communication Networks
ECE:3600 Control Systems
5000-Level ECE Elective
(Select Two)
All 5000-level depth electives listed above and
ECE:5330 Graph Algorithms and Combinatorial Optimization (Same as: IGPI:5331)
ECE:5630 Sustainable Energy Conversion (Required for certificate)
ECE:5640 Computer-based Control (Same as: IGPI:5641, ME:5362) (Prerequisite: ECE:3600)
ECE:5820 Software Languages and Tools (Same as: CS:5820)
ECE Elective
(Select One)
All breadth, depth and 5000-level ECE electives listed above
Technical Elective
(Select Two)
All breadth, depth and 5000-level ECE electives listed above and
CS:3700 Elementary Numerical Analysis (Same as: MATH:3800)
CEE:4107 Sustainable Systems (Required for certificate)
ECE:5420 Power Electronics
ECE:5430 Electric Drive Systems
ECE:5620 Electric Power Systems
ISE:2500 Engineering Economy
ISE:  4550 Wind Power Management
GEOG:2013 Intro to Sustainability (Same as: BUS:2013, URP:2013) (Required for certificate)
Additional Electives
(Select one 3 s.h. & one ≥2 s.h.)
Any of the above OR course selected in consultation with advisor.
EES:1080 Intro to Environmental Science (Required for certificate)

 

Advising Notes

  • To earn a Certificate in Sustainability students must complete 24 s.h. of prescribed course work.
  • All computer interest students satisfy the requirements for a minor in computer science.
  • A minor in mathematics can be earned by including one qualifying math course in the EFA plan.
  • To avoid having to take any courses beyond those required to complete a BSE degree students must ensure that at least 8 of their 5 GEC and 6 FA elections satisfy certificate requirements. 

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