Energy Engineering Major: Courses and recommended scheduling pattern

Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering Program
1 Semester  2nd Semester 
CHEM 110  (GN) Chemical Principles  3 CHEM 112 (GN) Chemical Principles   3
CHEM 111 (GN) Experimental  Chemistry   1 MATH 141 (GQ) Calculus With  Analytic Geometry II 4
MATH 140 (GQ) Calculus With Analytic  4 PHYS 211 (GN) General Physics: Mechanics  4
Geometry I  
EM SC 100S (GWS) Freshman Seminar *  3 ENGL 015 (GWS) Rhetoric and 3
     Composition or ENGL 030 (GWS) 
ECON 02/14 or ENNEC 100 (GS) 3 GA/GH/GS Elective 2 3
     Economics (GA/GH/GS Elective 1)  
Health and Physical Activity (GHA)  1.5
  15.5 17
3rd Semester  4th Semester 
CHEM 210 Organic Chemistry  3 EE 211 Electrical Circuits and Power Distribution* 3
MATH 251 Ordinary and Partial  4 MATH 231 Calculus of  Several  2
     Differential Equations       Variables  
PHYS 212 (GN) General Physics: 4 CMPSC 201C or CMPSC 201F or EMSC 468   3
     Electricity And Magnetism 
GA/GH/GS Elective 3   3 PHIL 103 (GH) Ethics (GA/GH/GS Elective 5)  3
GA/GH/GS Elective 4  3 GA/GH/GS Elective 6 3
  Health and Physical Activity (GHA)  1.5
  17 15.5
5th Semester  6th Semester 
 EGEE 012 Energy Engineering  Lectures    1 EGEE 304 Heat and Mass Transfer   3
 MATSE 201 Intro. to Material Science  3 EGEE 430 Intro. to Combustion   3
 EME 301 Thermodynamics   3 FSC 431 Chemistry of Fuels‐ coal,   3
 EME 303  Fluid Mechanics of Energy Systems  3       petroleum, gas, biomass 
 EGEE 302 Principles of Energy Engineering  3 EGEE 411 Energy Laboratory 3
 Professional Elective 1  3 EGEE 438 Sustainable Energy Options  3
  16 15
7th Semester  8th Semester 
 ENGL 202C (GWS) Technical Writing  3 EGEE 494A Research Projects 2   
FSC 432 Petroleum and Natural Gas Processing  3 EGEE 437 Fundamentals of Renewable Energy 3
EGEE 441 Electrochemical Energy Conversion   3 EGEE 464W Energy Design Project  3
EGEE 451 Energy Conversion   3 EGEE Elective 3
     Processes: Chemical and Nuclear 
IE 302 Engineering Economy or  3 Technical Elective 2 3
     PNG 489 Engineering Evaluation    
Technical Elective 1  3 Professional Elective 2 3
    18       17

Credits for Graduation  131

 
* For Students at Campus Colleges

Students at campuses where EM SC 100S (GWS) and EE 211 are not offered should take CAS
100 (GWS) in place of EM SC 100S and an appropriate or equivalent electrical circuits course in
place of EE 211. The curriculum has been designed to enable students who start at campus
locations other than University Park to transfer to University Park and seamlessly transition into
the program in their fifth semester. In the future, EGEE 302 will be offered online to enable
students at non-University Park campuses to take it before they transfer into the major at
University Park.

ELECTIVES

Students may select their EGEE, professional, and technical electives from the lists below. The
technical electives are energy-related courses outside the major that are offered by various
colleges across Penn State. Substitutions must be made by petition. The electives marked with an
asterisk have prerequisites that only students pursuing concurrent degrees may be able to satisfy.

EGEE ELECTIVES
EGEE 412 Green engineering and environmental compliance
EGEE 420 Hydrogen and fuel cell technology
EGEE 433 Physical processes in energy engineering
FSC 435 Industrial organic chemistry
EGEE 436 Modern thermodynamics for energy systems
EGEE 455 Materials for energy applications
EGEE 470 Air pollution from combustion sources

PROFESSIONAL ELECTIVES
EMSC 301 Global finance in earth and energy systems
EMSC 304 Global management in earth and energy systems
EMSC 401 Corporate finance and global business leadership strategies
ENNEC 473 Financial risk management*
ENNEC 484 Energy policy and economics
ERM 411 Legal aspects of resource management
BLAW 425 Environmental law, property, and commerce

TECHNICAL ELECTIVES
ABE 497A Biomass energy systems
AE 456 Solar energy building system design
AGEC 429 Natural resource economics*
AGEC 450 International development, renewable resources and the environment
CE 370 Introduction to environmental engineering
CE 371 Water and wastewater treatment*
CE 475 Water quality chemistry*
CE 476 Solid and hazardous wastes*
CH E 320 Phase & chemical equilibria
CH E 410 Mass transfer operations*
 CH E 430 Chemical reaction engineering*
CH E 438 Bioprocess engineering*
CH E 446 Transport phenomena*
EE 365 Energy conversion*
EE 461 Fundamentals of power systems stability*
GEOEE 406 Sampling and Monitoring of the Geo-Environment*
GEOG 493 (A or B) Centre County community energy project
GEOG 430 (currently 406): Human use of environment*
IHS 400 Principles of industrial health and safety*
IHS 430 Industrial health and safety management
IHS 445 Industrial hygiene and toxicology
MatSE 259 Properties and processing of engineering materials*
MatSE 412 Thermal properties of materials*
Meteo 473 Application of computers to meteorology
Meteo 474 Computer methods of meteorological analysis and forecasting*
ME 408 Fuel cell engines
ME 409 Gas turbines
ME 410 Power plants
ME 411 Refrigeration and air conditioning
ME 413 Internal combustion engines
ME 420 Heat exchanger design
MNG 401 Mining operations
MNG 410 Underground coal extraction*
MNG 441 Surface mining systems and design*
MN PR 301 Elements of mineral processing
NucE 301 Fundamentals of reactor physics*
NucE 310W Issues in nuclear engineering
NucE 401 Introduction to nuclear engineering
NucE 405 Nuclear and radio-chemistry*
NucE 420 Radiological safety*
NucE 428 Radioactive waste control*
PNG 405 Reservoir rock and fluid properties
PNG 411 Petroleum extraction
PNG 410 Reservoir Engineering*
PNG 480 Production process engineering
STS 460 Science, technology, and public policy
STS 497 Scenario analysis

Agricultural and biological, chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, mechanical, mining,

nuclear and petroleum engineering, materials science and engineering, industrial health and
safety, and energy business and finance students will be able to substitute by petition some of
their courses for some of the minor and dual or concurrent degree requirements. Students in
chemical, mechanical, and nuclear engineering in particular may make the following substitution
of courses:
EGEE Course Substitute/equivalent course
EMSC 100S (3) CAS 100 (3)
EGEE 012 (1) CH E 300 (1)
EGEE 301 (6) CH E 220 (3) and CH E 330 (3) or
ME 030 (3) and ME 033 (3)
EGEE 302 (3) CH E 210 (3)
EGEE 304 (3) CH E 350 (3) or ME 412 (3)
EGEE 411 (3) CH E 480 (3) or ME 382 (4) or any three of
ME 083(1), ME 084 (1), ME 085 (1),
ME 086 (1), ME 087 (1), & EMCH 216 (1)
EGEE 420 (3) ME 408 (3)
EGEE 430 (3) ME 416 (3)
EGEE 464 (3) CH E 470 (3) or ME 414 (3)
EGEE 470 (3) ME 470 (3)

Further strengthening of existing programs by the new program is evidenced by the fact that the
mechanical and nuclear engineering department, for example, will add energy engineering as a
focus area with a list of some key energy engineering courses as technical electives for their
students. The program is open to other ideas and models to ensure a broad-based energy
engineering education for Penn State students with special interest in energy. For example, in the
required capstone design course EGEE 464W, the program intends to participate and work with
the Learning Factory program in the College of Engineering to provide students an opportunity
to work on industrial energy-related problems in teams composed of students from multiple
energy-related disciplines. Also, there are plans to develop a course in nuclear fuel
reprocessing/cycles with the nuclear engineering program in the mechanical and nuclear
engineering department. The proposed energy engineering program is consistent and in line with
the recent Penn State University Energy Task Force report and recommendations. In particular, it
fulfills the recommendation to develop an exciting new undergraduate curriculum in energy.
 Courses for Energy Engineering Minor

Select 3 courses (9 credits) from the following

EGEE 301 Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics of energy systems

EGEE 302 Principles of energy engineering
EGEE 304 Heat and mass transfer
EGEE 411 Energy Laboratory or EGEE 494A Research projects
EGEE 430 Introduction to combustion or ME 416 Introduction to combustion
EGEE 420 Hydrogen and fuel cells or ME 408 Fuel cell engines

Select 3 courses (9 credits) from the following

FSC 431 Chemistry of fuels- coal, petroleum, gas, biomass

FSC 432 Petroleum and natural gas processing
EGEE 433 Physical processes in energy engineering
EGEE 437 Fundamentals of renewable energy
EGEE 438 Sustainable energy options
EGEE 441 Electrochemical energy conversion
EGEE 451 Energy conversion processes: chemical and nuclear
EGEE 464W Energy design project or CH E 470 or ME 414 or NucE 430
EGEE 470 Air pollution from combustion sources or ME 470 Fundamentals of air pollution

The approved course substitutions should make it attractive for students in chemical, mechanical,
and nuclear engineering, in particular, to be able to readily work towards a minor, option, or dual
or concurrent degree in energy engineering. The prerequisites for the above courses or their
substitutes would have been met for most engineering students within their major. Students in
disciplines such as agricultural and biological, civil, electrical, environmental, mining, and
petroleum engineering; materials science and engineering; industrial health and safety (IHS); and
energy business and finance (EBF) should seek advice from the Energy Engineering program
chair on the substitutions and technical elective choices for minors, options or dual degrees.