MSES Energy and Climate Change Science

Science for a brighter tomorrow

O’Neill’s MSES Energy and Climate Change Science concentration will put you in a position to help meet critical energy and climate challenges. In addition to core courses in energy economics and policy, and in energy systems, you will choose from courses in natural gas, renewable energy, air pollution, meteorology, GIS, and climate change and its impacts. Additional economics, policy and management options will include courses in energy economics, policy, and law, climate change policy, and human behavior related to energy consumption, as well as courses in broader areas such as benefit-cost analysis, local government, and sustainability. These courses will provide context for your science and technology training, allowing you to craft well-informed approaches to today’s energy and climate challenges.

Your training will position you to compete strongly in the exciting and expanding world of energy and climate related careers in government, contracting, nonprofit, and industry. You will be prepared to participate in problem-solving at national and international levels or in the fast-growing and often innovative environment of state and municipal organizations.

How to apply

I would not be in my current role were it not for the skills I acquired at the O’Neill School. My passion was and is renewable energy and sustainability—now I work at a company which is in the renewable energy and sustainability business.

—Keane Gleason, MSES’17, Advanced Visualization Analyst, Schneider Electric, Louisville
As an MSES student studying Energy and Climate Change Science, you'll begin by mastering the the fundamentals reflected in the MSES program’s core competencies—15 credit hours encompassing the rigor and breadth that employers seek. In addition to these highly transferable core skills, the energy concentration includes two required courses. The remainder of the course work comes in 12 credit hours of electives, where you can tailor your Energy and Climate Change Science program to your own specific interests. 

  • Energy Systems (E 574)
  • Energy Economics and Policy (R 674)

The required energy economics course provides a global and regional understanding of energy markets and the skills necessary to perform policy analysis of energy issues. The technical courses in the concentration will enable you to collaborate with engineering specialists on projects related to energy production, management, conservation, and research and development. 

  • Natural Gas: Technical and Policy Challenges (E 503)
  • Fundamentals of Air Pollution (E 515)
  • Vector-based Geographic Information Systems (E 518)
  • Application of Geographic Information Systems (E 529)
  • Physical Climatology (GEOG-G 532)
  • Climate Change Impacts (GEOG-G 544)
  • Atmospheric Dynamics II: Synoptic to Global Scale (GEOL-G 534)
  • Instrumentation for Atmospheric Science (GEOL-G 547)
  • Atmospheric Dynamics I: Boundary-Layer Meteorology (GEOL-G 564)
  • Principles of Petroleum Geology (GEOL-G 571)
  • Climate Change (GEOG-G 576)
  • Organic Geochemistry (GEOL-G 587)

The above are examples of your course options. For a complete listing, see the official Indiana University Bulletin. You’ll work to select courses in consultation with your faculty advisor. After consulting with a faculty advisor, you also may enroll in elective courses offered by other IU departments, including geography and law.

See course descriptions in the Graduate Bulletin

Return to main energy and climate page