Energy Studies at UW
One of the advantages of studying energy at the University of Washington is the opportunity for interdisciplinary learning with courses offered in many departments. A well-rounded student should consider taking courses outside of their major or department in order to get a different angle on the same problem. The following is a non-exhaustive list of clean energy-related courses at UW. Check the current time schedule to see what is being offered.
All UW Energy Courses
| Dept/# | Name | Description | Credit hrs | Quarters |
| ARCH 526 | Topics in High Performance Buildings | Addresses key dimensions to the design of high performance buildings including: energy efficiency; health and comfort; structures and materials; economic performance; and renewable energy systems. Includes faculty-led discussions and presentations by experts I the field. Students explore and refine research topics in high performance buildings. | 3 | NA |
| ARCH 530 | Integrated Building Systems | Discusses strategies for ordering separate and discreet building systems into integrated architectural schemes. Focuses on systems that affect architectural expression and resolution in buildings including: structural, environmental control, materials, and assembly with an emphasis on sustainable building design. | 3 | AU |
| ARCH 533 | Advanced Environmental Systems | Focuses on computational simulation tools and techniques to evaluate the performance of a design or design alternatives, starting at earliest conceptual design phases to help architects make informed design decisions. Topics include solar, lighting, thermal, and acoustical analysis techniques and their applications. | 3 | W, SP |
| ATM S 458 | Air Pollution Chemistry | Global atmosphere as a chemical system emphasizing physical factors and chemical processes that give rise to elevated surface ozone, particulate matter, and air toxics; international issues of air pollution transport and changing tropospheric background composition; and regulatory control strategies and challenges. Aimed at science and engineering majors. | 4 | AU |
| ATM S 480 | Air-Quality Modeling | Evaluation of air-quality models relating air pollution emissions to environmental concentrations. Emphasis on models used for air pollution permits. Emphasizes current problems. | 3 | AU |
| ATM S 487 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | Examines Earth’s climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth’s climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. | 3 | AU |
| ATM S 587 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | Examines Earth’s climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth’s climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. | 3 | AU |
| ATM S 588 | The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate | Oceanic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes controlling atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Records of past changes in the earth’s carbon cycle from geological, oceanographic, and terrestrial archives. Anthropogenic perturbations to cycles. Develop simple box models, discuss results of complex models. | 3 | W |
| B A 541 | Environmental Management | Survey of environmental ethics, environmental laws and regulation, the economics of environmental decisions, and the relationship of business to public policy and the environment. Must be taken concurrently with B A 544. Prerequisite: permission of instructor. | 4 | NA |
| B A 542 | Environmental Management II | Applications of the functional areas of business to environmental concerns. Major federal legislation affecting these concerns applied to business problems in the areas of accounting, finance, marketing, management information systems, and organizational behavior. Must be taken concurrently with B A 544. Prerequisite: B A 541 or permission of instructor. | 4 | AU |
| B A 543 | Environmental Management III | Case studies that integrate the fundamentals of business and environmental management to address such issues as plant siting, regulatory compliance, production line changes, and innovative, proactive responses to environmental issues. Case studies include results of student consulting projects and a capstone case in environmental management. Must be taken concurrently with B A 544. Prerequisite: B A 542 or permission of instructor. | 4 | NA |
| B A 544 | Environmental Management Seminar | Guest lecturers from academia, business, government, and advocacy groups discuss environmental science, ethics, law, regulation, economics, finance, accounting, and policy issues. Seminar topics supplement course material in B A 541, B A 542, B A 543, which are to be taken concurrently. | 1-3 | NA |
| BIOEN 504 | Introduction to Technology Commercialization | Explores essential business, legal, engineering, and other skills necessary to take new technology from research to market. Covers intellectual property, market analysis, licensing, funding mechanisms such as venture capital, and product marketing. | 4 | AU |
| BIOEN 506 | Applying Technology Commercialization | Focuses knowledge of entrepreneurship within the spaces of medical devices, hardware/software, and energy, into a practical description of a potential start-up company. | 1 | NA |
| C ENV 500 | Communicating Science to the Public Effectively | Teaches emerging scientists how to effectively communicate their research to the public. Uses lessons and tools such as group discussion, feedback, and practice. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 420 | Engineering with Developing Communities | Introduces key technologies, theories, and challenges of infrastructure design for development. Covers technologies for energy, water, sanitation, and disaster response in low-resource contexts. Explores development theory and cross-cultural communication as they pertain to global infrastructure design. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 422 | Energy and Transportation | Introduces climate change; vehicles, energy requirements and pollution; transportation fuels; energy and power plant terminology; traditional fossil fuel, nuclear, and renewable energy plants; permitting power plants and projects. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 429 | Sustainability in Building Infrastructure | Provides an overview of how to plan, design, construct, and manage high performance building infrastructures. Topics include integrated project delivery, green building rating systems, green building design codes and energy standards, measurement and verification of building performance, and retrofitting existing building through building energy audit. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 480 | Air-Quality Modeling | Evaluation of air-quality models relating air pollution emissions to environmental concentrations. Emphasis on models used for air pollution permits. Emphasizes current problems. | 3 | AU |
| CEE 482 | Wastewater Reuse and Resource Recovery | Introduces wastewater treatment and systems, emphasizing fundamental biological, chemical, and physical processes related to protection of public health environmental quality and water reuse. Process analysis of the configuration and sizing of major types of treatment processes for various sizes of plants and effluent requirements. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 483 | Drinking Water Treatment | Studies scientific, engineering, and regulatory principles underlying drinking water treatment; development of conceptual models for how and why treatment processes work and mathematical models describing their performance under various design and operating scenarios; field trips to water treatment systems. | 3 | AU |
| CEE 490 | Air-Pollution Control | Fundamental concepts of air pollution Control including emission sources, atmospheric dispersion, ambient concentrations, and emission standards, with emphasis on processes and equipment for controlling emissions. | 4 | NA |
| CEE 490 | Air-Pollution Control | Fundamental concepts of air pollution Control including emission sources, atmospheric dispersion, ambient concentrations, and emission standards, with emphasis on processes and equipment for controlling emissions. | 4 | AU, Sp |
| CEE 495 | Sustainability and Design for Environment | Analysis and design of technology systems within the context of the environment, economy, and society. Applies the concepts of resource conservation, pollution prevention, life cycle assessment, and extended product responsibility. Examines the practice, opportunities, and role of engineering, management, and public policy. | 3 | NA |
| CEE 576 | Water Resources Planning | Engineering, social, and economic factors involved in water resource development and management; water policies, programs, and administration; use relationships and conflicts; considerations for regional water resource systems. | 3 | NA |
| CEP 470 | Tools for Sustainable Cities | Examines specific tools used for planning sustainable cities, including hands-on learning, speakers, case studies, and site tours to enrich students’ knowledge and experience. | 4 | NA |
| CESI 501 | Distributed Renewable Power Systems | Electrical distributed renewable generation. The depth of coverage is suitable for civil engineers and their role as project managers. Topics covered include: (1) microgrids, (2) renewable generation fundamentals, (3) utility economics, and (4) energy planning and simulation. | 3 | SP |
| CESI 502 | Geomatics in Energy Infrastructure | Overview of basic techniques for location measurements in energy construction projects using traditional surveying techniques, recently developed technologies for surface creation, and data management and analysis using GIS. | 3 | AU |
| CESI 503 | Operation of a Power Plant | Explores power plant operations. Topics include plant operating principles, regulatory permitting, maintenance requirements, and plant design and upgrades. | 3 | SP |
| CESI 504 | Buildings, LEED, and Energy Use | Overview on how to plan, design, construct and manage high performance building infrastuctures. Topics include integrated project delivery, green building rating systems, building energy modeling, indoor environmental qualities, and green building economics. | 3 | SU |
| CESI 505 | Air Pollution Control and Occupational Safety and Health | Overview on the fundamental air pollution issues involved in construction and operation of energy facilities and the management of large vehicle fleets. Topics include emission estimation, control technology assessment, ambient air impacts, and technology specific issues of worker safety and health. | 3 | W |
| CESI 506 | Management of Site Remediation, Hazardous Waste, and On-Site Treatment | Covers the project management practices to ensure protection of human health and the environment when handling sites contaminated with hazardous waste generated by traditional and renewable energy sources. It includes identification of hazards, communication of risks and introduces alternatives for hazardous waste clean-up. | 3 | SP |
| CESI 508 | Accounting and Finance for Construction | Introduction to construction oriented financial management. Explains why construction financial management is different than financial management in other industries. Describes how to account for a company’s financial resources and how to build a company’s accounting system. | 3 | W |
| CESI 510 | Electric Grids | Overview of utility design, operation and construction including an electrical grid’s system components and functions. This includes generation, transmission, sub-transmission and distribution. These grid components will be explained as to how they are operated by a utility. | 1 | AU |
| CESI 511 | Grid Integration of Variable Sources of Generation | Overview of the advantages and challenges associated with the integration of variable sources of generation into the electric grid and distribution systems. It will focus on weather-driven renewables such as wind, solar, and hydropower. | 1 | W |
| CESI 520 | Electricity Fundamentals | Refresher for engineers as to the basics associated with electricity as it relates to power production and distribution. | 1 | AU |
| CESI 525 | Wind Turbine Analysis | Introduces wind turbine assessments and includes hardware and software for performing such assessments. These include load testing, power performance and blade and tower bending. Prerequisite: Graduate enrollment Credit/no-credit only. | 1 | SU |
| CESI 527 | Energy Infrastructure Fundamentals | This course will cover an overview of energy infrastructure fundamentals and focuses on basic principles associated with power plant steam and combined cycles, heat transfer and economics. This results in an overview of a selection of power plant operating principles and costs. | 1 | NA |
| CESI 552 | Environmental Regulations | Principal emphasis on regulations pertaining to construction site stormwater runoff, including regulatory background and requirements, how to analyze potential site problems and prepare plans to solve them, and specifying practices to avoid or reduce water pollutant releases. Briefer coverage of regulations concerning air pollutions, wetlands, hazardous wastes, and endangered species. | 3 | NA |
| CESI 588 | Energy Infrastructure and the Environment | Focuses on energy infrastructure, including site selection, permitting, design, construction, and maintenance. Includes electrical production facilities as well as transmission, focusing on permitting and construction of renewable energy facilities. Covers renewable energy infrastructure, emphasizing wind, solar, and geothermal. | 3 | AU |
| CET 564 | Sustainable Transportation from a Systems Perspective | Covers tools to evaluate and develop sustainable transportation systems. Emphasizes design approaches that support sustainable transportation, methods to evaluate the full life cycle impacts of transportation systems, and tools to assess transportation networks as resilient systems. | 5 | AU |
| CET 565 | Climate Change and Energy | Covers the nature of global climate systems, global warming, ozone depletion, and human influences. Introduces tools to evaluate current and alternative energy production and conversion options for transportation. Explores the nexus between transportation and energy in the context of climate change adaptation and mitigation. | 5 | W |
| CET 566 | Environmental Analysis and Assessment | Reviews statistical methods necessary to analyze environmental issues. Uses environmental data to demonstrate how significant impacts are measured and reported. Discusses transportation data sources, sustainable transportation indicators, and related statistical analysis. Includes travel demand forecasting and a review of engineering economy. | 5 | SP |
| CET 567 | Health and Sustainable Transportation | Examines how transportation policy is driven by human health impacts. Highlights water and air impacts on health along with the health benefit of human powered transportation. Presents legal and regulatory issues. Case studies provide examples of application of these principles to real world transportation issues. | 5 | AU |
| CET 568 | Transportation Economics | Economics applied to transportation planning, operations, maintenance, and management problems; microeconomic and macroeconomic theories; benefit-cost analysis; and the effect of uncertainty. Presents the effect of tolls, parking pricing, transit subsides, and other pricing and incentive policies. | 5 | W |
| CET 569 | Policy Development, Finance, and Sustainable Transportation | Covers the development and implementation of transportation policies to support sustainable transportation systems. Reviews regulations and finance opportunities at the local, state, and federal level highlighting those that promote sustainable transportation. | 5 | SP |
| CET 583 | Transportation Energy and Sustainability | Addresses technical and policy options for making transportation more sustainable, considering economic, environmental, and equity impacts. Topics include transportation demand management; vehicle technologies; alternative fuels; dynamics of technology change; and roles of state, federal, and international policy. Prepares students to think broadly, analyze systematically, and communicate effectively in this area. | 3 | SP |
| CEWA 560 | Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Hazards | Examines context, methodologies, data, uncertainties, and institutional arrangements for risk assessment. Qualitative and quantitative approaches to identification, characterization, and control of environmental hazards to health emphasized through didactic and case studies. | 4 | AU |
| CHEM 466 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| CHEM 566 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| CHEM E 440 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| CHEM E 442 | Renewable Energy | Introduction to renewable energy. Principles and practices: solar, wind, water, and biomass energy conversion. | 4 | W |
| CHEM E 445 | Fuel Cell Engineering | Introduction to electrochemical fuel cells for use in transportation and stationary power applications. Topics covered include types of fuel cells, single cell operation, stack engineering, overall system design, and safety, with emphasis on proton exchange membrane and solid oxide fuel cells | 3 | NA |
| CHEM E 540 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| CHEM E 599 | Battery Systems Engineering | 3 | ||
| CS&S 501 | Advanced Political Research Design and Analysis | Testing theories with empirical evidence. Examines current topics in research methods and statistical analysis in political science. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and with interests of instructor. | 5 | NA |
| E E 451 | Wind Energy | Covers the operation and modeling of wind energy, wind statistics, wind generators and converters, wind energy systems, challenges to wind energy development, impacts of wind energy on the power grid, and existing and potential solutions to wind energy integration. | 4 | SP |
| E E 452 | Power Electronics Design | Electronic conversion and control of electrical power. Includes semiconductor switching devices, power converter circuits, design of magnetics, and control of power converters. Also ac/ac, ac/dc, and dc/dc power converters; circuit simulation; extensive laboratory work; a four-week power converter design project. | 5 | AU |
| E E 457 | Electric Energy Distribution Systems | Introduction to electric utility distribution systems. Primary and secondary network analysis and design, distribution substation problems, distribution transformers, capacitor application, overcurrent and overvoltage protection. System planning and reliability. | 4 | W |
| E E 551 | Wind Energy | Covers the operation and modeling of wind energy, wind statistics, wind generators and converters, wind energy systems, challenges to wind energy development, impacts of wind energy on the power grid, and existing and potential solutions to wind energy integration. | 4 | NA |
| E E 553 | Power System Economics | Economic structure of power systems. Problem formulation, optimization methods and programming for economic analysis of power system operation and planning. Economic dispatch, load forecasting, unit commitment, interchange, planning and reliability analysis. Provides background to pursue advanced work in planning and operation. | 4 | AU |
| E E 554 | Large Electric Energy Systems Analysis | Deals with problems whose solution depends upon the inversion of sparse matrices that occur in the planning and operational studies of large interconnected energy systems. Application studies include system model development, state estimation, and load flow. | 4 | NA |
| E E 556 | Large Electric Energy Systems Analysis | Discusses the models of the various components of an electricity grid and how they are combined into a set of equations that can be used to analyze the grid under normal, steady state conditions, as well as to calculate fault currents and assess its transient stability. | 4 | NA |
| E E 558 | Substation and Distribution Automation | Examines how smart grid technologies affect substation and distribution operations and how history, customer expectations, and state and federal policies have shaped the existing infrastructure. Studies the capabilities of various emerging technologies to assess how they are able to solve existing issues. | 4 | NA |
| ENGR 401 | Leadership Development to Promote Equity in Engineering Relationships | Engages engineering students’ energy, creativity, social conscience, and on-the-ground perspectives in advancing diversity and inclusion in engineering. Students explore topics such as diversity in science and engineering, impact of unconscious bias, the role of allies, community engagement, and leadership in supporting all current and potential engineers. | 3 | NA |
| ENTRE 443 | Environmental Innovation Practicum | Focuses on developing innovative solutions to real-world environmental problems and creating new business opportunities. Speakers include experts from the clean-tech community, environmental start-ups, the public sector, as well as corporate environmental strategists. Themes include water, energy, green building, and transportation. Includes the opportunity to participate in the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. | 2 | AU |
| ENTRE 531 | Developing Business Models for Emerging Technologies Technologies | Focuses on the commercialization of emerging technologies. Topics include conducting feasibility assessments of intellectual property landscape, evaluating business opportunities, analyzing competition, developing business models and strategies, constructing a professional quality business plan, and presenting business plan, transforming a new technology into a market-ready technology-based business. Offered: W. | 4 | W |
| ENTRE 541 | Technology Commercialization Practicum | Provides the experience of researching and creating a commercialization plan for a promising technology. Designed to apply the skills and perspectives of students in cross-disciplinary teams so they learn how to work effectively with peers in assessing complex and potentially ambiguous situations. Offered: S. | 4 | SU |
| ENTRE 543 | Environmental Innovation Practicum | Focuses on developing innovation solutions to real-world environmental problems and creating new business opportunities. Speakers include experts from the clean-tech community, environmental start-ups, the public sector, as well as corporate environmental strategists. Themes include water, energy, green building, and transportation. Students have the opportunity to participate in the UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. Offered: A. | 2 | AU |
| ENTRE 582 | Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship | Explores issues of how a knowledge-based economy competes and performs using technological innovations and entrepreneurship. Explores research on capabilities of broader entities; processes of learning at the firm, industry, technology, economy-level; development of know-how as evolutionary process; and explorations by firms, sectors and economies exploring new technologies and techniques. Offered: W. | 4 | W |
| ENV H 440 | Water, Wastewater, and Health | Review of water supply, water quality, and water/wastewater treatment as they relate to human health. Includes water law and regulations, source water protection, basic treatment technologies for water and waste, chemical and microbial contaminants, and recreational water. | 3 | AU |
| ENV H 446 | Hazardous Waste And Public Health | Characterization of hazardous wastes and introduction to pertinent federal and state regulations. Discussion of exposure pathways and description of management options at pre-generation, pre-release, and post-release stages. Emphasis on public health significance. Supplemented with case studies. | 3 | W |
| ENV H 448 | Community Air Pollution | Offers a comprehensive overview of community air pollution including: air pollution sources, chemistry, and meteorology; human health and environmental effects; global warming; air quality standards, monitoring, control, and management; indoor air; and local air quality management. | 3 | SP |
| ENV H 461 | Air-Pollution Control | Fundamental concepts of air pollution Control including emission sources, atmospheric dispersion, ambient concentrations, and emission standards, with emphasis on processes and equipment for controlling emissions. | 4 | AU, SP |
| ENV H 472 | Environmental Risk and Society | Examines scientific determinations of environmental risks and explores how such determinations are evaluated by affected communities and society. Employs risk analysis to integrate technical knowledge in hazard identification and exposure assessment to provide a more rational basis for environmental policies. Role of public participation in risk-based decision making discussed. | 3 | AU |
| ENV H 473 | Environmental Health Policy and Practice | Explores how environmental health problems are controlled in the United States. Examines both the policies and practices of environmental health. Looks at how various government programs are established, organized, and operated to prevent or control hazards in the community. Also examines the legal and regulatory framework. | 4 | AU |
| ENV H 518 | Understanding and Managing the Health Risks of Climate Change | The health risks of climate change are multiple and range across the public health space. Addresses current and projected health risks of climate change and the policies and measures to manage these risks as the climate continues to change. | 3 | W |
| ENV H 545 | Water, Wastewater, and Health | Review of water supply, water quality, and water/wastewater treatment as they relate to human health. Includes water law and regulations, source water protection, basic treatment technologies for water and waste, chemical and microbial contaminants, and recreational water. | 4 | AU |
| ENV H 548 | Community Air Pollution | Offers a comprehensive overview of community air pollution including: air pollution sources, chemistry, and meteorology; human health and environmental effects; global warming; air quality standards, monitoring, control, and management; indoor air; and local air quality management. Prerequisite: SPH graduate student or permission. | 3 | SP |
| ENV H 552 | Environmental Chemistry of Pollution | Chemical and physical processes determining distribution and fate of chemical hazards, detection of low levels of hazardous compounds, and environmental evaluation and prediction. Fundamental chemical concepts and measurable properties of individual compounds to interpret and relate measurements. Prerequisite: admission to graduate program or permission of instructor. | 4 | W |
| ENV H 572 | Environmental Risk And Society | Examines environmental health risk assessments and explores how such assessments are viewed by affected communities. Reviews scientific risk assessment methods, risk perception, risk communication, and public participation processes. Examines the influence of advocacy and special-interest publications on risk assessment debates. | 3 | AU |
| ENV H 577 | Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Hazards | Examines context, methodologies, data, uncertainties, and institutional arrangements for risk assessment. Qualitative and quantitative approaches to identification, characterization, and control of environmental hazards to health emphasized through didactic and case studies. | 4 | AU |
| ENV H 584 | Occupational and Environmental Health: Policy and Politics | Provides an understanding of the policy process and policy issues in occupational and environmental health and safety, including exploring the relationships between science, values, and politics in the process of setting public policy. | 3 | SP |
| ENVIR 415 | Sustainability and Design for Environment | Analysis and design of technology systems within the context of the environment, economy, and society. Applies the concepts of resource conservation, pollution prevention, life cycle assessment, and extended product responsibility. Examines the practice, opportunities, and role of engineering, management, and public policy. | 3 | NA |
| ENVIR 416 | Ethics and Climate Change | Critical examination of the ethical issues surrounding climate change. | 5 | AU |
| ENVIR 417 | Ethics and Climate Change | Critical examination of issues in environmental philosophy. | 5 | NA |
| ENVIR 460 | Power, Privilege, and Preservation | Critically examines strategies of resource managers to integrate local communities and cultures in protected areas management. Explores issues of power, privilege, and injustice and their impacts on individuals, society, and resource management decisions. Examines the potential for more socially just and ecologically sustainable approaches to protected areas management. | 5 | AU |
| ESRM 423 | International Trade, Marketing, and the Environment | Introduction to international trade, marketing, and environmental business. Concepts include plan writing, exporting and importing, carbon credits, green marketing, and how global exchange rates affect environmental assets such as forests. | 3 | NA |
| ESRM 460 | Power, Privilege, and Preservation | Critically examines strategies of resource managers to integrate local communities and cultures in protected areas management. Explores issues of power, privilege, and injustice and their impacts on individuals, society, and resource management decisions. Examines the potential for more socially just and ecologically sustainable approaches to protected areas management. | 5 | AU |
| ESRM 470 | Natural Resource Policy and Planning | Introduction to and analysis of environmental policy-making processes, with a focus on forest and land policy and law. Use of policy models to examine the interaction of agencies, interest groups, Congress, and the courts in the legislative process. Policy implementation, evaluation, and change are also addressed. | 5 | AU |
| ESS 587 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | Examines Earth’s climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth’s climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. | 3 | AU |
| ESS 588 | The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate | Oceanic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes controlling atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Records of past changes in the earth’s carbon cycle from geological, oceanographic, and terrestrial archives. Anthropogenic perturbations to cycles. Develop simple box models, discuss results of complex models. | 3 | W |
| G H 518 | Understanding and Managing the Health Risks of Climate Change | The health risks of climate change are multiple and range across the public health space. Addresses current and projected health risks of climate change and the policies and measures to manage these risks as the climate continues to change. | 3 | W |
| I BUS 561 | Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies in East Asia | Role of state and technological change in economic development. Analyzes state and corporate policies historically. Technology concepts, institutions, and policies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Examines sources of Asia’s rise in world of technology and explores conditions for its successful continuation. | 5 | NA |
| INTSCI 402 | Nature of Science | Case study examination of scientific methods and elements of scientific practice including observation, data, statistics, interpretations, hypothesis, theory, and law. Asks how does science change; how does data support theories; and how are theories verified, falsified, or modified? | 5 | NA |
| INTSCI 403 | Science in Context | Case study examination of how science operates within broad social, political, and ethical contexts. Considers the growth of multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research, societal impacts, ethical responsibilities, censorship, complex mechanisms of funding, and the power inherent in claims to knowledge. | 5 | NA |
| INTSCI 493 | Communicating Research | Preparation of oral and written presentations of research, under guidance of the capstone instructor. Presentation on research in class and in another venue, such as a scientific meeting or an on-campus symposium. | 3 | AU, W, SP |
| JSIS 535 | Technology, Society, and the Future | Provides understanding of how technology is changing society. Enables students to articulate the risks and opportunities associated with rapid technological change. Students formulate and evaluate the motivations, agendas, and stakeholders shaping technological change, including corporations, civil liberties groups, advocacy groups, NGOs, donors, and government leaders. | 2 | SU |
| JSIS A 476 | Energy Security in East Asia | Explores the current state of energy security in East Asia, defined in terms of demand, suppy, resources, and geopolitics, and how it impacts global energy-related issues, including climate change. | 5 | NA |
| JSIS A 581 | Science, Technology, and Innovation Policies in East Asia | Role of state and technological change in economic development. Analyzes state and corporate policies historically. Technology concepts, institutions, and policies in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China. Examines sources of Asia’s rise in world of technology and explores conditions for its successful continuation. | 5 | NA |
| JSIS B 424 | The Politics of International Nuclear Security: Weapons, Energy and Environment | Nation state choices and military alliance choices in Eurasia on nuclear weapons arsenals, nuclear energy, arms control treaties plus survey of global and regional Eurasian non-proliferation regimes. Eurasian military-political conflicts; Cold War nuclear arms race; Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; Nuclear Weapons Free Zones. Comparisons of fissile and fossil fuels, climate change, economic development, energy security, and terrorist threats. | 5 | NA |
| JSIS B 455 | International Environmental Policy | Examines the economics of international environmental policy from both a theoretical and empirical perspective. Focus is on environmental policy in China, the U.S. and Europe and on the challenges combining economic growth and development with environmental stewardship and responsible resource use. | 5 | NA |
| JSIS B 527 | Weapons of Mass Destruction: Development, Deployment, and Detection | Practical understanding of the development of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons plus missile delivery systems. Proliferation detection technology and its limitations. Case studies of past and current arms control agreements and non-proliferation programs. | 5 | NA |
| JSIS B 529 | Nuclear Nonproliferation and International Safeguards | Examines the technologies of nuclear energy, the institutions that have been deployed to address the security threats related to peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and the issues and challenges confronting those institutions today. | 5 | AU |
| JSIS B 557 | The Geopolitics of Energy | Introduction to energy studies focusing on geopolitics. Topics include global energy resources, trends, and technologies; energy supply, demand, and consumption; economic issues; the changing role of OPEC; concepts of energy sustainability; energy and climate change. | 5 | NA |
| M E 426 | Renewable Energy II | Explores renewable energy principles and practices of energy conversion, focusing on energy conversion from wind and water. | 3 | SP |
| M E 430 | Advanced Energy Conversion Systems | Advanced and renewable energy conversion systems and technologies are treated. Included are high efficiency combined cycles; renewable energy conversion involving solar, wind, and biomass; direct energy conversion and fuel cells; and nuclear energy. Environmental consequences of energy conversion and environmental control are discussed. | 4 | AU |
| M E 523 | Energy and Environment Seminar | Student discussions of topics in combustion science and technology, alternative fuels, renewable energy, environmental consequences of energy conversion, and design for environment. Also, presentations by outside experts. May be repeated for credit. | 1 | AU, W, SP |
| M E 539 | Renewable Energy I | Renewable energy, principles and practices of energy conversion, with focus on solar energy and bio-energy. | 4 | W |
| M E 540 | Renewable Energy II | Explores renewable energy principles and practices of energy conversion, focusing on energy conversion from wind and water. | 3 | SP |
| M E 415 | Sustainability and Design for Environment | Analysis and design of technology systems within the context of the environment, economy, and society. Applies the concepts of resource conservation, pollution prevention, life cycle assessment, and extended product responsibility. Examines the practice, opportunities, and role of engineering, management, and public policy. | 3 | NA |
| M E 442 | Renewable Energy | Introduction to renewable energy. Principles and practices: solar, wind, water, and biomass energy conversion. | 4 | NA |
| MSE 466 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| MSE 566 | Energy Materials, Devices, and Systems | Provides project based training for synthesis & characterization of new energy materials, for generation and storage, and the integration of renewables into energy systems using instruments at the Clean Energy Research Training Testbed. Topics include nanoparticle synthesis, solar cells, impedance analysis, characterization with solar simulator, coin cell battery assembly & testing, photochemistry, semiconductor w/ 2D materials, grid simulation | 3 | AU |
| MSE 599 | Energy Harvesting | 3 | ||
| MSIS 545 | Technology Entrepreneurship | Examines the issues involved in creating an organizational environment that recognizes, nurtures, and grows technology-related entrepreneurial activities, the practice of selecting and monitoring ventures, and the capital process within a firm. Offered: WSp. | 2 | W, SP |
| OCEAN 587 | Fundamentals of Climate Change | Examines Earth’s climate system; distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind ice, salinity, and ocean currents; fundamental processes determining Earth’s climate; energy and constituent transport mechanisms; climate sensitivity; natural climate variability on interannual to decadal time scales; global climate models; predicting future climate. | 3 | AU |
| OCEAN 588 | The Global Carbon Cycle and Climate | Oceanic and terrestrial biogeochemical processes controlling atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases. Records of past changes in the earth’s carbon cycle from geological, oceanographic, and terrestrial archives. Anthropogenic perturbations to cycles. Develop simple box models, discuss results of complex models. | 3 | W |
| PHIL 407 | International Justice | Examines issues through investigation of the moral foundations of international politics. Issues include: What moral duties constrain the relationships between states? Is international poverty a matter of moral concern? Are we justified in preferring the interest of our fellow nations? | 5 | NA |
| PHIL 416 | Ethics and Climate Change | Critical examination of the ethical issues surrounding climate change. | 5 | AU |
| PHIL 417 | Ethics and Climate Change | Critical examination of issues in environmental philosophy. | 5 | NA |
| PHIL 460 | Philosophy of Science | Critical study of the nature of scientific knowledge. Topics include the relation of theory to observation, the use of mathematics, how theories change, the requirements for the meaningfulness of a theory, and nature of confirmation | 5 | SU |
| PHIL 482 | Philosophy of Physical Science | Study of philosophical issues raised by theories in physics or chemistry, such as whether space (time) is a substance, how causation and locality are treated in quantum mechanics, temporal anistropy and time travel, the nature of a field of force, the reduction of chemistry to physics. | 5-10 | |
| POL S 501 | Advanced Political Research Design and Analysis | Testing theories with empirical evidence. Examines current topics in research methods and statistical analysis in political science. Content varies according to recent developments in the field and with interests of instructor. | 5 | NA |
| PUBPOL 547 | Water Resource Economics | Explores the economics of water resources, including static and dynamic efficiency for consumers and producers and other topics concerned with water quality. Explores effects of climate change on water resources, and economic approaches to mitigate these effects. | 4 | NA |
| PUBPOL 582 | Communicating Climate Change | Surveys climate change communications and their role in achieving climate change policy goals. Assesses the ethics and science of climate change communication. Explores theories and frameworks to evaluate and improve climate change communications. Examines the role of climate change communication as a policy tool. | 4 | NA |
| PUBPOL 583 | Science, Technology, and Public Policy | Examines the relationship between the advancement of technical knowledge, the pace of technological change, and public policies designed to induce or respond to these development. Issues of policy formulation, administrative design, and future trends; applications include biotechnology, energy, information technology, global warming, robotics, national security, homeland security, and space exploration. | 4 | SU |
| PUBPOL 585 | Topics in Science, Technology, and Public Policy | Examines relationship between advancement of technical knowledge and pace of technological change, and public policies to induce or respond to these trends. Generic issues of government research, development, and personnel training programs are addressed. Applications of policy issues involving biomedical, communications, energy, environmental, transportation, and weapons technologies. | 3-5 | NA |
| PUBPOL 589 | Risk Assessment for Environmental Health Hazards | Examines context, methodologies, data, uncertainties, and institutional arrangements for risk assessment. Qualitative and quantitative approaches to identification, characterization, and control of environmental hazards to health emphasized through didactic and case studies. | 4 | AU |
| PUBPOL 590 | Environmental Policy Processes | Presents background to establish the need for environmental policy. Explores in a comparative manner, examining both successes and failures, various strategies that have been used or proposed to protect the environment. Explores different policy tools for environmental protection, including command-and-control regulation, market-based incentives, third-party certifications, and collaborative partnerships. | 4 | NA |
| PUBPOL 593 | Climate Change and Energy Policy | Energy policy formulation and implementation with emphasis on post-1973 developments. Energy conservation programs; changing roles of oil, coal, gas, nuclear, and solar energy; institutional, environmental, and equity considerations; government research and development programs. | 4 | NA |
| PUBPOL 594 | Economic Approaches to Environmental Management | Examines the economic tools relevant to natural resource and environmental management. Tools are developed in the context of a series of resource problems, with an eye towards building intuition useful for addressing complex policy problems that do not fit neatly into textbook examples. | 4 | AU |
| PUBPOL 595 | Topics in Environmental Policy and Management | Examines various topics of public importance in environmental policy and management. Integrates the political, managerial, and economic dimensions of these issues. | 3-5 | NA |
| PUBPOL 596 | Environmental Risks and Values | Explores a range of sources of risk to human health and the environment, and the values that color communication, perception, and decision making about risk. This topic lies at the core of an ongoing conversation between communities, governments, scientists, the media, and others. Topics include energy, climate, water supply, emerging technology, and environmental justice. | 4 | NA |
| PUBPOL 597 | Environmental Decision Analysis | Examines how science contributes to decisions that involve the natural environment; how science and scientists help frame debates and decisions; how scientific findings are incorporated into decision-making processes; how scientists and non-scientists deal with uncertainty about scientific questions. | 4 | NA |
| SEFS 523 | Environmental Applications of Plants: Bioenergy and Bioremediation | Covers phytoremediation (removing pollutants using plants), biofuel production, and carbon sequestration. Focuses on the biology rather than the chemistry. Emphasizes the latest research on how current practices in these areas are being improved. | 5 | AU |
| SEFS 571 | Resource Policy and Administration | Study based on understanding of the actors, arenas, issues, and policy communities that form the context for policy development and implementation. Exploration of approaches to policy inquiry. Consideration of implications for both policy and management. Students develop a study design for course project. | 4 | NA |
| STSS 591 | Science, Technology, and Social Studies in Action | Provides an advanced introduction to science, technology, and society studies. Includes topics of active research interest in history and philosophy of science; social studies of science; science and technology policy; and ethics and equity issues. | 2 | AU |
| STSS 602 | Science, Technology, and Society Studies Capstone | Students develop, document, and present their STSS portfolio projects under supervision of their STSS advisor. | 2 | AU |
| URBDP 450 | Introduction to Land Use, Growth Management, and Environmental Planning | Provides an understanding of contemporary land use issues (including sprawl, smart growth, new urbanism, transit-oriented development, and Washington’s Growth Management Act) and examines their environmental impact and social welfare implications. Analyzes best-practice techniques of growth management. | 3 | AU |
| URBDP 457 | Housing in Developing Countries | Emphasis on role of the design and planning professional in housing delivery in developing countries. Exploration of issues of culture, political environment, social context, economic circumstances, and other factors which define and limit the manner in which the professional planner and designer can and should function. | 3 | NA |
| URBDP 502 | Tools for Sustainable Cities | Examines specific tools used for planning sustainable cities, including hands-on learning, speakers, case studies, and site tours to enrich students’ knowledge and experience. | 4 | NA |