Program Overview
Atmosphere and Energy are strongly linked. Fossil-fuel energy use contributes to air pollution, climate change, and perturbations to the weather, and feedback from the atmosphere impacts renewable wind, solar, and hydroelectric energy sources. Because atmospheric problems can be mitigated best by increasing energy efficiency, developing new energy technologies, and shifting to less-polluting energy sources, and because it is important to study the atmospheric impacts of new energy technologies, the two areas, Atmosphere and Energy, are naturally coupled together.
Wind farm in Golden, Colorado. Photo by L. Herziger. Available from nrel.gov/data/pix/
Career Preparation
The Atmosphere/Energy (A/E) undergraduate major provides a curriculum that prepares undergraduates for a masters degree program of the same name as well as careers in industry, research, consulting, government, non-governmental organizations, and academia. The A/E degree is NOT an ABET-accredited degree. ABET accreditation is advantageous for entering certain specific design-oriented engineering fields, but our experience has been that the major job opportunities for students with an A/E degree do not require an accredited undergraduate degree.
A Flexible Curriculum
A/E students take classes in both Atmosphere and Energy as well as classes that integrate the two fields. The curriculum is flexible in that students interested more in Energy or more in Atmosphere can take most of their Engineering Depth classes in their area of choice. Similarly, students desiring to focus more on technology or more on science can select the appropriate Depth classes to suit their interests.
Students may also take courses in A/E to fulfill the requirements for a minor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
For detailed information about program requirements, visit the Atmosphere/Energy web site and review the Atmosphere/Energy section of the School of Engineering Undergraduate Handbook - Civil and Environmental Engineering Majors.