BS Atmosphere/Energy

Atmosphere/Energy Major

Undergraduates may pursue a major in Engineering with a subplan of Atmosphere/Energy.

The Atmosphere/Energy major combines atmospheric and energy sciences with engineering to prepare students to understand and mitigate atmospheric problems through optimal use of natural energy resources, energy efficiency, and energy technologies.

The Atmosphere/Energy program bridges a gap within the disciplines of civil and environmental engineering. Atmosphere and energy are strongly linked: fossil-fuel energy use contributes to air pollution, global warming, and weather modification; and changes in the atmosphere are fed back to affect renewable energy resources, including wind, solar, hydroelectric, and wave resources. The study of atmosphere and energy in this program prepares students to find the best ways to mitigate atmospheric problems, such as global warming and air pollution, by optimizing the use of natural energy resources, increasing the efficiency with which energy is used‚ and understanding the effects of energy technologies on the atmosphere.

Objectives and Outcomes

The objective of the A/E major is for students to:

● understand the complexities of large-scale air pollution and climate problems as well as clean, renewable, and efficient energy solutions to address the problems.

● gain skills and understanding of tools to create and assess new solutions that avoid exacerbating problems and avoid addressing one problem while exacerbating another.

The Curriculum

A/E students take classes in atmospheric sciences, energy sciences and engineering 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.

Careers

The Atmosphere/Energy undergraduate curriculum prepares undergraduates for careers in industry, research, consulting, government, non-governmental organizations, and academia. Through these careers students influence public policy, guide engineering design decisions, and support the implementation of equitable energy solutions. The A/E degree is not an ABET-accredited degree. ABET accreditation is advantageous for entering certain specific design-oriented engineering fields. Our experience has been that the major job opportunities for students with an A/E degree do not require an ABET-accredited undergraduate degree.

Graduate Study

Students with a degree in Atmosphere/Energy are well prepared for graduate studies in our A/E and other CEE coterm (MS) programs as well as in sustainability science and practice, and programs in public policy, business, and law.

Requirements for the major are listed below for convenience and are provided in the Handbook for Undergraduate Engineering Programs

Suggested Course Concentration and Sequences

Subject to the requirements outlined above, students have flexibility in selecting their depth electives and other courses to best suit their interests. On the following pages, two suggested programs are outlined, one with an emphasis on energy and the other on atmospheric studies. Either approach provides the necessary preparation for the master’s degree program in Atmosphere/Energy.

Instructions for Declaring Major in Engineering: Atmosphere/Energy (ENGR-BS)

  • Enter your major declaration for Atmosphere/Energy in Axess. Select ENGR-BS as your major and Atmosphere/Energy as your subplan.
  • Pick up your academic folder from your freshman/sophomore adviser and print out your unofficial Stanford transcript from Axess.
  • Download and complete your major Program Sheet, which you can obtain from the UGHB website. Be sure to fill in all courses that you have taken and those which you plan to take. You will have the opportunity to revise this later, so please fill in as many courses as you can.
  • Bring your academic folder, transcript and completed program sheet to the CEE Student Services office to Room 316 of the Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment & Energy (Y2E2) Building and request to have a CEE advisor assigned to you. You may request a specific advisor if you wish. Office hours are 10-12 and 2- 4, Mon-Fri.
  • Meet with the advisor and have him review and sign your program sheet.
  • Return your signed program sheet to the CEE Student Services Specialist, who will then approve your major declaration in Axess.
  • You are encouraged to meet with your advisor at least once a quarter to review your academic progress. Changes to your program sheet can be made by printing out a revised sheet, obtaining your A/E undergraduate adviser’s signature, and returning the approved sheet to the CEE Student Services Office. NOTE: It is very important to hand in to student services your up-to-date program sheet immediately after the add/drop deadline of the quarter you plan to graduate.
  • Procedures for requesting transfer credits and program deviations are described in detail in at the beginning of Chapter 4: “Policies and Procedures.” The relevant forms may be downloaded from http://ughb.stanford.edu under the “Petitions” link. If you are requesting transfer credits or program deviations, you should bring your completed petition form with your transcript to the CEE Student Services office. Attach your program sheet on file in CEE.
  • Check with the CEE Student Services Office to make sure that you are on the CEE undergraduate student email list for important announcements about department events and activities.

Note: The online version of the UGHB is considered the definitive and final version of SoE requirements for each major. 

Additional information