John and Willie Leone Family Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering | Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

The Energy Engineering program focuses on explaining how energy is produced, stored, distributed, and used — from conventional fossil fuels to renewable and sustainable sources. The major focuses on the fundamental engineering principles of material and energy balances, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer operations, and physical and chemical processing as applied to energy industries.

Careers

The program prepares students to be successful leaders in advancing the technology and management of energy; innovators and entrepreneurs in the energy sector; and educators, practicing engineers, and national leaders in the energy and associated environmental health and safety, policy and economic fields.

Where Energy Engineering Graduates Find Jobs

Energy sector
Engineering firms

ABET Accreditation

The Bachelor of Science in Energy Engineering at University Park is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria with no applicable program criteria.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Option to earn your B.S. and M.S. in 5 years

Integrated B.S./M.S. Degree Program: The integrated undergraduate-graduate (IUG) program enables academically superior and research-focused undergraduate students to also obtain an M.S. degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering in five years of study.

Learn how to address society's energy challenges by drawing on business, economics, and technical knowledge of energy systems in the Energy Business and Finance program. The program integrates the study of energy economics within an engineering department, emphasizing risk analysis and decision making related to energy systems and environmental issues.

Options within the Major

You will choose from one of two options:

General Option
The General Option provides you with broad training in business and economics as relevant to energy production, consumption, and delivery. Students are expected to supplement this training with an approved minor, concurrent major, or term abroad experience, depending on your personal and career interests.The General Option also positions you very well for graduate study in a number of areas, including economics, finance, law and public policy.
Energy Land Management Option
The Penn State Energy and Land Management option is the first academic program of its kind in the northeast region of the United States to be accredited by the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL). This option focuses on issues in the acquisition of sub-surface exploration rights and will help you gain crucial knowledge in the fields of business and economics, information management, energy and science, as well as public policy and law.

Careers

The major helps students prepare for careers in the energy and resource industries, financial institutions, non-profit groups, and international organizations dealing with energy and environmental issues, as well as both law and business school. Our alumni now work in a variety of energy and consulting companies, as well as financial trading houses and federal agencies.

Where Energy Engineering Graduates Find Jobs

Energy and consulting companies
Fnancial trading houses
Federal agencies

Student Clubs and Organizations

Option to earn your B.S. and M.S. in 5 years

The Integrated B.S./M.S. Degree Program enables academically superior and research-focused undergraduate students to also obtain an M.S. degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering in five years of study.

Through the energy business and finance minor, you can get an overview of the financial, investment, and management concepts applied to private sector organizations that emphasize the Earth and its environment, the energy and mineral industries, or the development of new and enhanced materials. The minor focuses on the leadership and information strategies characteristic of enterprises that are succeeding in a rapidly integrating global economy.

The minor provides science and engineering students an introduction to basic entrepreneurial and business concepts to help prepare them for success in a changing professional environment. It also provides other Penn State students an opportunity to focus on business strategies in the Earth resources, environmental, and materials industries.

Offered online or through resident instruction

This minor is available to students studying via Penn State World Campus or at a physical Penn State campus.

Develop a broad understanding of oil and gas engineering design as they relate to energy demands, economic stability, national security, and further exploration in the Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program. You will apply key science and engineering principles to address the challenges faced by the petroleum and natural gas industry today.

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Careers

Graduates of this program find rewarding careers across the globe as engineers for governmental and regulatory bodies, oil and gas producing companies, and other independent and service companies in the energy sector.

Where Our Graduates Find Jobs

Oil and gas production companies
Engineering sales
Service companies
Government agencies

ABET Accreditation

The Bachelor of Science in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering at University Park is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Petroleum and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Facts and rankings

Earn B.S. and M.S. in 5 years through Integrated B.S./M.S. Degree Program
#1 in North America for B.S. graduates in 2023
#3 graduate petroleum engineering program in the U.S. based on 2024 U.S. News and World Report
#5 petroleum engineering program in the U.S. based on 2024 QS World Ranking
100% job placement of B.S. graduates in 2023
$100.6K median starting salary based on 2020 U.S. News and World Report

Student Clubs and Organizations

Option to earn your B.S. and M.S. in 5 years

The Integrated B.S./M.S. Degree Program enables academically superior and research-focused undergraduate students to also obtain an M.S. degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering in five years of study.

The Energy and Mineral Engineering (EME) program is a single graduate program with a focus on the production of energy and minerals in an economic, safe and efficient manner. The program provides flexible education of students in energy and mineral sciences and engineering, with focus on both non-renewable and renewable resource and energy industries. The program is designed to resolve the sometimes competing goals of flexible education of requisite breadth while still providing in-depth study; students are required to follow a focused curriculum that combines the requisite rigor with flexibility in a rapidly changing field of endeavor. Participating students take core program and required option courses and additional courses from a broad array of courses to meet the total credit requirements.

A graduate degree in energy and mineral engineering can provide you the fundamental knowledge and skills to enable you to creating safe, sustainable, and efficient solutions for using energy and minerals is a challenge in today's rapidly evolving energy and minerals industries. The program can prepare you for a career in academia or industry.

Program Options

Both the M.S. and Ph.D. in energy and mineral engineering can be specialized by pursuing options in:

Energy Systems Engineering
Fuel Science
Mining and Mineral Process Engineering
Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Where Our Graduates Find Jobs

Energy companies
Universities
Research labs
Mining companies

If you want to know more about the future of energy and the policies that influence the development of sustainable energy, consider enrolling in the online Bachelor of Arts degree in Energy and Sustainability Policy (ESP). In this program, you can gain the knowledge and skills you need to gather, analyze, synthesize, and communicate diverse information about emerging global trends in energy policy, technologies, and economics.

The ESP program at Penn State is one of the few online programs in the country that focuses specifically on policy within the realm of energy and sustainability. Our program is all-inclusive, covering all forms of energy with policy serving as the program's nexus. In addition to instilling a strong sustainability ethic, we integrate an international perspective into the program, so you can gain knowledge of international, social, cultural, and political dimensions of energy and sustainability considerations on a global scale.

Two Degree Programs

Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)

With a Bachelor of Arts degree in ESP you can gain the knowledge and skills to research, analyze, and communicate diverse information about emerging global trends in energy policy, technologies, and economics. In the B.A. program, the focus is expanded to allow students to select a foreign language and take supporting coursework in global culture and humanities.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

The Bachelor of Science degree in ESP can prepare you for careers in the rapidly evolving energy and sustainability policy sector, especially where strong science, business, and analytical skills are required. In the B.S. program, students select additional coursework in areas closely related to the major.

Careers

The program can prepare you for success in energy careers related to policy analysis, sales and account management, permitting and compliance, and public relations in energy-related organizations - including government agencies and nongovernmental organizations, public utilities, regulatory bodies, energy trade organizations, and businesses.

Where Our Graduates Find Jobs

Commercial firms
Government agencies
Energy trade groups
Government agencies

The minor in Mining Engineering, designed for students majoring in a technical major such as science or engineering, offers a specialized program for students. The demand for professionals with the training and skills for a career in the minerals- and energy-recovery profession far exceeds the supply. Mineral exploration and evaluation, mine development, marketing, health and safety, environmental protection, and mine management are all areas of industry employment.

Unearth your potential in the mining engineering program, and join an industry that provides so many of the materials that are essential to our daily life. Our program is designed to teach the fundamentals behind how to engineer solutions that help companies extract materials used in numerous industries. More than 14,000 mines in the United States extract more than 75 different commodities. Challenge yourself with improving the integration of geological, chemical, civil, mechanical, electrical, and industrial engineering with business and management as these industries extract and refine the Earth’s minerals.

Careers

Graduates of our program are prepared for careers both domestically and abroad in mining equipment design, applications, or marketing; state or federal agencies involved with inspection and enforcement of mining regulations; and large financial, planning, and engineering firms.

Where Mining Engineering Graduates Find Jobs

Mining companies
Manufacturing
Government
Equipment companies

ABET Accreditation

The Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering at University Park is accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET, https://www.abet.org, under the commission’s General Criteria and Program Criteria for Mining and Similarly Named Engineering Programs.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Option to earn your B.S. and M.S. in 5 years

The Integrated B.S./M.S. Degree Program enables academically superior and research-focused MNG E undergraduate students to also obtain an M.S. degree in Energy and Mineral Engineering in five years of study.

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