The Energy Studies Minor complements the deep expertise obtained in any MIT major with broad, interdisciplinary training in science, technology, and the social sciences, including policy issues surrounding energy and climate change.
The Energy Studies Minor grounds students in the triple challenge of energy: producing more energy for more people while reducing emissions to mitigate climate change in the necessary timeframe. Students engage in core subjects in energy science, technology, and social sciences—alongside choices from broad energy electives—to gain an integrative understanding of energy and develop the skills required to be tomorrow’s leaders in energy research, industry, policy, management, and governance .
Research interests and career paths for energy minor graduates include thin-film solar panels, smart grids, conservation and efficiency, policy and economics, electricity transmission and storage, hydrogen fuel cells, and more.
Requirements
The Energy Studies Minor requires students to take classes in three core areas (Science Foundations, Social Science, and Technology/Engineering in Context), plus 36 units of electives. Participating in the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program for credit may also be counted as an elective. Additional classes or substitutions may be approved on a case-by-case basis. Consult your Energy Studies Minor advisor or contact us with any questions.
Apply
Step 1: Tell us
Email us about your interest in the energy minor. We can help you plan classes, and connect with current students, opportunities, and events. You can do this as early as your first year.
Step 2: Get formal approval
Fill out the ESM sign-up form. Class selections can change later if necessary.
Try to complete this form by the end of your sophomore year. It must be signed and submitted before your last semester.
Step 3: Graduate
While MIT minors are not listed on the SB diploma, they are listed on your official transcript and a separate certificate you'll receive.
FAQ
Any currently enrolled undergraduate at MIT can apply.
A maximum of three subjects (or 36 units) taken for the Energy Studies Minor can also count toward your major or other minor.
We strongly advise taking this class your sophomore year, as the scientific concepts underpin the rest of the energy classes.
Every course with classes in the minor has at least one professor serving as an ESM advisor:
Course 1: Ruben Juanes, Saurabh Amin
Course 2: Ahmed Ghoniem
Course 3: Juejun Hu
Course 4: Christoph Reinhart
Course 5: Moungi Bawendi
Course 6: Steve Leeb
Course 8: Matthew Evans
Course 10: Tom Kinney
Course 11: David Hsu
Course 12: Oliver Jagoutz
Course 14: Jacob Moscona
Course 15: Chris Knittel
Course 16: Zoltan Spakovszky, Steve Barrett
Course 22: Scott Kemp, Mike Short
You will be assigned an advisor when you fill out the ESM sign-up form. If you’re not sure which advisor to consult, contact us.
Not every subject will be offered every year. Check our up-to-date class list and contact us about class availability.
Yes, but we recommend that you consult your Energy Studies Minor advisor or contact us first.
No. Subjects taken under the Junior-Senior P/D/F grading option cannot be used for a minor program.
Yes. Any subject taken at MIT or through cross-registration may be designated as exploratory, including electives, General Institute Requirements, and requirements for majors and minors.
Yes, on a case-by-case basis. If you plan to take or have taken a class you think should get Energy Studies Minor credit, work with your assigned Energy Studies Minor advisor to prepare a petition. Your petition should be 1-2 pages long and explain how this substitution fits into the Energy Studies Minor, including comparisons to other relevant classes that are already approved. Submit your petition and a copy of the syllabus and description of the class to the MITEI education team. If there are other relevant comparison classes, submit a copy of their syllabi and class descriptions as well. Submit this petition at least one full term before the term in which you plan to graduate (that is, before the beginning of your senior year).
All Energy Studies Minors gain swipe access to the Energy Commons (10-063) as soon as they complete and submit their minor application.
MIT minors are not listed on the SB diploma, but they are listed on official transcripts and we’ll give you a separate certificate.
Research interests and career paths for energy minor graduates include thin-film solar panels, smart grids, conservation and efficiency, policy and economics, electricity transmission and storage, hydrogen fuel cells, and more.
Contact us for examples of what students have done with their energy education both during and after their degree.