Master's Program

Master of Science Degree Program in Energy Engineering

The UMass Lowell graduate program in Energy Engineering offers professional training at the master's degree level designed to prepare the student to perform state-of-the-art work on energy systems. There are two options:

  • Renewable (Solar) Engineering
  • Nuclear Engineering

The programs are designed to achieve a balance between hands-on experience and theory. Energy engineering draws students from all branches of engineering, mathematics, physics and chemistry.

Visit Graduate Admissions for more information.

Thesis, Project, and Course-Only Requirements

There are three pathways to earning an MS degree in Energy Engineering:

  1. Thesis: 30 credits - 24 credits of courses (15 credits from core), plus 6 credits of thesis,
  2. Project: 30 credits - 27 credits of courses (15 from core), plus 3 credits of project, (available to Nuclear option students only).
  3. Course-Only: 30 credits - all from courses (15 from core, none from thesis or project credits)

A student's thesis must be defended in an oral examination conducted by the student's thesis committee.

Course Requirements

Students may choose to specialize in any area of interest in the college related to the energy field. Each student must take a series of core courses appropriate for the area of specialization. The exact makeup of the core curriculum will be guided and approved by the Graduate Committee of the Energy Engineering program. All students working toward the Master of Science Degree in Energy Engineering must take the following core courses:

Nuclear Option Required core courses:

Renewable (Solar) Option Required core courses

All Solar Option students must take the following courses (the semesters in which they are normally taught are also listed):

One Advanced Mathematics course from the list:

  • MECH.5200 Numerical Methods for Partial Differential Equations (Spring)
  • MECH.5260 Transport Processes in Energy Systems (Spring)
  • MECH.5540 Dynamic Systems and Controls (Fall)

Three "core" courses from this list:

  • MECH.5210 Fundamentals of Solar Utilization (Fall)
  • MECH.5220 Wind Energy Fundamentals (Fall)
  • MECH.5250 Grid-Connected Solar Electric Systems (Spring)
  • MECH.5270 Solar Systems Engineering (Spring)
  • MECH.5350 Fundamentals of Sustainable Energy (Spring of even numbered years)

During their last or next to last semester:

For Both the Renewable and Nuclear Option

For all students, the remainder of the course requirements are to be made up of elective courses which should be approved by the appropriate graduate coordinator.

Courses that are typically taken as elective courses include, but are not restricted to:

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