The recently approved Masters of Sciences in Sustainable Energy is touted to be a cross-disciplinary degree where graduates will learn to balance the concerns of science and business.

The Board of Trustees approved the degree June 18.

The degree will teach through practical application, research and internship at the Renewable Energy Center and Center for Clean Energy research and Education. Students will be able to study energy conversion, production and conservation first-hand in the Renewable Energy Center, and be conducting research into sustainable energy at CENCERE.

Peter Ping Liu, a technology professor and director of the developing CENCERE, said that America has a bad habit of hiring celebrities on as CEOs or presidents, and they may or may not know the process by which a company produces its product.

“We hope that our students will be able to not only deal with people, but also understand the exact technical details they are dealing with,” he said.

He said that engineering programs around the country want their students to have practical experience, but they do not have a factory, power plant or other facilities for their students to work in.

“This degree will be really unique for Eastern, and even compare to U of I,” Liu said.

Students beginning in the program will start by taking CERE 5953, in which they will be paired with a faculty mentor to work on energy-related research. They will also publish a paper at the end of their study to present their findings to a committee of three graduate faculty members.

Liu said they are hoping to get students enrolled and start classes either this fall or spring, but nothing official has been set.

The degree will involve the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Sciences, and Lumpkin College of Business and Applied Sciences. Contributing departments include biological sciences, chemistry, communication studies, economics, English, geology/geography, physics and political science.

It is estimated that the program will cost $50,000 to start and $420,000 annually. The start up money will be for clerical support, a graduate assistant and the coordinator’s summer stipend. The annual cost will be for instruction, administration, graduate assistantships and equipment.

The money will be reallocated from current budgets and also external grants for the annual budget.

Eligible students need to have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, minimum undergraduate GPA of 2.75, GRE (Graduate Record Examinations) or GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test) score and relevant experience and a desire to work in the energy industry. International students will need an acceptable proficiency in English established by the university.

The curriculum is a total of 36 hours in four areas: science and technology, business management and communication, policy and economics and applied research.

Marcus Smith can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].