Curriculum
The M.Eng. in Energy Systems degree requires students to complete 32 credit hours of graduate coursework. The program structure is designed to provide students a solid foundation in fundamentals of one or more energy-related technical areas as well as broader exposure to the related economic, social, or political context in which energy systems operate.
Degree requirements
| Requirement | Hours |
|---|---|
| ENG 471: Seminar Energy & Sustainability Engineering (1 credit hour) * ENG 571: Theory Energy & Sustainability Engineering (4 credit hours) * ABE 436: Renewable Energy Systems (4 credit hours) * NPRE 480: Energy and Security * or NPRE 481: Writing on Technology and Security (3 credit hours) * |
12 |
| Electives - approved by academic advisor | 16 |
| Professional Development courses from an approved list | 4 |
| Total Hours | 32 |
* - indicates course is available online
Other requirements and conditions (may overlap):
- A minimum of 20 credit hours must be taken from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus.
- A minimum of 12 500-level credit hours, with a minimum of 8 hours of ENG or NPRE 500-level coursework
- A maximum of one 1-credit-hour course may be applied toward the minimum 12 500-level credit-hour requirement.
- No courses used to fulfill any degree requirement may be taken using the “Credit/No Credit” option.
- The minimum program GPA is 3.0.
Core Courses
Students must complete 12 credit hours of Core Courses:
- ENG 471: Seminar Energy & Sustainability Engineering (1 credit hour) *
- ENG 571: Theory Energy & Sustainability Engineering (4 credit hours) *
- ABE 436: Renewable Energy Systems (4 credit hours) *
- NPRE 480: Energy and Security * or NPRE 481: Writing on Technology and Security (3 credit hours) *
* - indicates course is available online
Electives
Students must complete 16 credit hours of Electives (approved by academic advisor). Below are recommended courses outlined by focus areas. Enrollment in these courses may depend on course availability. Elective Course options for Online students can be found on the Online Programs website.
BIOMASS ENERGY RESOURCES
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ABE 446 | Biological Nanoengineering | 3 or 4 |
| ABE 488 | Bioprocessing Biomass for Fuel | 4 |
| ACE 435 | Global Agribusiness Management | 3 |
| ACE 446 | Modeling Applications in Financial Planning | 2 |
| ACE 455 | International Trade in Food and Agriculture | 3 |
| ACE 562 | Applied Regression Models I | 3 |
| ACE 563 | Mathematical Programming for Applied Economics I | 2 |
| ATMS 421 | Earth Systems Modeling | 4 |
| CHBE 471 | Biochemical Engineering | 3 or 4 |
| CHBE 478 | Bioenergy Technology | 3 |
| CPSC 415 | Bioenergy Crops | 3 |
| GEOG 465 | Transportation and Sustainability | 3 or 4 |
| IB 421 | Photosynthesis | 3 |
| GEOG 466 | Environmental Policy | 3 or 4 |
| GEOG 496 | Climate & Social Vulnerability | 3 or 4 |
| NRES 516 | Ecosystem Biogeochemistry | 4 |
CHEMISTRY, CHEMICAL & MATERIALS ENGINEERING
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CHBE 422 | Mass Transfer Operations | 4 |
| CHBE 424 | Chemical Reaction Engineering | 3 |
| CHBE 431 | Process Design | 4 |
| CHBE 551 | Chemical Kinetics and Catalysis | 4 |
| CHEM 444 | Physical Chemistry II | 4 |
| CHEM 524 | Electrochemical Methods | 4 |
| CHEM 584 | Introduction to Materials Chemistry | 4 |
| ECE 535 | Theory of Semiconductors and Devices | 4 |
| MSE 401 | Thermodynamics of Materials | 3 |
| MSE 403 | Synthesis of Materials | 3 |
| MSE 445 | Corrosion of Metals * | 3 or 4 |
| MSE 460 | Electronic Materials I | 3 |
| MSE 461 | Electronic Materials II | 3 |
| MSE 487 | Materials for Nanotechnology | 3 or 4 |
| MSE 488 | Optical Materials | 3 or 4 |
| MSE 489 | Materials Selection for Sustainability | 3 or 4 |
| MSE 500 | Statistical Thermodynamics of Materials | 4 |
| MSE 501 | Kinetic Processes in Materials | 4 |
| MSE 582 | Surface Physics | 4 |
| NPRE 470 | Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Sources | 3 |
ELECTRICAL ENERGY CONVERSION, TRANSMISSION & DISTRIBUTION
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ECE 431 | Electric Machinery | 4 |
| ECE 464 | Power Electronics | 3 |
| ECE 486 | Control Systems | 4 |
| ECE 476 | Power System Analysis | 3 |
| ECE 515 | Control System Theory and Design | 4 |
| ECE 530 | Large-Scale System Analysis | 4 |
| ECE 553 | Optimal Control Systems | 4 |
| ECE 568 | Modeling and Control of Electromechanical Systems | 4 |
| ECE 573 | Power System Control | 4 |
| ECE 576 | Power System Dynamics & Stability | 4 |
| SE 424 | State Space Design for Control | 3 |
ENERGY MARKETS, RELIABILITY, SAFETY & SECURITY
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ABE 455 | Erosion and Sediment Control | 2 |
| ACE 410 | Energy Economics | 3 or 4 |
| ACE 411 | Environment and Development | 3 or 4 |
| ACE 510 | Advanced Natural Resource Economics | 4 |
| ACE 562 | Applied Regression Models I | 2 |
| ACE 563 | Mathematical Programming Applications in Economics I | 2 |
| ACE 564 | Applied Regression Models II | 2 |
| ACE 567 | Mathematical Programming Applications in Economics II | 2 |
| CEE 460 | Steel Structures I | 3 |
| CEE 462 | Steel Structures II * | 3 or 4 |
| CEE 463 | Reinforced Concrete II * | 3 or 4 |
| CEE 557 | Groundwater Modeling * | 4 |
| CHLH 469 | Environmental Health | 3 or 4 |
| CS 461 | Computer Security I | 4 |
| CS 463 | Computer Security II | 3 or 4 |
| CS 465 | User Interface Design | 4 |
| CS 565 | Human-Computer Interaction | 4 |
| NPRE 441 | Radiation Protection | 4 |
| NPRE 442 | Radioactive Waste Management | 3 |
| NPRE 457 | Safety Analysis of Nuclear Reactor Systems | 3 or 4 |
| NPRE 461 | Probabilistic Risk Assessment * | 3 or 4 |
| NPRE 561 | Advanced Risk Analysis for Technological Systems | 4 |
| PS 580 | Proseminar on International Relations I | 4 |
| SE 411 | Reliability Engineering | 3 or 4 |
| SE 523 | Discrete Event Dynamic Systems | 3 or 4 |
| SE 524 | Data-Bases Systems Modeling | 4 |
| SE 530 | Multiattribute Decision Making |
ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING FOR ENERGY APPLICATIONS
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| CEE 433 | Water Technology and Policy | 3 or 4 |
| CEE 434 | Environmental Systems I | 3 |
| CEE 437 | Water Quality Engineering | 3 |
| CEE 440 | Fate and Cleanup of Environmental Pollutants | 4 |
| CEE 442 | Environmental Engineering Principles, Physical | 4 |
| CEE 443 | Environmental Engineering Principles, Chemical | 4 |
| CEE 444 | Environmental Engineering Principles, Biological | 4 |
| CEE 446 | Air Quality Engineering | 4 |
| CEE 447 | Atmospheric Chemistry | 4 |
| CEE 457 | Groundwater | 3 |
| CEE 493 | Sustainable Design of Engineering Technologies | 4 |
| CEE 535 | Environmental Systems II | 4 |
| CEE 537 | Water Quality Control Processes I | 4 |
| CEE 538 | Water Quality Control Processes II | 4 |
| CEE 545 | Aerosol Sampling and Analysis | 4 |
| CEE 592 | Sustainable Urban Systems | 4 |
| GEOG 466 | Environmental Policy | 3 or 4 |
| GEOL 470 | Introduction to Hydrogeology | 4 |
| UP 446 | Sustainable Planning Seminar | 4 |
| UP 466 | Energy, Planning, and the Built Environment | 4 |
| UP 480 | Sustainable Design Principles | 2 |
| UP 546 | Land Use Planning and Policy | 4 |
GEOLOGIC ENERGY RESOURCES
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ABE 456 | Land and Water Resources Engineering | 3 or 4 |
| AE 529 | Viscoelasticity Theory * | 4 |
| ATMS 421 | Earth Systems Modeling | 4 |
| CEE 450 | Surface Hydrology * | 3 |
| CEE 452 | Hydraulic Analysis and Design * | 3 |
| CEE 483 | Soil Mechanics and Behavior * | 4 |
| CEE 484 | Applied Soil Mechanics * | 3 or 4 |
| CEE 550 | Hydroclimatology * | 4 |
| CEE 551 | Open-channel Hydraulics * | 4 |
| CEE 581 | Earth Dams * | 4 |
| ESE 445 | Earth Resources Sustainability | 3 |
| GEOG 406 | Hydraulic Analysis and Design | 4 |
| GEOG 473 | Map Compilation and Construction | 4 |
| GEOG 479 | Advanced Geographic Information Systems | 3 |
| GEOG 489 | Programming for GIS | 4 |
| GEOG 570 | Advanced Spatial Analysis | 4 |
| GEOL 411 | Structural Geology and Tectonics | 4 |
| GEOL 440 | Sedimentology and Stratigraphy | 4 |
| GEOL 460 | Geochemistry | 3 |
| GEOL 470 | Introduction to Hydrogeology | 4 |
| GEOL 540 | Petroleum Geology | 4 |
| GEOL 560 | Physical Geochemistry | 4 |
| GEOL 561 | Geomicrobiology & Geochemistry | 4 |
| GEOL 562 | Isotope Geology | 4 |
| GEOL 563 | Analytic Geochemistry | 4 |
| ME 472 | Tribology | 3 or 4 |
| NRES 401 | Watershed Hydrology | 3 |
| TAM 424 | Mechanics of Structural Materials | 3 or 4 |
| TAM 435 | Intermediate Fluid Mechanics | 4 |
| TAM 445 | Continuum Mechanics | 4 |
| TAM 532 | Viscous Flow | 4 |
NUCLEAR POWER GENERATION
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| NPRE 402 | Nuclear Power Engineering * | 3 or 4 |
| NPRE 442 | Radioactive Waste Management | 3 |
| NPRE 448 | Nuclear Systems Engineering and Design | 4 |
| NPRE 455 | Neutron Diffusion and Transport | 4 |
| NPRE 457 | Safety Analysis Nuclear Reactor Systems | 3 or 4 |
| NPRE 470 | Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Sources * | 3 |
| NPRE 501 | Fundamentals of Nuclear Engineering | 4 |
| NPRE 511 | Nuclear Reactor Heat Transfer | 4 |
| NPRE 531 | Nuclear Materials | 4 |
| NPRE 555 | Reactor Theory I | 4 |
SOLAR ENERGY & CLIMATE CHANGE
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| ATMS 449 | Biogeochemical Cycles | 4 |
| ATMS 507 | Climate Dynamics | 4 |
| ATMS 512 | Clouds and Climate | 4 |
| CPSC 431 | Plants and Global Change | 3 |
| GEOG 496 | Climate and Social Vulnerability | 3 or 4 |
| IB 421 | Integrative Biology | 3 |
| ME 432 | Fundamentals of Photovoltaics | 3 or 4 |
| ME 522 | Thermal Radiation * | 4 |
| PHYS 402 | Light | 3 or 4 |
THERMAL ENERGY SYSTEMS & COMBUSTION ENGINES
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AE 412 | Viscous Flow and Heat Transfer * | 4 |
| ABE 466 | Engineering Off-Road Vehicles | 3 |
| ME 400 | Energy Conversion Systems * | 3 or 4 |
| ME 401 | Refrigeration and Cryodynamics | 3 or 4 |
| ME 402 | Design of Thermal Systems | 3 or 4 |
| ME 403 | Internal Combustion Engines | 3 or 4 |
| ME 404 | Intermediate Thermodynamics * | 4 |
| ME 410 | Intermediate Gas Dynamics | 3 or 4 |
| ME 412 | Numerical Thermo-fluid Mechanics | 2 to 4 |
| ME 420 | Intermediate Heat Transfer | 4 |
| ME 501 | Combustion Fundamentals * | 4 |
| ME 502 | Thermal Systems * | 4 |
| ME 503 | Design of Internal Combustion Engines | 4 |
| ME 520 | Heat Conduction * | 4 |
| ME 521 | Convective Heat Transfer | 4 |
| NPRE 470 | Fuel Cells & Hydrogen Sources | 3 |
| UP 430 | Urban Transportation Planning | 4 |
| UP 466 | Energy, Planning, and the Built Environment | 4 |
WIND ENERGY
| Course Code | Course Name | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| AE 410 | Computational Aerodynamics * | 3 or 4 |
| AE 416 | Applied Aerodynamics * | 3 or 4 |
| AE 420 | Finite Element Analysis * | 3 or 4 |
| AE 451 | Aeroelasticity * | 3 or 4 |
| AE 514 | Boundary Layer Theory * | 4 |
| AE 515 | Wing Theory * | 4 |
| MSE 456 | Mechanics of Composites | 3 |
| NPRE 475 | Wind Power Systems * | 3 or 4 |
| TAM 470 | Computational Mechanics | 3 or 4 |
* - indicates course is available online
Professional Development (Practicum, Project, or Coursework)
Students must complete 4 credit hours of Professional Development. Students may complete either ENG 572, ENG 573, or 4 credit hours of business-related coursework with advisor approval. Please see the Professional Development Opportunities page for additional resources to help you complete this requirement.
ENG 572 & 573 - Professional Practicum or Capstone Project
ENG 572 Professional Practicum (online or on-campus) is selected for work carried out in an internship at a location away from campus. ENG 573 Capstone Project (online or on-campus) is selected for a real-world project experience sponsored by an industry client. Both courses are characterized by a non-faculty supervisor or project mentor, in addition to a faculty advisor. ENG 572 Professional Practicum and ENG 573 Capstone Project both involve component or system-level conceptual design studies, design and build activities, feasibility studies, experimental work, detailed numerical simulations, or detailed theoretical analyses of physical phenomena, related to any aspect of the broad field of energy systems. Both Practicum and Project expect students to develop good project management and communication skills. This involves an initial plan/proposal, intermediate progress reports, and occasional oral presentations. Team work is also emphasized (either in the form of a team project, or team work at internship site). The main output of the practicum/project will be a final report that describes in detail what was done, why it was done, what avenues were not pursued and why, and makes appropriate recommendations, and as appropriate, suggestions for further work.
Professional Development Coursework
Professional Development coursework aims to build skills in leadership, teamwork, project development, project management, oral and written communication, feasibility studies, innovation and entrepreneurship, engineering economics and business aspect of technology, and component or system-level conceptual design studies, design and build activities.
The following courses are approved to satisfy the Professional Development requirement. Students may select one or more from the list, or consult with an advisor for a suitable alternative.
- TE 450 — Startups: Incorporation, Funding, Contracts, and Intellectual Property
- TE 460 — Entrepreneurship for Engineers *
- TE 461 — Technology Entrepreneurship *
- TE 466 — High-Tech Venture Marketing *
- TE 565 — Technology Innovation and Strategy *
- TE 566 — Finance for Engineering Management *
- TE 567 — Venture Funded Startups *
* - indicates course is available online
Contact Information
AMY McCULLOUGH
Senior Coordinator for Master of Engineering Programs
403 A-2 Engineering Hall
1308 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 300-2378
Email: amccul2@illinois.edu
RIZWAN UDDIN
Professor and Department Head,
Department of Nuclear, Plasma & Radiological Engineering
108 Talbot Laboratory, 104 S. Wright
Phone: (217) 244-4944
Email: rizwan@illinois.edu
Interested in the M.Eng. in Energy Systems Engineering? Connect with us to find out more.
Email: meng-es@illinois.edu
Phone: (217) 300-2378
Academics + Experience
Sanjana Kartik decided to pursue a graduate degree in Energy Systems when she recognized the need to incorporate sustainable technologies and practices in our communities.
“I knew that when searching for graduate programs, the ability to gain industry experience would remain equally as crucial as broadening my knowledge of Energy Systems. For this reason, I instantly connected with the Energy Systems program at Illinois, given its flexible curriculum and professional development requirement.”
Sanjana Kartik, M.Eng. 2019