MS in Climate and Energy Policy (MSCEP)

* Summer quarter also includes an experiential learning component in which students explore how real communities, organizations, and governments navigate climate and energy challenges

Summer

• PPHA 49901 Data and Programming for Climate and Energy Policy
  This course introduces students to principles for writing code in Python that efficiently ingests, manages, and characterizes climate and energy datasets. An emphasis is on developing good practices that ensure replicability and facilitate collaboration, and that are applicable across programming languages. Skills will be developed using real-world applications that involve climate and energy data.
• PPHA 49902 Data Analytics and Visualization for Climate and Energy Policy
  This course builds on “Data and Programming for Climate and Energy Policy” by developing students’ skills in data analysis and visualization, using Python. Topics will include the handling of “messy” real-world data, static and dynamic data visualization, spatial data analysis, and the production of high-quality reports.
• PPHA 49903 Climate Economics and Energy Systems
  The global energy and climate challenge requires identifying approaches to ensure people have access to the inexpensive and reliable energy critical for human development, without causing disruptive climate change or unduly compromising health and the environment. The course pairs technical and economic analysis to develop an understanding of policy challenges in this area. Topics will include the past, present, and future of energy supply and demand; global climate change; air pollution and its health consequences; selected energy technologies such as solar photovoltaics, nuclear power, and unconventional oil and gas; and an analysis of theoretical and practical policy solutions in developed and emerging economies.

Autumn

• PPHA 49904 Energy and Environmental Markets
  The production, distribution, and consumption of energy is frequently organized via economic markets. How do these markets operate, and what are their consequences for energy producers and consumers? How do they provide incentives or disincentives for the development and deployment of new energy technologies? What are rationales for government intervention into energy markets, and why are some markets more heavily regulated than others? Finally, how might lessons from markets for energy and other goods be applied to understand emerging markets for environmental goods, such as pollution emission permits, carbon offsets, and other tradable environmental credits?
• PPHA 49905 Data and Statistics for Climate and Energy Impact Analysis
  This course aims to provide a foundation in statistical analysis, as employed for quantitative evaluation of the impacts of climate change and energy use on humans and the environment. Fundamental to understanding and using statistical analysis is the realization that data do not emerge perfect and fully formed from a vacuum. An appreciation of the provenance of the data, the way they were collected, and why they were collected, is necessary for effective analysis. Statistical concepts will be illustrated through mini-projects and applications that use real-world climate and energy data.

Winter

• PPHA 49906 Foundations of Climate Science
  This course introduces the basic physics governing the Earth’s climate. Topics include atmospheric thermodynamics, the hydrological cycle, the basic principles of radiation balance, and diurnal and seasonal cycles. Students solve problems of increasing complexity, moving from pencil-and-paper problems to programming exercises, to determine surface and atmospheric temperatures and how they evolve.
• PPHA 49907 Climate and Energy Technology
  This course covers the broad range of physics and technology topics that are at the heart of current local and national policy debates. The aim of the course will be to give students tools for distinguishing between sense and nonsense when confronted by technology-based arguments. Course topics will include the generation, distribution, and use of energy; emissions control technologies; and climate systems engineering.

Spring

• PPHA 49908 Climate and Energy Policy Evaluation
  The goal of the class is to familiarize students with the principles and methods of program and policy evaluation. The lectures will cover a mix of theory and applications; the problem sets will involve extensive data analysis and a fair bit of coding, all within the context of climate and energy policy. The objective is for students to be able to evaluate policy evaluation reports written by others and carry out policy evaluations themselves.
• PPHA 49909 Capstone Project
  In their Capstone Project, students will work under faculty supervision to apply their training to help address a specific climate and energy policy challenge. Students will serve as policy consultants, working in teams to conduct research, analyze complex data, and engage with clients and other experts to produce a set of solution-oriented final deliverables. In addition to gaining first-hand experience on a specific issue, students hone other skills that prepare them for policy careers, such as working with imperfect data, navigating team dynamics, and communicating complex analyses and policy recommendations to decision-makers.

To complete the MSCEP degree requirements, students in the one-year program must:

• Successfully complete 12 graduate-level courses (1200 units of credit)
• Complete all nine core (required) courses with a C- or better 
• Complete the experiential learning requirement
• Have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.7 at the time of graduation 
• No more than one course can be taken Pass/Fail. Core (required) courses must be taken for a letter grade
• Courses with grades of F, I, W, or with no reported grade do not apply toward the 12-course requirement for the program. 

Policies on the results of not meeting these requirements can be found on the Harris policies page.

Any questions about these requirements can be sent to the Harris Dean of Students Office at harrisdeanofstudents@uchicago.edu.

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• Acceptance & Deposit Deadline: March 15
• Orientation: July 6
• Class Start: July 13
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