10/28/10 - The effort to build Oregon State University - Cascades' first engineering degree passed its final hurdle on Thursday, October 28, 2010, when the State Board of Higher Education approved the campus' proposed energy engineering management degree.
The degree is one of a handful of undergraduate programs of its kind in the country and represents a growing career field requiring professionals who can understand complex engineering and business issues, and identify solutions that will provide maximum energy efficiency. Housed within OSU's College of Engineering, the degree will be initially offered only at the Bend campus. The program was designed by faculty from both the Corvallis and Bend campuses with input from engineering companies and economic development interests in Central Oregon. The degree program meets the standards of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET); accreditation will be received after the first graduates complete the EEM program, a requirement for accreditation. Graduates will receive a Bachelor of Science degree from OSU.
Said OSU-Cascades Vice President Becky Johnson, 'The approval of the energy engineering management degree is an important milestone in the creation of a slate of distinctive academic programs at OSU-Cascades that leverage the power of Oregon State University, attract students, and help meet the economic needs of Central Oregon and Oregon.'
Throughout the energy engineering management curriculum, students will gain technical and strategic knowledge about energy technologies, taking coursework in mechanical engineering, industrial engineering and business management, in addition to energy specific courses. They will also understand complex energy systems with an eye to business and management concerns, and environmental issues.
OSU-Cascades is working with the Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP) so that students of the energy engineering program can access the competitive work-study program. MECOP creates work-ready/work-experienced graduates; approximately half of OSU's engineering students participate in MECOP.
OSU's College of Engineering is a leader in research and commercialization of sustainable forms of energy and the technologies associated with them. That, plus Central Oregon's climate and a growing energy sector create a recipe for a strong program, said Ron Adams, Dean of the College of Engineering.
For more information visit http://www.osucascades.edu/academics/energy-engineering-management.