Energy and Environmental Policy allows students to pursue a specialized course of study focused on the challenges of meeting the energy needs of America from bio-fuels, wind energy, solar power, or other fuel sources found in rural America.

 

Students studying this area can also focus on environmental issues related to water quality, land-use planning, watershed management and other aspects of environmental and natural resources economics and policy. These concerns are all related to the vitality of rural ana agricultural areas. Students interested in rural development will find challenging courses here.

 

Courses in environmental and natural resource economics, energy economics, rural development, and agricultural law provide students with the skills necessary to work with public and private sector groups concerned with vital issues related to energy and the use of environmental and natural resources. Other courses in economic analysis, statistics, and applied policy analysis provide students with additional skills.

Students have access to a number of informational resources:

 

· Commodity market information systems

· State-of-the-art instructional and multimedia presentation facilities

· Global Information Systems (GIS) laboratories and equipment

· University library system with over 2.2 million volumes and 16,000 current periodicals

· Opportunities to study financial records and management decisions associated with the University Farms.

· Access to daily "Greenwire" and "Energy and Environment" to track energy and environmental issues

Career opportunities in Energy and Environmental Policy vary greatly among the diverse sectors of traditional energy, bio-energy, and environmental analysis.  They include, among others, energy analyst, resource economist, agricultural policy analyst, land-use planner, environmental impact analyst, environmental planner, and rural development advisor. 

 

Employers include trade groups, state and federal governmental agencies, nongovernmental environmental groups, and private sector businesses. 

 

These opportunities are being led by the need for skilled professionals to better manage the activities of food/fiber production, processing, and distribution, to utilize our natural resources and protect our environment and to improve our rural infrastructure.

Students in Energy and Environmental Policy have the opportunity to be involved in variour student organizations including:

 

· Agribusiness Economics Club

· Agbassadors

· Collegiate FFA

· Alpha Zeta

· Sigma Alpha

· Alpha Gamma Rho

Feel free to contact one of our Coordinating Counselors for Energy and Environmental Policy:

 

· Dr. Kim Harris

· Dr. Dwight Sanders

 

Also feel free to contact the Coordinator of Student Recruitment for the College of Agricultural Sciences:

 

· Mr. Peter Dirks

 

We invite you to take a closer look at what a four-year course of study might look like for a student specializing in Energy and Environmental Policy.