CIT Announces New Master's Program in Energy

This fall, the College of Engineering's newest graduate program, Master's in Energy Science, Technology and Policy (ESTP), kicked off its first year with nine eager enrollees. ESTP is a professional master's program based in engineering, but informed by a broader perspective in economics and public policy. Students will complete one academic year of coursework before graduating with an MS degree.

The ESTP program is interdisciplinary, drawing instructors from a variety of CIT's academic departments. It covers a wide range of issues from harvesting and conversion of energy to its distribution, demand and usage. Students also select a disciplinary concentration in Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Engineering and Public Policy, Materials Science and Engineering or Mechanical Engineering. 

CIT's reputation as a leader in environmental and sustainable engineering has sparked a global interest in the new ESTP program. Only two of its nine students are CMU graduates, while the others come from industry positions in the U.S., Chile, Thailand and India.

Dhruv Bhatnagar, one of ESTP's inaugural students, left his job as a process engineer for Nestle in St. Louis, Mo. to obtain a more advanced degree. "So far it's a lot of work, but I am learning a lot. I feel that this experience will be beneficial for my career," said Bhatnagar who appreciates the broad range of classes offered in the program. "As opposed to a traditional engineering program, the policy and economics component in ESTP is a strength and should provide me and my colleagues a great advantage as we progress into our careers."

Graduates will enter the professional world prepared for high-level careers in energy-intensive industries like traditional utility companies and energy suppliers, alternative and renewable energy companies, power generation and distribution equipment, energy intensive manufacturing (such as primary metals, glass and chemical manufacturing), consulting companies, government labs and academic institutions. "Upon graduation I am hoping to work to promote energy efficiency and alternative energy technologies both at the utility and local levels through a combination of engineering and policy," said Bhatnagar.

"This new master's degree is designed to educate future energy leaders," said Pradeep K. Khosla, CIT Dean. "As the world seeks to improve energy consumption by using more geothermal, solar and wind generation, the energy industry will need more highly-skilled science and policy engineers."

Serving as executive director of the program is Professor David Landis, alumnus of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department. "It's wonderful to be involved in a program whose graduates will be positioned to develop creative and sustainable solutions to the world's energy problems of today and tomorrow," said Landis who brings a range of professional experience to the position, having worked in both the industrial and higher education markets. Prior to returning to CMU he served the non-profit community for 10 years as vice president of education and training at The Technology Collaborative and the Pittsburgh Digital Greenhouse where he supported technology-based economic development programs by creating and managing professional development, workforce development, university curriculum and entrepreneurship programs.

"I'm extremely bullish about our new energy master's program," said Landis about the inaugural class of students. "They are highly motivated and genuinely excited to be at the nexus of the policy, technology, and science challenges of energy. I find their enthusiasm contagious, and am equally caught up in the excitement."