How many US universities offer wind energy courses?

A 2015 review of wind energy academic programs in the United States revealed that there are fewer than 50 US universities that offer formal coursework focused on wind energy, and of those, only 17 offer graduate-level coursework with most offering only a single wind energy–specific graduate course.

Why do universities need a wind energy academic program?

In Europe, wind energy academic programs are much better developed, thus representing a competitive advantage in providing a well-trained workforce and advancing wind energy technology. While planning for the future, universities and NAWEA have identified strategies to address the lack of university programs, most of which rely on collaboration.

How many wind energy graduate programs are there?

They found that there were only about 60 wind energy graduates from Master’s or PhD programs in 2016 (engineering and other) around the country. To meet future demand, there will need to be a very significant increase in graduate programs offering wind-specific graduate courses and degrees.

How do I Specialize in wind energy with a graduate degree?

Another way to specialize in wind energy with a graduate degree is to obtain a graduate-level certificate in addition to the Master’s or PhD in a related discipline. However, as shown previously in Table 3, the United States presently has only six universities offering a graduate certificate in wind energy.

Do wind energy firms prefer graduate degrees?

Table 1 shows that for many occupations, wind energy firms prefer to hire candidates with graduate degrees. For example, nearly half the firms hiring applied scientists prefer graduate degrees, and 42% of firms hiring power system engineers prefer candidates that have a Master’s degree or a PhD.

Are Wind Energy Technician programs a good choice?

While wind energy technician programs at community colleges or vocational schools have prospered in the United States over the past decade, partially due to the high demand for wind technicians, university programs that prepare graduates pursuing baccalaureate and advanced graduate degrees have lagged behind.