Contact program administrator Brenda Hugot for more information.

Training a New Generation of Scholars

The Harvard Graduate Consortium on Energy and Environment will foster a new community of doctoral students who will be well versed in the broad, interconnected issues of energy and environment while maintaining their focus in their primary discipline. Through debate and dialogue in coursework and seminars, students will be able to identify the obstacles, highlight the opportunities, and define the discussion of an energy strategy for the 21st century and beyond.

Program Description

The Consortium is open to Ph.D. or Sc.D. students at Harvard who have completed at least one year in their home department or school and can demonstrate that participation in the Consortium will advance the goals of their research experience. Once admitted to the Consortium, students are required to take three courses designed to give doctoral students an introduction to critical aspects of energy issues: one course each on energy technology, energy policy, and energy consequences. Students are also required to participate in a weekly reading seminar that will provide an overview of the energy field from a wide range of perspectives, and will be led by faculty members from around the university. Each student in the program will be eligible to receive up to $1,000 to attend conferences or other appropriate professional activities during their time in the program.

Courses

(Click on course title to read full description)

• Energy Technology (Spring 2010; 2011)
  

  This course will provide a basic but technically rigorous introduction to energy systems, including a review of thermodynamics of energy technologies and surveys of some of the major fossil fuel technologies across all sectors. It will also cover recent innovations, and examine new technologies that could replace existing types of energy systems.

• Energy Policy (Spring 2010; 2011)
  

  This course will provide students with an introduction to economic and policy dimensions of the energy choices needed to meet economic and environmental goals in both the near and long term. It will cover both international and domestic programs and policies.

• Energy Consequences (Fall 2009)
  

  This course will give students an introduction to climate and climate change, the carbon cycle, air and water pollution from energy systems, impacts of land use on natural ecosystems, and implications of energy use for human health.

• Reading Seminar
  

  Articles will be assigned each week on various topics related to the energy field, with discussion to be led by faculty across the university. Regular attendance during the entire academic year is mandatory.

Graduate Fellowships

Students accepted into the Consortium will be eligible to apply for graduate fellowships provided by the Harvard University Center for the Environment. Teaching fellowships will also be available, and applicants who can serve as teaching fellows will be given admission priority. Students interested in competing for these awards should provide a list of current and anticipated sources of support for their doctoral research on their applications.

To Apply:

Doctoral students (Ph.D. or Sc.D.) are eligible to enroll in the Consortium
after completing one year of study in their home department. Applicants
should submit a 1-page C.V. and a statement of no more than 500 words
describing their interest in and qualifications for the program and how it
relates to their graduate work. Applicants must obtain the approval of their
research advisor and submit a proposed course of study that specifies when
they plan to take each course. Note that the program must be completed
within two years. Applications should be submitted by May 15, 2009 to
Brenda Hugot (bhugot@fas.harvard.edu) at the Harvard University Center
for the Environment.

Harvard University Center for the Environment
24 Oxford St., 3rd floor
Cambridge, MA 02138