Undergraduate Minor in Energy and Resources

The Minor in Energy and Resources offers under­grad­u­ates basic knowl­edge and skills to address issues arising from the inter­ac­tion of social, eco­nomic, polit­i­cal, tech­ni­cal, and envi­ron­men­tal fac­tors shaping our world.

Students in the minor will gain an understanding of:

  • Technology, development, and society
  • Consumption, resource use, and equity
  • Global change science, and economics
  • Governance challenges

Though it is designed pri­mar­ily to com­ple­ment majors in the nat­ural sci­ences and engi­neer­ing, stu­dents in any major with the appro­pri­ate pre­req­ui­sites may pur­sue the minor.

Students receive guidance in selecting a coherent set of courses that can be tailored to their particular interests. A minor in Energy and Resources is of value when seeking jobs in the burgeoning areas of environmental sustainability and policy.

• VIDEO

James Kondrat on Energy and Society

In this video, former student and Cal rugby player James Kondrat discusses what he loved about Energy and Society, a key course in the ERG minor.
(Via the Rausser College Minor in Energy and Resources webpage)

Requirements and Courses

The minor is satisfied by completing five upper division courses, including two core courses and three electives. The core courses introduce interdisciplinary analysis and tools and methods from different disciplines such as economics and ecology. They also cover key energy and resource issues. The electives, which are selected from a pre-approved list or with faculty permission, allow further exploration of these concepts.

Completion of the minor program will be noted in the memorandum section of the student’s transcript of Berkeley work.

To see what completing the ERG minor might look like for you, take a look at our Minor Snapshot.

Core Courses

ENERES C100: Covers energy sources, uses, and impacts: an introduction to the technology, politics, economics, and environmental effects of energy in contemporary society. Energy and well-being; energy in international perspective, origins, and character of energy crisis.

ENERES 102: Discusses human disruption of biogeochemical and hydrological cycles; causes and consequences of climate change and acid deposition; transport and health impacts of pollutants; loss of species; radioactivity in the environment; and quantitative models to understand these environmental problems.

Electives

For a full list of available electives, please click here.

Declaring the Minor

If you are interested in pursuing the Energy and Resources Minor:

  1. Complete the Interest in Energy and Resources Minor form to get information about the minor and learn when you can declare
  2. Submit the Minor Completion form by the last week of instruction of the semester before the semester in which you intend to graduate to the undergraduate staff advisor at erg.minor@berkeley.edu or to 260 Mulford Hall

More Information

The Energy and Resources Group (ERG), which administers the minor, is an academic unit within the Rausser College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley. To receive updates about events and programs in ERG, please join the ERG mailing list. 

For more information, please contact:

Undergraduate Advisor
William Wyatt
wtwyatt@berkeley.edu

Energy and Resources Minor Faculty Advisor:
Lara Kueppers
Associate Professor, Energy and Resources Group
lmkueppers@berkeley.edu