<p>Hi everyone
i really hope someone can help me.
well I want work in the renewable energy field, but I'm having a very hard time figuring out universities that actually have this as a major especially since I'm an international student. Any ideas???</p>
<p>Then I thought, what if I did mechanical engineering and then worked in my preferred field just in case. Is it a good idea??
I'm totally lost and can't do anything</p>
<p>Um, renewable energy is a very wide field with lots of different areas of research.</p>
<p>There is no “renewable energy field” or “renewable energy major.”</p>
<p>Pick an area you like, i.e. do you want to do research on fusion, design biofuels, design nuclear power plants, etc. Then major in something related to that area. </p>
<p>Mechanical engineering isn’t as relevant as something like chemical engineering, nuclear engineering, or even a science major like physics, biochemistry. Ideally you’d want to combine a science and an engineering major, something like physics + materials science, or biochemistry + chem E.</p>
<p>feuxfollets, a number of schools do actually offer a “renewable energy engineering” degree, or similar fancy-sounding things.</p>
<p>[Renewable</a> Energy Engineering Degree | Oregon Tech Wilsonville](<a href=“http://www.oit.edu/wilsonville/programs/renewable-energy-engineering/overview]Renewable”>http://www.oit.edu/wilsonville/programs/renewable-energy-engineering/overview)</p>
<p>I’m really a pre-freshman just intending to take engineering, and don’t go to that school, but I assume that it’s sort of like a MechE degree with a focus in energy systems? Maybe some EE stuff? I know GATech has a minor/focus in energy systems for Mech students, and it has a bunch of wind energy-type course…I am purely guessing it’s something similar?</p>
<p>There are a lot of different components that go into “renewable energy.”</p>
<p>Want to design a smarter electric grid - EE.
Better batteries (lithium ion, etc) or fuel cells - chemE.
Design windmills - MechE
Nuclear reactors - NuclearE
Thin film solar cells - materials science.</p>
<p>These are just generalizations.</p>
<p>thank you everyone!!!
that was really helpful
just one more thing I prefer the actual building of such objects (solar panels, windmills)
that is why I want mechanical engineering. But renewable energy as whole needs some kind of life science. so do I choose the general science section or the life science section in my senior year knowing that I HATE BIOLOGY.
other than that, while I was researching It turned out the Upenn has a program called VIPER which is exactly what I want. SO what are the odds of getting accepted and getting a scholarship if I am an international student but my school grades are great as in A or A-</p>
<p>UPenn is one of the most selective schools in the country, so almost no-one’s odds are good. You need to be very well rounded with strong accomplishments. </p>
<p>UC Davis has been a leader in renewable energy engineering fields for around 4 decades. I grew up in Davis, and the culture of the town has promoted “green energy” long before anyone even heard of the term. Their hybrid vehicle program is one of the top in the world.</p>