<p>Which type of engineering would you study if you desired to learn about solar energy, solar cells? I researched and my conclusion is Mechanical Engineering. May someone with more knowledge in this area please confirm this, just to make sure that I didn't miss anything? Thank you.</p>
<p>physics or electrical engineering</p>
<p>mechanical engineering departments will sometimes offer a solar energy course, but unless they do you will not learn much about electromagnetic radiation and the photovoltaic effect.</p>
<p>Solar energy has two branches: photovoltaics (solar panels) and thermal (heating up water). For photovoltaics, you need to know solid state physics, which physics and electrical engineering both teach. I'm not sure what major would best prepare you for solar thermal power.</p>
<p>what they mean really is materials science engineering.</p>
<p>There are tons of Materials Science & Engineering people that work on photovoltaics and hydrogen storage. At their heart, they really are a materials science problem, as you're designing a material to fit a very specific need. I imagine there are also a few ChemEs doing this kind of work, too.</p>
<p>Yes, materials science is another good major for photovoltaics. I forgot it because my school doesn't offer it.</p>
<p>Also don't forget PEC Photogeneration cells which produce hydrogen and oxygen from sunlight. This usually falls into the ChemE/MatSci domain. </p>
<p>If you want to do research in solar energy there really are a lot of options you can choose from EE to ChemE though honestly MatSci might give you the largest number of options...</p>
<p>Thanks everyone.</p>