In March Texas Tech University announced the impending implementation of a new degree program in the university’s Energy offerings. William R. Keffer, Director of Energy Law Programs, shared the news of a new Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies (MSIS) in Energy.
“I’m very excited to announce a new degree in energy that we’ve been working on for the past couple of years,” Keffer said. Remarking that “Academic time is only slightly faster than geologic time,” he admitted that the degree has been a long while in the making.
But now it’s here and students enrolled in this degree program will have the opportunity to take courses offered by instructors from the Petroleum Engineering Department, the National Wind Institute, the Energy Commerce Department in the Rawls College of Business, and the School of Law.
“The operative word is ‘interdisciplinary,’” Keffer emphasized. The degree program is designed primarily for working professionals but is open to any and all that might be interested. This is a great way to become conversant in the various disciplines that are so important in the energy industry today.
To accommodate prospective students that are employed full-time and live outside of Lubbock, the courses will be offered online, with only one or two in-person weekend visits to the Texas Tech campus during each semester. Students will select any three of the four subject-matter units and will take three courses per unit per semester. The degree can be earned in as soon as one year. Each semester unit (consisting of three courses) will cost $14,000 for a total degree cost of $42,000.
The first cohort begins this Fall, and applications are being accepted now. Interested parties can also find out more information by visiting the website at www.depts.ttu.edu/gradschool/Programs/energy/.