IT IS some time since Energy flagged up a degree programme overseas. However, a new Batchelor’s programme at the University of Houston caught our eye. It starts in the autumn and is said to complement UH’s other energy-related degree courses.
According to UH president Renu Khator, more than 28,000 students at UH are pursuing degrees with ties to the energy industry.
The new course will combine the fundamentals of petroleum engineering and geosciences with economics, energy law and business.
The diet, along with a pre-existing Master’s option, aims to fill gaps in the workforce and arm graduates with the skills needed to respond to the evolving industry.
The curriculum was established after consulting extensively with the college’s petroleum engineering advisory board, which is made up of industry professionals. Devon Energy and Marathon Oil have contributed $1.6million towards establishing this new course.
The degree will also include a “revolutionary modular curriculum” allowing students to focus their degrees in areas of specialisation such as reservoir engineering and petroleum geology.
Ray Flumerfelt, the petroleum programme’s director, said UH was perfectly positioned to provide this sort of degree.
“We are in the centre of the industry and, as a university, we couldn’t ignore this need,” he said.
The curriculum melds geosciences with the technical aspects of petroleum engineering – computer systems, data mining and database management – and includes instruction in project management and entrepreneurship.