Certificate in Energy Studies

To receive a certificate, students must take six courses divided evenly between the three partner universities (18 credit hours) and complete and present a senior capstone ePortfolio project. Note that in the certificate programs, only two courses may double-count with your major.

• 2 Courses from GU-Q
• 2 Courses from TAMU-Q
• 2 Courses from CMU-Q
• Capstone Portfolio: Senior capstone ePortfolio on a specific theme
• Presentation: A public presentation of your capstone digital research project

Once accepted to the program, students will be notified of eligible courses for registration and cross-registration. The courses listed below are examples. The course offerings will vary each semester. Students must discuss their graduation strategy with Ms. Wanucha and Professor Miller to successfully complete the program.

GU-Q (2 courses)

• International Political Economy 
• Politics and Society in the Gulf 
• Political Economy of the Gulf 
• Energy Policy in the Middle East 
• Gulf Security: Contemporary Era 
• Qatar, Energy Security and Strategic Planning
• Problems in US Energy History

TAMU-Q (2 courses)

• Engineering for Sustainable Development 
• Energy Resources, Utilization, and Importance to Society

CMU-Q (2 courses)

• Operations Management 
• International Management
• Sustainability in the Digital Age
• Digital Transformation, Strategy and Management

The ePortfolio is a cumulative project that encourages students to reflect on the work they have done in the program as a whole. It serves as an online repository for student organization and learning, and for advisor mentoring and monitoring.  On the student end, it organizes the students’ interdisciplinary and experiential connections throughout the Energy Studies Program, and fosters reflection and critical evaluation. On the faculty side, it facilitates student-advisor interaction and monitoring of progress. 

The capstone ePortfolio is done throughout the student’s learning trajectory in the CES certificate program and finalized in the senior year.

ePortfolio Requirements

• Documentation of each of the six courses taken for CES: For each course taken, create a documentation file that includes a description of the course, relevant media images, at least one representative written work produced for the course, and a 300-word written reflection on the experience of the course as it relates to the certificate.

• Capstone project: Complete a digital research project on an energy studies topic chosen in consultation with a faculty mentor and CES field chair. The capstone project should include visual infographics, images, digestible headers and paragraphs to visually categorize the research findings, hyperlinks to further information and references, and video and audio clips of the student describing the project (see C). For further guidelines, see the detailed eportfolio rubric below.

• Video narrative presentation of the capstone project: Develop a 15-minute video narrative describing the capstone project findings as well as personal reflections on the CES  journey. The video can show the student talking about the project, provide a voice-over narration of the project visuals, or combine both approaches.

• One (minimum) co-curricular enrichment activity reflection: Attend a relevant lecture, workshop, field trip, student club activity, webinar, or conference panel and write a 500-word reflection describing the experience and its connection to the certificate and/or the capstone project.
• Essay: Write a final reflective essay (1500-2000 words), which considers the interdisciplinary connections between classwork, concepts, and experiences acquired through CES.  The reflective essay not only establishes connections but also demonstrates a critical evaluation of these connections and self-assessment in a clear, well-written, and organized prose.