Master of Science in alternative energy technology

To combat global warming and lessen dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels, the U.S. government has set a high priority on the development of new energy sources. Today, it dominates Michigan's industrial and technology landscape, and engineers are being asked to design renewable energy systems to power everything from vehicles to home heating and cooling systems. In 2004, WSU established the country's first master's degree program in alternative energy technology and has remained ahead of the curve with comprehensive curricula that prepare students to lead the evolution to a hydrogen-based economy.

At Wayne State's College of Engineering, you'll learn from nationally renowned faculty experts and benefit from our High Impact Practices of Student Success: team-based learning, global perspective, undergraduate research, internships and co-ops, and community service.

Mission statement

• To educate and prepare the technical and scientific workforce for the emerging alternative energy technology.
• To promote and mobilize/align available resources to develop interdisciplinary research programs.
• To disseminate technical information and raise public awareness on the emerging alternative energy technology.

Program goals

Alternative Energy Technology (AET) will dominate Michigan's industrial and technology landscape for the coming decades, as evidenced by the tremendous amount of investment that the federal government, automotive industry and fuel cell manufacturers have committed to advancing a hydrogen-based economy. Wayne State developed a comprehensive set of advanced educational programs to prepare the current and future Michigan workforce for the emerging AET field.

WSU's comprehensive curricula not only prepares our full-time graduate and undergraduate students, but also caters to Michigan's working engineers and scientists, to advance their knowledge and skills for emerging careers in AET. Our ultimate goal is to position Michigan as a primary center for alternative energy education, curriculum research and development.

Learning outcomes

• Apply mathematics, science and engineering concepts to identify and solve problems in electric-drive vehicle engineering and related general engineering areas.
• Apply the methodologies, skills, and modern science and engineering tools in electric-drive vehicle engineering design and applications.
• An ability to design sub-systems, components or processes for broadly defined electric-drive or alternative energy vehicle problems appropriate to program educational objectives.
• An ability to identify, analyze and solve broadly defined electric-drive and alternative energy vehicle problems.

Admissions requirements

The Master of Science degree program is open to students with a bachelor's degree in engineering or in other mathematics-based sciences in exceptional cases. Admission to this program is contingent upon admission to the Wayne State Graduate School.

• The GPA required to be considered for regular admission is to the M.S. program is 3.0 or above. Students with a GPA of 2.8 - 3.0 will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis if an applicant has significant relevant professional experience.
• The GPA required for to be considered for regular admission to the graduate certificate program is 2.7 or above. Students with a GPA of 2.5 - 2.7 will be considered if an applicant has significant relevant professional experience.
• The program will admit students with bachelor's degrees or the equivalent in engineering from an accredited college or university. Students with mathematics-based science degrees will be considered for admission on a case-by-case basis.
• No other supplemental admission documents are needed. However, letters of recommendation, a statement of purpose, professional resume/CV, and Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores are encouraged to aid the admission evaluation process.
• All students who have earned degrees from a country where English is not the native language must demonstrate English proficiency via a qualified examination. Applicants must earn a minimum score of 79 from the internet-based TOEFL (iBT) or 550 from a paper-based TOEFL (pBT), an IELTS score of 6.5, or an overall Duolingo score of 125.
• International applicants are required to submit an official course-by-course transcript evaluation. Accepted evaluation services include WES, ECE or SpanTran. Note that the official transcript evaluation must be transmitted directly from the evaluating agency to the WSU Office of Graduate Admissions. The transcript evaluation will serve as your official transcript.
• Students in the AET graduate certificate program can advance to the M.S. via an internal process. No additional graduate admission application is required.