The minor in Energy Business and Finance (EBF), offered through University Park and through World Campus, is very popular. The minor provides good supplementary training in energy markets and finance for students who intend to seek careers in any sector of the energy industry. It is primarily oriented towards students in science and engineering majors, but students in other fields (like business or economics) with appropriate math background may find the EBF minor a good way to learn about markets for oil, gas and electric power.
Below are the answers to some frequently asked questions about the EBF minor.
How do I declare the EBF minor?
Students can apply for the EBF minor using the Update Academics function in LionPATH. A tutorial on using Update Academics is available at https://lionpathsupport.psu.edu/student-help/.
What do I need to take to complete the minor?
The current minor requirements are listed in the Bulletin. The current requirements for the EBF minor are below. The minor requires 27-29 credits total. A, C, or better is required in all minor requirements.
Prescribed courses: ECON 102, EBF 200, EBF 301, EME 460
- Additional courses:
- MATH 22, MATH 110 or 140 (we will also accept MATH 26, 40 or 41, although calculus is a prerequisite for many of the 400-level Supporting Courses)
- STAT 200 or STAT 401 (An additional course in the Bulletin, EBF 472, is still on the books but we aren’t planning to offer it after Spring 2018. Students at a campus that still offers STAT 301 can use that to substitute for STAT 200. ECON 106 or SCM 200 may be used as substitutes for STAT 200 with permission of the professor in charge of the minor.)
- EGEE 101, 102 or 120.
- Supporting Courses and Related Areas: Choose 6 credits from EBF 401, 402, 473, 483, 484; EGEE 401; EME 444; GEOG 424, 430, 431, 432, 444, 469; GEOSC 402, 454; METEO 473.
The EBF minor requirements have gone through some changes in recent years. In 2015, ECON 102 was added as a specific requirement (because it is a prerequisite for EBF 200). In 2017, a statistics course was added as a requirement.
Be aware that many 400-level courses have prerequisites that have been updated (and some may have controls limiting entry to students from certain majors, so there is no guarantee that all of the courses on the Supporting Courses and Related Areas list will be open to EBF minors). You may be removed from classes if you sign up without having the prerequisites. In particular, the prerequisites for 400-level EBF courses are as follows:
- EBF 401: EBF 200 and EBF 301 and EME 460 and (EBF 472 or STAT 200 or STAT 401 or ECON 106 or SCM 200)
- EBF 402: BLAW 243 or BA 242 or BA 243
- EBF 473: EBF 200 and (MATH 111 or MATH 141) and (EBF 472 or STAT 200 or STAT 401 or ECON 106 or SCM 200)
- EBF 483: EBF 200 and MATH 140 and EBF 301 and (EBF 472 or STAT 200 or STAT 401 or ECON 106 or SCM 200)
- EBF 484: (MATH 110 or MATH 140) and EBF 200 and EBF 301 and (ECON 302 or MATH 250 or MATH 251)
What if I want to take a course without having all prerequisites?
Questions about course prerequisites should be directed to the instructor, not the professor in charge of the EBF minor. Remember that being allowed to take a course without prerequisites like ECON 102 or statistics does not mean that these courses will be waived for the EBF minor.
How quickly can I finish the minor? How should I plan to schedule classes?
Students should plan to take at least three or four semesters to complete the minor. This includes the preliminary courses like ECON 102, math and statistics. Because of the prerequisites for EBF courses, there is some recommended sequencing for the EBF minor:
- ECON 102, math, and statistics should be taken first;
- Next, take EBF 200, EBF 301 and EME 460;
- Finally, you can take the 400-level electives in Supporting Courses;
- The semester for EGEE 101, 102 or 120 is flexible.
My major requirements do not include ECON 102 or statistics. Does this mean that I can take classes for the minor without having these prerequisites?
No. Prerequisites apply to all students, regardless of when a student enters the minor or enters Penn State.
My major allows ECON 104 to substitute for ECON 102. Can I use ECON 104 in place of ECON 102 for the EBF minor?
No. The minor requires ECON 102, and we don’t consider ECON 104 an appropriate substitute. ECON 102 is also a prerequisite for EBF 200.
I managed to take EBF 200 without having taken ECON 102 first. Can I be let out of the ECON 102 requirement?
No. You need to take ECON 102.
Can I use an engineering course in place of the EGEE 101 or 102 requirement?
No. Students in engineering majors are encouraged to take EGEE 120, which is an interesting course on the history of the oil industry. Frankly, anyone who cares about global energy in any capacity should learn about the history of oil and gas development.
I would like to substitute a 400-level course not on the list of Supporting Courses. What should I do?
The professor in charge of the EBF minor will consider requests to substitute supporting courses. Students seeking substitutes will need to fill out appropriate substitution forms from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences (not a student’s home College if other than Earth and Mineral Sciences), sign it and give it to the professor in charge of the EBF minor. The form can be found in 115 Hosler or online.
Students should note that petitions for substitutes for Supporting Courses that do not have a high level of energy economics content will not be accepted. Simply because a course is energy-related (as are many courses in engineering majors like Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering) does not mean that it will be accepted as a substitute for the minor.
I took both STAT 200 and EBF 472. Can I use EBF 472 as a 400-level Supporting Course?
No. EBF 472 will not count as a 400-level Supporting Course.
My version of the EBF minor does not list the statistics requirement. Can I use EBF 472 as a 400-level Supporting Course?
No. EBF 472 will not count as a 400-level Supporting Course.
I am going to graduate this semester, but I am not quite done with my minor requirements. What do I do?
There are two options in this situation. You can have the minor removed (but once you have applied for graduation, you can no longer remove a minor yourself through Update Academics; instead, you would need to contact the Undergraduate Office at the College of EMS to request to have the EBF minor removed from your records), or you can delay your graduation until your minor requirements are met.
I am a University Park student, and I want to take a World Campus class for the minor. How do I do that?
Some of the Supporting Courses, like EGEE 401 and EME 444, are offered only through World Campus. Students from other campuses may be able to enroll in these classes with the permission of the World Campus registrar, at registrar@outreach.psu.edu. Enrollment in these courses is not guaranteed, and students from outside of World Campus may need to wait until the first week of term to enroll to give World Campus students the first chance at scheduling the classes.