EBF Introductory and Advanced Electives

There are a large number of potential classes here, not all of which are listed on the degree audit or in the University Bulletin. Basically, the program will accept any GN class offered by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. Below is a discussion of a few classes that we particularly encourage students to take.

Other GN courses in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences that will automatically count as an Introductory Elective are:

There are a number of choices here, and not all will be discussed. If students desire to concentrate in areas relevant to the major with courses not listed here, they should contact the EBF program chair in advance.

• ECON 306 Introduction to Econometrics (3) The implementation of statistical techniques to analyze data and address economic questions. Econometric results are produced and assessed.
• ECON 402 Decision Making and Strategy in Economics (3) Development and application of the tools for decision making under uncertainty and for game theoretic analysis of economic problems.
• ECON 415 The Economics of Global Climate Change (3) Evidence on climate change; economic models of the environment and market failure; cost-benefit analysis of policy options; carbon markets.
• ECON 444 Economics of the Corporation (3) Coordination and incentive issues within a corporation. Topics include employment contracts, performance incentives and pricing of financial assets.
• EGEE 437 Design of Solar Energy Conversion Systems (3) A review of fundamental concepts in solar energy conversion including photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal conversion systems.
• EGEE 438 Wind and Hydropower Energy Conversion (3) Principles of sustainability and renewable energy conversion with emphasis on wind and hydrokinetic energy resources.
• EGEE 439 Alternative Fuels from Biomass Sources (3) This course will examine the chemistry of technologies of bio-based sources for power generation and transportation fuels.
• EME 301 Thermodynamics in Energy and Mineral Engineering (3) Treatment of classical thermodynamics targeted to the needs of students in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering.
• EME 407 Electrochemical Energy Storage (3) Electrochemical concepts in energy storage devices, cell construction and materials involved in batteries and capacitors, electrochemical testing methods and applications.
• EME 450 Energy Crisis Leadership (3) Energy Crisis Leadership prepares students to lead in high-pressure, high-stakes environments. This is an interactive class that utilizes case studies to help students solve open-ended and complex problems. The case studies are from rare, but significant events with challenges that students are likely to experience someday in the energy and natural resource industries. In addition to the case studies, we will have guest speakers from the energy industry discuss their experiences with various operational upsets and their roles in addressing them. The culmination of the class is a competition where teams of students must formulate a plan to deal with a major crisis.
• FIN 406 Security Analysis and Portfolio Management (3) Advanced valuation theory; fundamentals of security analysis; portfolio construction and management. This class has historically only been available to EBF students during the summer.
• FIN 408 Financial Markets and Institutions (3) Functional analysis of major credit institutions; sources and uses of funds; impact of government regulation. This class has historically only been only available to EBF students during the summer.
• FIN 410 Derivative Markets (3) Functions, techniques, and impact of speculation conducted through forward markets; the nature of speculative transactions, pricing, and methods of trading.
• GEOSC 450 Risk Analysis in the Earth Sciences (3) An introduction to concepts and methods of quantitative risk analysis with focus on water, climate, and energy related risks. There will be a lot of math in this class.
• GEOSC 454 Geology of Oil and Gas (3) Properties, origin, migration, and occurrence of oil and gas. This course has one or more required field trips for which a fee is charged to the student. This is a challenging yet highly relevant class. Speak to the instructor before you sign up for it, particularly if you have struggled with other Geosciences courses.
• METEO 460 Weather Risk and Financial Markets (3) This course will introduce the role that weather plays as a source of financial and operational risk for businesses, market and other institutions.
• METEO 473 Application of Computers to Meteorology (3) Application of statistical and numerical methods to practical problems in meteorology. This is a challenging class. If you are not also a meteorology major or minor, speak with the instructor before signing up to ensure that the class will be appropriate for you.
• GEOG 430 Human Use of Environment (3) The human use of resources and ecosystems and social causes and consequences of environmental degradation in different parts of the world; development of environmental policy and management strategies.
• GEOG 431 Geography of Water Resources (3) Perspectives on water as a resource and hazard for human society; water resource issues in environmental and regional planning.
• CED 404 (AGEC) Methods in Natural Resources and Environmental Economics (3) Students will learn empirical research methodology in the areas of environ- mental and natural resource economics.
• CED 409 Land Use Planning and Procedure (3) General land use planning laws and procedures.
• CED 429 (AGEC) Natural Resource Econmics (3) Optimal management of resources; roles of markets and other institutions; resources and economic development; public policy.
• FOR 440 Forest Economics and Finance (3) The application of economic theory to forest resources systems, with emphasis on production and investment analyses.
• PNG 301 Introduction to Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering (3) The course first introduces the design and implementation of the systems used in the extraction of oil and gas and then presents the various key disciplines in petroleum and natural gas engineering in the chronological order of how the disciplines interact.