Online Colleges with Degrees in Sustainability: penn state

Friday, August 2, 2013

Penn State World Campus - Online Degree in Sustainability

As part of our ongoing effort to identify, evaluate and publicize online degree programs in sustainability, today we will be looking at the Penn State World Campus Online. The Penn State World Campus Online is an online college that awards a Bachelors of Arts in Energy and Sustainability Policy. Our information comes from a variety of sources, but all evaluations and opinions are our own.

Online College

Penn State World Campus Online - The Penn State World Campus Online Program is a set of online degree programs offered by the Pennsylvania State University. The admissions site states that all graduates from this degree program will earn a diploma from the Pennsylvania State University, the same as if they had attended the flagship campus at State College.

Online Degree Programs

Bachelors of Arts in Energy and Sustainability (120 Credits)

Descriptions

The Penn State World Campus Bachelors of Arts in Energy and Sustainability is, as its name suggests, heavily focused upon energy policy with a particular emphasis on renewables. The focus is presumably the product of collaboration with private experts and donors from within the energy industry, and the program claims to have been designed by "an advisory board of energy industry experts and Penn State faculty." The thrust of the program is to prepare students for success in energy careers in the governmental, private and non-governmental sectors focusing heavily upon international energy policy. The faculty hail mostly from the Penn State flagship campus, but also from a number of Penn State's other campuses including Hazleton, and most call the departments of geography and business their home.

Pros

Energy is an extraordinarily important and stable industry, so a degree with an energy-specific focus will prepare the job-seeker for a number of options within the various fields suggested by the term energy. The degree, as awarded by Penn State, doesn't distinguish between online and in-person completion, so the graduate will receive all the benefits of having attended a prestigious university such as Penn State without the campus commitment.

Cons

As opposed to, say, the University of Wisconsin, Penn State is not as prestigious a name. Only bachelors offered in this field...no masters or MBA programs.