Undergraduate Programs

Undergraduate Minor in Energy and Resources

The Minor in Energy and Resources offers under­grad­u­ates the oppor­tu­nity to develop basic knowl­edge and skills to help them address the com­plex and inter­de­pen­dent issues asso­ci­ated with the inter­ac­tion of social, eco­nomic, polit­i­cal, tech­ni­cal, and envi­ron­men­tal fac­tors. Though it is designed pri­mar­ily to com­ple­ment majors in the nat­ural sci­ences and engi­neer­ing, stu­dents in any major with the appro­pri­ate pre­req­ui­sites may pur­sue the ERG Minor.

ERG provides a dynamic academic environment in which students, core faculty, and affiliate faculty members communicate and collaborate freely and actively. This rich and diverse network of scholarship is represented in ERG’s broad research themes (Technology, Development and Society; Consumption, Resource Use and Equity; Global Change Science; Governance Challenges; and Ecological Economics), and is reflected in its curricular offerings. Most of these themes are not “fields” as defined by traditional academic departments. They have emerged through ERG’s integrative approach to research, and through applying our research to energy and resource problems at home and abroad.

A structured approach to studies of energy and resources has two advantages: (1) Students receive guidance in selecting a coherent set of courses that can be tailored to their particular interests. (2) An officially recognized “minor” in energy and resources is of strategic importance when seeking jobs in the burgeoning areas of environmental science and policy.

More information about the minor.

Sustainability Summer Minor/Certificate

The Summer-only Minor or Certificate in Sustainability is open to matriculated UC Berkeley undergraduates, students from other institutions, and the general public. Upon completion, UC Berkeley undergraduates receive a Minor in Sustainability, while other participants receive a Certificate in Sustainability from UC Berkeley.

More information about the summer-only Minor and Certificate in Sustainability.

Undergraduate Course Offerings

Please note: This is a full list of ERG undergraduate course offerings; not all courses are offered each term. For current course offerings, please refer to the online Schedule of Classes(link is external).

ENERES 98/198 – Energy DeCal
Instructor: Daniel Kammen (Instructor of Record); class conducted by undergraduate students
Introduction to energy topics and explore the social, environmental and economic consequences of our carbon-based economy. Includes guest speakers, article presentations, projects, discussions, and films to explore the energy cycle; tracing its origins, distribution, consumption and waste.

ENERES C100 /C200 – Energy and Society
Instructor: Daniel Kammen
(Cross-listed with Pub Pol C184/C284.)
You will develop an understanding – and a real working knowledge – of our energy technologies, policies and options. This will include analysis of the different opportunities and impacts of energy systems that exist within and between groups defined by national, regional, household, ethnic, and gender distinctions. Analysis of the range of current and future energy choices will be stressed, as well as the role of energy in determining local environmental conditions and the global climate. ER C100 is open to undergraduates. ER C200 is open to graduate students. 

ENERES 101 – Ecology and Society
(Prerequisites: One college level course, or high school Advanced Placement, in either physics or biology; introductory calculus)
Introduction to the many ways in which our lives are intertwined with the ecosystems around us. Topics will include ecological limits to growth, climate change and other threats to biodiversity, the value of ecosystem goods and services, the ecology of disease, ecotoxicology, the evolution of cooperation in ecosystems, industrial ecology, and the epistemology of ecology. 

ENERES 102 – Quantitative Aspects of Global Environmental Problems
Instructor: Lara Kueppers
Human disruption of biogeochemical and hydrological cycles; causes and consequences of climate change and acid deposition; transport and health impacts of pollutants; loss of species; radioactivity in the environment; epidemics.

ENERES 131 – Data, Environment, and Society
Instructor: Duncan Callaway
(This course will use Python, and students must have taken Data 8 before enrolling)
This course will teach students to build, estimate and interpret models that describe phenomena in the broad area of energy and environmental decision-making. Students leave the course as both critical consumers and responsible producers of data-driven analysis. The effort will be divided between (i) learning a suite of data-driven modeling and prediction tools (ii) building the programming and computing expertise to use those tools and (iii) developing the ability to formulate and answer resource allocation questions within energy and environment contexts. 

ENERES C176 – Climate Change Economics
Instructor: David Anthoff
This course is a self-contained introduction to the economics of climate change. Climate change is caused by a large variety of economic activities and many of its impacts will have economic consequences. Economists have studied climate change for more than two decades and economic arguments are often powerful in policy decisions. The course will familiarize students with these arguments and equip them with the tools to participate in discussions of climate change policy through an economic lens.