Integrated utilities engineering-management MS program

Summary form only given. Electric, water, gas and transportation utilities face severe tasks associated with security, quality, availability, reliability and profitability issues. They must solve interrelated system problems with respect to generation of electricity, transportation of fuel, and potable/waste water. Engineers and managers of utilities must be well versed in the different areas of engineering such as electrical, civil, mechanical, and telecommunications. The University of Colorado addresses this educational opportunity by proposing a novel integrated utilities management program for MS candidates who have a solid BS background or equivalent in a related discipline. The MS program will consist of four interdisciplinary courses dealing with business, management and legal topics as they relate to federal and state regulatory, as well as agency and people-related leadership issues. The electric utilities option of this program will be centered on three core courses covering generation/transmission/distribution, security/availability, quality/reliability, economics/environmental policy, and utility finance. Two elective courses address nuclear power, waste water, solid waste, telecommunications, renewable energy, data communication, fuels and case studies. A capstone course consisting of either operations research or the investigation and resolution of a pending utility project such as the right-of-way of transmission lines, specification of new power plants, retrofitting of power plants or their impact on the environment. Courses will be taught nationwide via the Center for Advanced Training in Engineering & Computer Science (CATECS) of the University of Colorado.