Master of Energy Economics (MEEcon) Degree
Program Learning Outcomes for the MEEcon Degree
Upon completing the MEEcon degree, students will be able to:
- Understand and apply basic economic, scientific, political, and statistical principles useful for analyzing and understanding energy markets.
- Apply quantitative skills, including econometric models and statistical software, to better utilize data to critique, analyze, and report results of industry-related issues and inform strategic decisions.
- Be better able to communicate insights arising from the economics perspective on issues affecting the energy sector.
Requirements for the MEEcon Degree
The MEEcon degree is a non-thesis master's degree. For general university requirements, please see Non-Thesis Master's Degrees. For additional requirements, regulations, and procedures for all graduate programs, please see All Graduate Students. Students pursuing the MEEcon degree must complete:
- A minimum of 44 credit hours to satisfy degree requirements.
- A minimum of 44 credit hours of graduate-level study (graduate semester credit hours, coursework at the 500-level or above).
- A minimum of 24 graduate semester credit hours must be taken at Rice University.
- A minimum of 24 graduate semester credit hours must be taken in standard or traditional courses (with a course type of lecture, seminar, laboratory, lecture/laboratory).
- A minimum residency enrollment of 2 semesters of full-time graduate study at Rice University.
- A maximum of 2 courses (6 graduate semester credit hours) from transfer credit. For additional departmental guidelines regarding transfer credit, see the Policies tab.
- A practicum or internship.
- A minimum overall GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework.
- A minimum program GPA of 2.67 or higher in all Rice coursework that satisfies requirements for the non-thesis master’s degree.
The courses listed below satisfy the requirements for this degree program. In certain instances, courses not on this official list may be substituted upon approval of the program's academic advisor or, where applicable, the department or program's Director of Graduate Studies. Course substitutions must be formally applied and entered into Degree Works by the department or program's Official Certifier. Additionally, these course substitutions must be approved by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies. Students and their academic advisors should identify and clearly document the courses to be taken.
Summary
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Total Credit Hours Required for the MEEcon Degree | 44 | |
Degree Requirements
| Code | Title | Credit Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements 1 | ||
| ECON 601 | ENERGY ECONOMICS I | 4 |
| ECON 602 | MICROECONOMICS OF THE ENERGY SECTOR | 4 |
| ECON 603 | APPLIED ECONOMETRICS FOR ENERGY MARKETS | 4 |
| ECON 604 | ENERGY ECONOMICS II | 4 |
| ECON 606 | CORPORATE FINANCE FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR | 4 |
| ECON 610 | ENERGY AND THE MACROECONOMY | 4 |
| ECON 699 | PRACTICUM 2 | 4 |
| Elective Requirements | ||
| Select 4 courses as electives from departmental (ECON) course offerings selected from any course between ECON 605 and ECON 622 (except ECON 606 and ECON 610, which are required) 3 | 16 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 44 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | During the summer before the student’s first fall semester, two online "camps" (one in Statistics and one in Mathematics, hosted by the Economics department and Rice Online Learning) must be successfully completed as required prerequisites to the MEEcon degree program's Core Requirements. |
| 2 | A practicum or internship is required for completion of the MEEcon professional master's degree. It can be taken in either the Spring or Summer Session. The practicum will provide students with practical experience relative to the degree. Students will work on projects developed by an industry advisory group. The research will be presented to participating industry advisors at the completion of the degree program. The projects will provide prospective employers with an opportunity to evaluate new talent effectively. As an alternative to the practicum, students may complete an internship with an approved special project with an employer. The internship is meant to last a minimum of 7 weeks and should be directly related to the student’s core area of study in the MEEcon degree program. Spring internships start on the first day of Spring classes. |
| 3 | See Proposed Plan-of-Study below. Students may complete 1-2 electives in Session II and 2-3 electives Session III. |
Proposed Plan-of-Study
The MEEcon degree program is completed in 12 months and is organized in four sessions. Sessions I and II correspond to the Fall and Spring semesters, respectively, and follow the standard Rice Academic Calendar. Sessions III and IV are two consecutive 7-week long sessions that take place during the subsequent summer semester. All courses (including required courses and electives) are graduate-level courses, numbered 500-level and above.
| Session I (Fall Semester) | Credit Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| ECON 601 | ENERGY ECONOMICS I | 4 |
| ECON 602 | MICROECONOMICS OF THE ENERGY SECTOR | 4 |
| ECON 603 | APPLIED ECONOMETRICS FOR ENERGY MARKETS | 4 |
| ECON 606 | CORPORATE FINANCE FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Session II (Spring Semester) | ||
| ECON 604 | ENERGY ECONOMICS II | 4 |
| ECON 610 | ENERGY AND THE MACROECONOMY | 4 |
| ECON 699 | PRACTICUM 1,2 | 4 |
| Elective one | Elective one 3 | 4 |
| Elective two | Elective two 3 | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Session III (Summer I) | ||
| Elective three | Elective three 3 | 4 |
| Elective four | Elective four 3 | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 8 | |
| Session IV (Summer II) | ||
| ECON 699 | PRACTICUM 1,2 | 4 |
| Credit Hours | 4 | |
| Total Credit Hours | 44 | |
Footnotes and Additional Information
| 1 | A practicum or internship is required for completion of the MEEcon professional master's degree. It can be taken in either Session II (Spring Semester) or Session IV (Summer II). The practicum will provide students with practical experience relative to the degree. Students will work on projects developed by an industry advisory group. The research will be presented to participating industry advisors at the completion of the degree program. The projects will provide prospective employers with an opportunity to evaluate new talent effectively. As an alternative to the practicum, students may complete an internship with an approved special project with an employer. The internship is meant to last a minimum of 7 weeks and should be directly related to the student’s core area of study in the MEEcon degree program. Spring internships start on the first day of Spring classes. |
| 2 | Students may select ECON 699 during one session - either Session II (Spring Semester) or Session IV (Summer II). Because the course is worth 4 credit hours and is only taken once, the total credit hours needed to complete the MEEcon degree is 44 hours. |
| 3 | Students must complete a total of 4 courses as electives from departmental (ECON) course offerings selected from any course between ECON 605 and ECON 622 (except ECON 606 and ECON 610, which are required). Students may complete either 1-2 electives in Session II, or 2-3 electives in Session III. |
Policies for the MEEcon Degree
Department of Economics Graduate Program Handbook
The General Announcements (GA) is the official Rice curriculum. As an additional resource for students, the Department of Economics publishes a graduate program handbook, which can be found here: https://gradhandbooks.rice.edu/2024_25/Economics_MEECON_Graduate_Handbook.pdf.
Admission
Information on admission to the MEEcon program is available on the Admissions tab of the Economics website. For general university requirements, see Graduate Degrees and Admission to Graduate Study.
Transfer Credit
For Rice University’s policy regarding transfer credit, see Transfer Credit. Some departments and programs have additional restrictions on transfer credit. Requests for transfer credit must be approved for Rice equivalency by the appropriate academic department offering the Rice equivalent course (corresponding to the subject code of the course content) and by the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (GPS). Students are encouraged to meet with their academic program’s advisor when considering transfer credit possibilities.
Program Transfer Credit Guidelines
Students pursuing the MEEcon degree should be aware of the following program-specific transfer credit guideline:
- No more than 2 courses (6 credit hours) of transfer credit from U.S. or international universities of similar standing as Rice may apply towards the degree.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Economics website: https://economics.rice.edu/.
Opportunities for the MEEcon Degree
Byron Pope Award
The Byron Pope Award is given to the student who best exemplifies the benefits provided by participation in the Masters in Energy Economics Program.
MEEcon Award for Scholarly Excellence
This award is for superior demonstrated academic excellence in the Master of Energy Economics program courses. This award is supported by a gift from BP.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see the Economics website: https://economics.rice.edu/.