Academics

The Master of Energy Economics is a full-time, 12-month professional master's degree. Courses are offered in-person only. The curriculum is offered in four terms: sessions I and II correspond to the fall and spring semesters, respectively, and follow the standard Rice academic calendar. Sessions III and IV are consecutive 7-week-long sessions that take place during the summer. All courses in Session I, and two in Session II, are mandatory. Sessions II and III provide a variety of specialized elective courses of particular interest to a subset of students. Students have the option to accelerate their program of study by taking additional elective courses in the spring semester.

The credit distribution is as follows:

2024-2025 Sequence 2024-2025 Electives***
Summer Preparatory Course
  • Online math/stat camp (6 weeks total; July 29 - August 23, 2024)*

4 courses in Session I (Fall semester)

  • ECON 601*
    Energy Economics I
  • ECON 602*
    Microeconomics of the Energy Sector
  • ECON 603*
    Applied Econometrics for Energy Markets
  • ECON 606*
    Corporate Finance for the Energy Sector

3-5 courses in Session II (Spring semester)

  • ECON 604*
    Energy Economics II
  • ECON 610*
    Energy & the Macroeconomy
  • Elective
  • Elective
  • ECON 699**
    Internship

1-3 courses in Session III (Summer I)

  • Elective
  • Elective
  • Elective

1 course in Session IV (Summer II)

  • ECON 699
    Practicum/Internship

Session II Electives

  • ECON 607
    The Economics of Energy and the Environment
  • ECON 608
    Risk Management
  • ECON 620
    Industrial Organization & the Energy Sector
  • ECON 605
    Taxation in the Energy Sector

Session III Electives

  • ECON 611
    Geopolitics of Energy
  • ECON 612
    Energy Project Developments
  • ECON 614
    Political Economy of Oil
  • ECON 621
    Electricity Industry Economics
  • ECON 622
    Transportation Economics

* Mandatory course

** Students may complete the required internship in Sessions II or IV. However, the practicum is only available in Session IV.

The internship should be directly related to the MEECON degree program. It is recognized that some students may be employed in an industry that provides a suitable internship opportunity. These students may be able to fulfill the internship requirement by working on a special project with their current employer. The practicum is a research project similar to what you will encounter in industry. It is developed by a group of participating industry advisors to whom the student will also present their analyses at the end of the degree program. Internships provide prospective employers with an opportunity to effectively evaluate new talent.

*** Elective courses may or may not be listed for future semesters.