The University of Houston has announced a new undergraduate degree program that will be offered starting this fall:
At the University of Houston, a bachelor’s degree plan in petroleum engineering will be offered starting next fall to help replenish the industry’s aging workforce.
“Launching a new undergraduate program in petroleum engineering is a significant step toward meeting the workforce needs of the energy industry,” said Cullen College of Engineering dean Joseph W. Tedesco. “The demand for petroleum engineers has never been greater, and we are now situated to better serve our energy-centered region as well as our nation.”
The Society of Petroleum Engineers projects 40 percent of the industry’s workforce will reach retirement age next year. That, coupled with growth in the industry and a national decline in the number of students pursuing degrees in technical fields, has businesses scrambling for talent.
[snip]
Approved by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board on Thursday, the degree program will combine the fundamentals of petroleum engineering and geosciences with economics, energy law and business. The program, along with a pre-existing master’s degree option, aims to fill gaps in the workforce and arm graduates with the skills needed to respond to the evolving industry.
The curriculum was established after consulting extensively with the college’s petroleum engineering advisory board, which is made up of industry professionals, and Devon Energy and Marathon Oil have contributed $1.6 million toward the program.
“This unique degree program is highly interdisciplinary and combines fundamentals in petroleum engineering and geosciences with business, economics and energy law – created through collaboration with industry,” said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, chair of the college’s department of chemical and biomolecular engineering, where the program is housed. “The degree will also include a revolutionary modular curriculum allowing students to focus their degrees in areas of specialization, such as reservoir engineering and petroleum geology.”
Ray Flumerfelt, the petroleum program’s director, said UH was perfectly positioned to provide a petroleum engineering program. “We are in the center of the industry and, as a university, we couldn’t ignore this need,” he said.
He might have added, “any longer.”
This is a smart move for UH, in terms of the degree offering and the partnership with local industry.
