History

The EAP program is one of the oldest graduate energy programs in the world, dating back to its establishment in 1980. The EAP program has its origins in the 1970s, a period of intense public interest in energy issues. In the late 1970s, a faculty committee shaped the curriculum for a graduate degree focusing on energy issues. From its inception, cross-campus collaboration has been central to the program, as committee members’ affiliations spanned business, economics, engineering, environmental studies, geophysics, political science, and urban and regional planning.

At its inception, EAP was designed as a 40-credit program that could be earned concurrently with a M.S. degree in Environment & Resources (at that time called Land Resources), Urban & Regional Planning, or the La Follette School of Public Affairs. In response to low enrollment numbers, in 1999 EAP was modified to become a more tightly defined 18-credit certificate that could be earned concurrently with almost any graduate degree at UW–Madison. EAP enrollment grew as students from a wider array of programs registered for the certificate. In 2019, EAP leadership changed the certificate to 13 credits, making it accessible to even more students across campus.

Twelve faculty members make up our Program Committee, including the four faculty hired from 2001–07 through the University-wide Cluster Hiring Initiative in Energy Sources and Policy (the “Energy Cluster Faculty”): Prof. Wilson, Prof. Holloway, Prof. Nemet, and Prof. Lesieutre. In addition, several faculty engage with EAP as affiliate faculty. EAP faculty teach classes, advise students, and provide graduate student assistantships. EAP faculty interact with the broader UW–Madison academic community on issues related to energy technology, energy and the environment, energy economics, and energy policy. Cross-campus collaboration is further enhanced through the faculty’s participation in the leadership of the Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI).

Who are our students?

 

These charts reflect EAP’s student body in spring of 2019.

The EAP program is part of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, partnered with the Wisconsin Energy Institute