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Education & Outreach

Bioenergy PSM

 

Professional Science Master's (PSM)

The Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER) in the College of ACES will offer (beginning Fall 2009) a Master of Science degree in Bioenergy with a concentration in PSM (non-thesis). In addition to receiving training in the general field of bioenergy, students gain relevant professional experience in business and related topics through coursework and an internship.

Students may choose from four specialty areas:

Plants, Soils and Feedstocks

Production, Processing and Use

Environment, Economics and Policy & Law

Tools and Methods

 

CABER will teach two classes in Bioenergy:

Bioenergy Systems ACES 409 (3 hours) Syllabus- Fall 2009 (PDF)

Advanced Bioenergy Topics - Seminar Series ACES 501 (2 hours). Syllabus

Bioenergy topics for both classes include:

1.

Plant physiology, chemistry and microbiology 

2.

Soil ecology and productivity 

3.

Crops, feedstocks and harvesting 

4.

Land use, crop allocation and distribution of bioenergy

5.

Biochemical processes (conversion, deconstruction, bioprocessing)

6.

Other physical and chemical processes (combustion, gasification, pyrolysis)

7.

Use of biofuels (ethanol, biodiesel, cellulosic and other biofuels)

8.

Other uses of biomass (thermal, biogas, chemical products, waste management)

9.

Computational tools (bioinformatics, systems biology, modeling & simulation, GIS)

10.

Environment (life-cycle analysis, environmental impacts and sustainability)

11.

Energy fundamentals (energy science, renewable energy systems)

12.

Economics of bioenergy (costs, prices, markets, financing and marketing)

13.

Legal, policy and societal issues

 

Bioenergy PSM Frequently Asked Questions (pdf)

Admission Information

Applicants should have a baccalaureate degree in a recognized field of biological, physical, agricultural, socio-economic or engineering science. Additional Bioenergy Admission Requirements

Applicants should submit transcripts and letters of recommendation (if references prefer to not submit electronically) to:




Center for Advanced BioEnergy Research (CABER)
College of ACES, University of Illinois
34 Animal Sciences Laboratory
1207 W. Gregory Dr., MC-630
Urbana, IL 61801

 

For additional questions, please contact Terri Cummings.

Financial Assistance

Financial assistance in the form of full or partial waiver of tuition and fees is NOT available to PSM students. Students are responsible for securing adequate funds to pay tuition, fees, living expenses, and all other costs. Please visit the Office of Student Financial Aid for more information.

Degree Requirements

The MS degree in Bioenergy with a PSM concentration has four curricular components:




Science
Business
Internship
Industry Seminars

 

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