online studies in renewable energy

[msantamaria]

Hello, I am an oil engineer (sorry) looking forward to joining the light side of the force.

I want to study renewable energies for a number of reasons, however with my time and location issues i can only study it online. I have been looking at masters recently and found out that recognized universities (mostly in the US) charge lots of money (arround 50k dollars) and require 3 years or more.

Because of this Im very confident i will join a program that takes arround 1 to 2 years, and costs arround 5k dollars. Much more convenient given my pockets and my time.

Does anyone have suggestions on this matter? Are you aware of good online master programs? or maybe can you provide feedback on these universities? Thank you!

UDIMA - distance university of madrid
SEAS.org.sg
Canary european university
EUCLID (i have seen a topic on this forum mentioning this one may not have enough qualification)
Heriot-watt
ECT - european centre of technology

Which one would you vouch for?
Thank you

Thank you

[MNomadic]

No need to apologize! We all need a job and there's nothing wrong with your line of work!
I don't have any specific feedback on those programs but here are some edx Micromasters you may be interested in:

https://www.edx.org/micromasters/solar-e...ngineering

https://www.edx.org/micromasters/uqx-sustainable-energy

These usually take about 6-12 months are around 1/4 to 1/2 of a master's(if you transfer it into one of the schools) and only run about $1-1.5k.

[Johann]

 

Heriot Watt? Any day! Excellent reputation. They have an M.Sc. in Renewable Energy Engineering - but not by distance, as far as I know. 
SEAS.org.sg - Looks like a great, focused school - but not degree-granting, as far as I can tell. About 5 individual distance courses listed - that's all. Everything else appears to be on-ground in Singapore -- and no degrees mentioned. But it's a nice place to visit, from what I hear. 
Euclid is emphatic that it's not American and has no CHEA-recognized accreditation and limits American enrollment. That cautionary statement makes its degree recognition at US schools (and likely those in Canada, where I live) sound potentially problematic, at least to me. Plus, I've been cautioned before that Unesco listings don't guarantee universal acceptance of a school's degrees. However, if you're planning to live and work in the Central African Republic, it should definitely work for you.

I have no idea about the other schools. If you're looking for a $5K masters - look outside the US. (University of the People, in USA is in your range but doesn't teach this field.) South Africa has excellent distance schools with good international recognition and very low cost, due in part to a depreciated currency and in part to the way schools are subsidized. You could start with UNISA but there are many others. Also, Malaysia has very good distance schools, low fees by Western standards and international degree recognition should be no problem. Open University Malaysia, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Wawasan and LimKokWing come to mind.

Yes - I believe your answer lies overseas. Some people will tell you you can achieve a cheap US Master's at a pay-by-the term US school, IF you take 12 courses simultaneously and finish your entire degree in ONE TERM (3-4 months.) Not what I call a stellar educational opportunity. But for some...