The changing landscape of energy resources in the U.S. and the world today are requiring new and innovative ways to develop carbon-free energy. Unfortunately, current supplies of alternative energy are not yet scalable to meet the overall domestic and global energy demand for growing economies. Added to this equation are the current human resources limitations for those skilled in geoscience technologies used to find and produce transitional energy sources. These same skills will aid in the development of subsurface carbon capture strategies as well.

Upstream energy professionals in the Earth Sciences must gain deeper insights into geographical and stratigraphical data at global and local scales to characterize, quantify, and model subsurface natural resources for energy production. Reliable and efficient development of such resources must also be prudent and responsible to environmental and safety concerns.

The UH Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences now provides training that will deliver credentials for each step of a professional’s training plan for subsurface exploration and development of transitional energy and other natural resources. In the past, this program was limited to short courses. Now, these courses will be delivered as micro-credentials every step of the way through your training program.

The basic unit is the “digital badge,” which in our program is awarded for completing 15 contact hours or the equivalent of 1 semester hour. For this first semester, courses will consist of three badges; and completion of all three badges will lead to the award of a “digital belt.” You have the option of using belts as full courses for certifications, or as degree plans. An advantage of stackable micro-credentials is that professionals are assured to receive credentials as they progress through their educational program even if they must pause within a training or degree plan due to life or employment disruptions.

These courses are designed and delivered by well-established industry leaders and faculty from the University of Houston. Included exercises and projects are based on research and industry applications.

Pricing

• Individual Badge Price: $1,100 (each)
• Badge Bundle Or Full Belt: $3,000 (all three)

Schedule

Sessions will be scheduled on Fridays from 1 PM to 6 PM and on Saturdays from 8 AM to 5 PM for face-to-face (Fleming, room 203) or synchronous online sessions. Additional exercise and consultation time will be used within a week for each badge. The dates and instructors are listed below:

Spring 2023 Schedule of Micro-Credential Belts and Badges (Partial Listing)

• 6363 Carbonate Sedimentology
• 6358 Terrigenous Depositional Systems
• 6372 Petroleum Geochemistry
• 7330 Potential Fields Methods
• 7323 Borehole Geophysics

Summer 2023 Schedule of Micro-Credential Belts and Badges (Partial Listing)

• 6381 Petroleum Geology
• 6380 Sequence Stratigraphy
• 6350 Advanced Structural Geology
• Seismic Wave and Ray Theory
• CSEM and EM Methods In Exploration
• Seismic Migration
• Rock and Fluid Physics
• Seismic Attributes of Carbonate Reservoirs
• Application and Interpretation of Converted Waves
• Velocity Analysis for Depth Imaging
• Anisotropy
• Seismic Amplitude Interpretation

Fall 2023 Schedule of Micro-Credential Belts and Badges (Partial Listing)

• 6395 Petroleum Seismology
• 6390 3-D Seismic Exploration
• 6393 Seismic Amplitude Interpretation

Micro-Credential Options

You have the following options as you begin to add badges and belts to your training portfolio with the Department of Earth & Atmospheric Sciences. You would need to discuss this with an advisor so that they may be able to direct you along your chosen options.

1. As a student seeking micro-credentials.
2. As a student seeking a certificate with micro-credential steps. Currently, most of our certificates require 15 credit hours total or five 3 credit-hour courses. That would be 15 badges and five belts.
3. As a non-degree seeking students that takes courses for educational advancement without a degree. They would have the option to petition their course work to be included in a degree plan if their long-term objective changes to a degree plan. This would have an unlimited number of belts and badges. Once in a degree plan, costs would change to a tuition and fee-based structure.
4. As a student seeking a professional M.S. degree. This would require full admissions and the completion of all the courses required of a non-thesis or capstone bearing degree plan. Once in a degree plan, costs would change to a tuition and fee-based structure.

Future Courses for Upcoming Semesters

Additional Belts/Courses will be listed in the future as the micro-credentials and courses are developed and scheduled. Watch for our fall line-up.

For additional information, contact Dr. Don Van Nieuwenhuise at donvann@uh.edu.