Seminar in Urban Politics and Policy
S. Urban Politics and Pol
All public policy occurs within a political context. The purpose of this seminar is to examine how politics impacts policy in America’s large cities. While we rely on case material from American cities, the theoretical frameworks, problems, and policy solutions we consider are relevant to understanding public policy in any global city.
Cities are not legal entities defined in the American Constitution. Yet, historically, they have developed a politics and policymaking process that at once seems archetypically American and strangely foreign. We will consider who has power in cities and how that impacts policy priorities; whether America’s traditional institutions of representation “work” for urban America; how the city functions within our federal system; and whether neighborhood democracy is a meaningful construct. We will also consider the impact of politics on urban policymaking. Can cities solve the myriad problems of their populations under existing institutional arrangements? How are cities being affected by the post-pandemic work-from-home economy? Do the economic and social factors that impact urban politics and policy limit a city’s capacity to find and implement solutions to urban problems? How has increasing income inequality and persistent racial discrimination impacted urban governance and policy making? Does political protest result in changes in urban policy? Finally, can urban politics be restructured to better address problems of inequity and racial justice. Do cities have a viable economic future in post-pandemic America?
- Department: Urban and Social Policy
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Instructor:
Ester Fuchs
CULPA: 4 Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Advanced Computing for Policy
Pre-req: DSPC IA6000 - Computing in Context,
or see option for testing out
.
In Computing in Context, students "explored computing concepts and coding in the context of solving policy problems." Building off that foundation of Python fundamentals and data analysis, Advanced Computing for Policy goes both deeper and broader. The course covers computer science concepts like data structures and algorithms, as well as data engineering tools like databases, cloud services, and collaboration tools. Over the semester, students will build a complex end-to-end data system. This course prepares students for more advanced data science coursework at SIPA, and equips them to do sophisticated data ingestion, analysis, and presentation. It's particularly well-suited to students looking to do data work in the public sector, not-for-profits, and academia.
- Department: Data Science for Policy
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Instructor:
Aidan Feldman
Info - 3 points
Finance, Policy, and Investments in Sub-
Fince & Policy: Sub-Sahar
Finance, Policy, and Investments in Sub-Saharan Africa examines the interaction between public policy, financial systems, and private investment across selected countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The course focuses on how governments, financial institutions, and investors design and implement policies, financial products, and investment strategies to address development challenges and unlock economic opportunities.
Through comparative case studies and guest lectures by senior policymakers and industry leaders, students analyze real-world examples spanning banking reform, development finance, mobile money, health and financial inclusion, private equity, and infrastructure investment. Each case highlights the underlying market conditions, policy frameworks, investment structures, and measurable outcomes, with attention to both successes and limitations.
Designed for students interested in international finance, economic policy, and emerging markets, the course equips participants with analytical tools to assess risk, evaluate policy effectiveness, and understand how financial innovation can support inclusive growth in developing economies.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Benedict O Okoh
CULPA: 1 Info - 1.5 points
Critical Issues in Urban Public Policy
This course is designed to prepare future policymakers to critically analyze and evaluate key urban policy issues in US cities. It is unique in offering exposure to both practical leadership experience and urban policy scholarship that will equip students to meet the challenges that face urban areas. Students are responsible for all the required readings and they will hear from an exciting array of guest lecturers from the governmental, not for-profit, and private sectors. Drawing from my experiences as former Mayor of Philadelphia, I will lay out fundamental issues of urban governance and policymaking, emphasizing the challenges and opportunities cities are now facing.
- Department: Urban and Social Policy
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Instructor:
Michael A Nutter
Info - 3 points
International Trade
IFEP Concentration Registration Priority.
This course explores both the theory and policy of international trade. In the first half, students will learn why countries trade, what determines trade patterns, and how trade affects prices, welfare, and income distribution. Key models covered include the Ricardian, Specific Factors, and Heckscher-Ohlin models, along with extensions on migration and offshoring. In the second half, the course focuses on trade policy instruments such as tariffs, quotas, and subsidies, examining their effects under different market structures. Topics include the political economy of trade, strategic trade policy, climate and agricultural subsidies, and international trade agreements. Prior coursework in microeconomics is required. Students will develop both analytical and applied understanding of global trade issues.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Sebastian Heise
Info - 3 points
Conduct of War
The conduct of war is central to international security policy. Even when unused, the ability to wage war effectively underpins deterrence and shapes foreign policy. Military organization, training, and strategy are built around this capacity, and the institutions that support it exist largely to ensure effectiveness in conflict. A strong grasp of modern warfare theory and practice is essential for anyone pursuing a career in security policy. This course provides a foundation in the conduct of war, preparing students for professional roles in government agencies, legislative offices, think tanks, and international organizations. It focuses on developing the analytical skills and conceptual tools needed for early-career success and long-term growth in the defense policy field. While the course includes critical thinking and key concepts, it is intended as targeted professional preparation rather than general education. The course complements ISDI IA6000: Foundations of International Security Policy, ISDI IA7250: Military Technology Assessment, and ISDI IA7275: Methods for Defense Analysis. While these courses may be taken independently, this course does not address topics such as war’s causes, ethics, or technology evaluation, which are covered elsewhere. Instead, it concentrates on the theory and practice of how wars are conducted.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
- 3 points
The Politics of Defense in the United St
Politics of U.S. Defense
This course examines how national security and defense policy are developed and implemented in the U.S., focusing on political processes and institutional dynamics. Topics include military strategy, budgeting, force structure, acquisition, personnel policy, and the use of force. Students explore five key dimensions: partisan politics, Congress–Executive relations, civil-military relations, inter-service dynamics, and coordination across federal agencies. While grounded in U.S. policy, the course addresses global contexts and current debates, including defense reform, great-power competition, and the sustainability of the all-volunteer force. Readings span historical and contemporary sources.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
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Instructor:
Michael O'Hanlon
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
International Political Economy
Int'l Political Economy
IFEP Concentration Registration Priority.
This course examines the intersection of international politics and international economics. It covers an analysis of the historical background to and contemporary reality of the political economy of international trade, finance, monetary relations, foreign investment, and climate policy; problems of economic development; and globalization.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Markus H Jaeger
Info - 3 points
RESEARCH METHS GLOBAL & POP HEALTH
RSRH METH GLOB & POP HLTH
- Department: Medicine
- 0-2 points
Writing About War: Seeking Narratives in
In Writing about War, seminar participants engage with a pressing matter of our age: how to evaluate facts and context and create compelling and precise narratives from the fog of war. This intensive writing seminar explores the special challenges of creating narrative and assessing truth claims in the context of violent conflict. In this course you will grow as a writer through extensive practice reporting, writing, revising, and editing your own work and that of your peers.
We will read accounts produced as journalism, policy analysis, advocacy, literature, and philosophy. We will discuss ongoing conflicts as well as historical cases, and grapple with questions of policy and ethics. Students will produce original reported narrative writing about conflict, which they may try to place for publication. Students should expect to write or revise an original piece most weeks of the semester.
This course cultivates useful skills for any writer, whether they plan to write about conflict as a journalist, advocate, aid worker, policy analyst, or other field. The instructor places a premium on critical thinking and clear writing; grades reflect participation, effort, clarity of thought, reporting initiative, and narrative craft.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
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Instructor:
Athanasios Cambanis
Info - 3 points
International Trade and Financial Market
Intl Trade & Financial Ma
This half-course examines the intersection of international trade and financial markets, exploring how global commerce both shapes and is shaped by macroeconomic policy, financial conditions, and firm-level strategic behavior. The course aims to bridge two traditionally distinct analytical lenses — international macroeconomics and micro-level trade and corporate dynamics — to provide students with an integrated understanding of how trade policies, capital flows, and multinational production networks interact in a financially interconnected world.
The first half of the course (Macro) focuses on the policy dimensions of international trade. It investigates how trade policies influence growth, inflation, and monetary policy in advanced economies, and how these same dynamics play out in emerging markets with more volatile macro-financial linkages. Students will analyze theoretical frameworks for tariffs and trade balances alongside empirical evidence from historical and contemporary policy shifts. Case studies will explore the commodity–currency nexus, crisis transmission through trade channels, and how financial markets price trade risk.
The second half (Micro) transitions to the firm and industry level, examining global supply chains and multinational corporations. The discussions will explore how geopolitical tensions, industrial policies, and technological change are reshaping global production networks. Students will assess the evolving role of multinational enterprises as both transmitters and mitigators of global shocks. Case studies will focus on critical materials and the technology sector, highlighting the strategic and policy implications of concentrated global value chains.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Benjamin R Mandel
Info - 1.5 points
Firms, Governments & the Global Trading
Firms Govs & Global Trade
Given the dramatic changes in US Trade Policy, businesses and governments are having to navigate a patchwork of “managed trade” agreements and myriad tariff rates and non-tariff barriers. This short course will equip students with a solid grasp of the fundamentals of the current world trading system – both the “multilateral” system centered on the WTO and still practiced among most countries, as well as the US-centered multiplex system created by the Trump II Administration. The impact on businesses and governments will be examined through a series of interactive classes, business case studies, and executive guest speakers. The course will also explore “Stakeholder Engagement” techniques used by Multinational Corporations seeking to secure competitive advantage in this new environment.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Michael R McAdoo
Info - 1.5 points
Human Rights and the Politics of Inequal
Human Rights & Inequality
This course examines the intersection of human rights and economic inequality, exploring how political and economic governance influence access to rights and justice. Students will assess how human rights principles are integrated into economic policy frameworks, including trade, labor, development, and environmental regulation, and how these frameworks shape both public accountability and corporate responsibility.
Through case studies and policy analysis, the course introduces practical tools for advancing human rights in multilateral institutions, national governments, and private-sector operations. Topics include the role of grievance mechanisms tied to trade agreements and development finance, global supply chains, labor standards, and the impact of environmental policy on marginalized populations. Students will analyze pathways to embed human rights criteria into decision-making, and consider the limits and opportunities of current governance structures in addressing inequality.
- Department: Human Rights, Gender, and Equity
- 3 points
Rethinking Human Rights and Humanitarian
Rethinking Rights & Aid
This advanced seminar critically examines the evolving challenges, limitations, and potential of human rights and humanitarianism as frameworks for justice and global governance. Centering human rights discourse, the course invites students to examine foundational concepts such as universality, accountability, sovereignty, and identity, while addressing complex topics and challenging cases. Through case studies, normative debates, and applied advocacy tools, students explore the responsibilities of state and non-state actors, the contested definition of the “human” in rights claims, and strategies for persuasion, enforcement, and reform in both policy and practice. Course themes include: The political limits and promise of human rights in global and national contexts; Accountability gaps across governments, corporations, and armed groups; The status of refugees, displaced persons, and marginalized groups; Humanitarian dilemmas, transitional justice, and foreign policy advocacy; The rise and fall of doctrines such as Responsibility to Protect (R2P); and Pragmatism, realism, and human rights under states of exception.
- Department: Human Rights, Gender, and Equity
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Instructor:
Andrew C Heinrich
Info - 3 points
Intro to American Civil-Military Relatio
How does, and how should, the United States manage the relationship between elected leadership, the military, and society? This course will examine the history and current state of American civil-military relations, helping students place current challenges and debates within historical and theoretical context while also providing a better understanding of the relationship between elected political leadership, the military, and the people they both serve. This course places a special focus on the unique challenges the US faces in maintaining healthy civil-military relations in an era of heightened partisan polarization and political change.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
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Instructor:
Jason K Dempsey
Info - 3 points
Using Big Data to Develop Public Policy
Using Data for Policy Des
This applied course provides students with foundational skills to analyze and interpret publicly available datasets for public policy decision-making. Emphasizing hands-on learning, the course covers data sourcing, cleaning, research design, statistical analysis, and data visualization using Stata. Students will explore real-world challenges across topics such as poverty, education, housing, and public health, culminating in a data-based policy memo developed through collaborative group work.
- Department: Urban and Social Policy
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Instructor:
Francesco Brindisi
CULPA: 1 Info - 3 points
Energy and Power Financing Markets
Energy & Power Finance Ma
This course explores the financing structures that underpin the development and transformation of global energy and power markets. Students will examine how asset-based, project, and tax-driven financing mechanisms have evolved to meet the growing demands for conventional and clean energy, and how these tools can be leveraged to support the transition to a low-carbon economy. Through case studies and lectures, the course introduces the financial, regulatory, and policy frameworks that shape energy markets, with an emphasis on U.S. practices and instruments. Topics include reserve-based lending in oil and gas, project financing for power generation, Master Limited Partnerships in midstream infrastructure, and renewable energy finance strategies. Special focus is placed on aligning commercial viability with sustainable development objectives, addressing greenhouse gas emissions, and ensuring affordable access to energy. Students will develop applied skills in evaluating financing approaches, assessing project risks, and reconciling financial structures with physical energy system requirements.
- Department: Climate, Energy, & Environment
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Instructor:
Brooks James Klimley
Info - 3 points
Rethinking Policing in the 21st Century
Rethinking Policing-21st
This course examines modern policing in the United States through historical, legal, racial, and political lenses. Students will explore the evolution of policing practices and their implications for civil rights, public trust, and public safety. Key topics include police recruitment and training, disciplinary procedures, technology in law enforcement, use-of-force guidelines, and the impact of police unions. The course will evaluate the role of social movements, such as Black Lives Matter, in advancing reform and will analyze policy recommendations implemented in cities across the U.S. and abroad. Students will engage with current scholarship, government reports, and case studies to assess efforts to reimagine public safety, address systemic racism, and improve police-community relations. The course culminates in a policy-oriented final paper proposing actionable reform strategies.
- Department: Urban and Social Policy
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Instructor:
Basil A Jr Smikle
Info - 3 points
Renewable Energy Project Finance Modelin
Renewable Energy Finance
This course provides a rigorous introduction to renewable energy project finance modeling, focusing on the concepts, structures, and financial mechanisms that underpin investment in renewable energy projects such as wind and solar. Through lectures, demonstrations, and guided analysis of actual project documents and contracts, students will develop a comprehensive understanding of the key drivers of renewable energy economics and financing.
Students will examine debt structuring, cash flow analysis, revenue modeling, risk assessment, tax incentives, and the impact of policies such as the Inflation Reduction Act. The course emphasizes the development of best practices in financial modeling and the critical evaluation of project structures, with particular attention to the challenges and considerations unique to renewable energy assets.
Participants will learn to analyze project agreements, assess project risks, build robust financial models, and evaluate project viability from the perspective of developers, lenders, and investors. The curriculum integrates lectures on technical and contractual fundamentals, discussion of policy implications, and instruction on modeling techniques, culminating in the creation of a detailed project finance model.
- Department: Climate, Energy, & Environment
- 3 points
Methods for Defense Analysis
Defense policy involves some of the highest stakes in government, often concerning life-or-death decisions. It is also a major employer, with U.S. government agencies, think tanks, and contractors relying on formal analysis to guide decisions ranging from equipment purchases to national military strategy. A large, trained workforce produces these studies, while others must critically assess their findings. Although most robust in the U.S., similar analytic work exists globally.
This intellectually demanding field requires strong methods and integrity. Poorly designed studies can distort decision-making, while sound analysis improves it. This course prepares students to work effectively as entry-level defense analysts or as informed consumers of analysis. Emphasis is placed on research design, which is often the key determinant of a study’s success. Through methodological training and critique of exemplar analyses, students will build the skills and intellectual foundations to advance quickly in the field and help shape its future. This is not a course in defense policy topics, but in the design and evaluation of defense analysis.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
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Instructor:
Stephen Biddle
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Human Rights Simulation
Fall 2026 Course Dates: September 18 & October 2, 2026.
This simulation course is a short two-day course designed to enable participating students to weigh and apply human rights principles, best practices, and standards to simulated human rights emergencies. The simulation exercise challenges student participants with issues facing human rights practitioners when responding to human rights crises and provides practice operating within the human rights system and devising innovative solutions to complex challenges. Participants will evaluate data reports, assess relevant human rights tools and mechanisms, and propose interventions. The simulation will include a day of simultaneous exercises, followed by another day of debriefing, evaluation, and identification of key challenges and lessons.
- Department: Human Rights, Gender, and Equity
- 1.5 points
Economic Development for International A
The course has two broad objectives: 1) to explore how economics can be used to understand various facets of development and 2) to provide tools and skills useful in policy work. In the course, we will describe the basic facts surrounding the development process and use economic theory to make sense of these facts and to identify gaps in our understanding. We will also learn about the tools that development economists use to fill in those gaps. These will include analyzing real-world data and thinking in terms of causality and its relevance for policy. Specific modules/topics in the class include: 1) What is Development, 2) Distribution of Income and Human Resources, 3) Randomized Controlled Trials, 4) Growth Models, 5) Trade and Development, 6) Sustainability Topics
- Department: Development and Governance
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Instructor:
Andrew Simons
Info - 3 points
Failures and Successes of Three Decades
Peacemaking: Lessons & Fa
This course examines three decades of international peacemaking efforts to assess what has been learned, and what has been unlearned, through major conflicts. Drawing on the instructor’s experience leading UN peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution initiatives, the course explores case studies from various regions, including Rwanda, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Colombia, Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine. Students will analyze how geopolitical shifts, institutional capacities, and strategic choices have influenced outcomes. The course pays particular attention to the United Nations' involvement, the evolution of doctrines such as the Responsibility to Protect, and the role of external actors.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
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Instructor:
Jean-Marie Guehenno
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Failures and Successes of Three Decades
Peacemaking: Lessons & Fa
This course examines three decades of international peacemaking efforts to assess what has been learned, and what has been unlearned, through major conflicts. Drawing on the instructor’s experience leading UN peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution initiatives, the course explores case studies from various regions, including Rwanda, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Colombia, Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine. Students will analyze how geopolitical shifts, institutional capacities, and strategic choices have influenced outcomes. The course pays particular attention to the United Nations' involvement, the evolution of doctrines such as the Responsibility to Protect, and the role of external actors.
- Department: International Security & Diplomacy
-
Instructor:
Jean-Marie Guehenno
Wikipedia Info - 3 points
Corporate Finance
IFEP Concentration Registration Priority. Prerequisite: SIPA IA6200 Accounting.
(Note: Based on their performance in SIPA IA6260 Accounting Fundamentals, IA6260 students may be allowed to register if space remains.)
This course provides an introduction to corporate finance, focusing on how firms assess funding needs, evaluate investment opportunities, and select financing strategies. The course equips future policymakers and practitioners with core analytical tools in financial decision-making. Topics include working capital management, cost of capital, security valuation, capital structure, and free cash flow analysis. Emphasis is placed on applying financial concepts to real-world situations through case studies, quantitative problem sets, and hands-on modeling. Students will gain exposure to Excel-based analysis and decision-making under uncertainty. Prior coursework in accounting is required, and fluency in Excel is essential.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Deborah McLean
Info - 3 points
Corporate Finance
IFEP Concentration Registration Priority. Prerequisite: SIPA IA6200 Accounting.
(Note: Based on their performance in SIPA IA6260 Accounting Fundamentals, IA6260 students may be allowed to register if space remains.)
This course provides an introduction to corporate finance, focusing on how firms assess funding needs, evaluate investment opportunities, and select financing strategies. The course equips future policymakers and practitioners with core analytical tools in financial decision-making. Topics include working capital management, cost of capital, security valuation, capital structure, and free cash flow analysis. Emphasis is placed on applying financial concepts to real-world situations through case studies, quantitative problem sets, and hands-on modeling. Students will gain exposure to Excel-based analysis and decision-making under uncertainty. Prior coursework in accounting is required, and fluency in Excel is essential.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
-
Instructor:
Deborah McLean
Info - 3 points
Topics in Corporate Finance
This course examines the real-world application of corporate finance across both developed and emerging markets. Drawing on the instructor’s 30 years of experience in global equity research, the course examines how investors value companies, how firms build and allocate capital, and how financial markets respond to corporate behavior and economic conditions.
Topics include capital structure, valuation techniques, investor activism, corporate governance, ESG considerations, asset bubbles, fraud detection, and private equity. Special sessions feature guest speakers from Wall Street and case-based discussions grounded in current market trends.
Students will gain practical exposure to forecasting, strategic financial analysis, and investor behavior through interactive lectures and assignments. Readings include both foundational finance texts and real-world case studies.
Pre-reqs
: At least one prior finance course (IFEP IA7301 Corporate Finance is strongly recommended; IFEP IA7022 or IFEP IA7045 acceptable). A background in accounting (e.g., SIPA IA6200) and working knowledge of Excel are preferred.
- Department: International Finance & Economic Policy
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Instructor:
Michael N Eastwood
Info - 3 points
Inequality, Poverty, and Politics
Inequality, Poverty, & Po
The course provides students with a theoretical and empirical overview of the policies designed to address poverty and inequality in the developing world, as well as the political context in which these policies are chosen and implemented, with a particular (though not exclusive) focus on the Brazilian experience. The first meetings focus on normative perspectives and the general political implications of poverty and inequality. We then briefly examine differences in social policies between developed and developing countries and proceed to discuss various practical approaches to the issue. By the end of the course, students should have enhanced their understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of poverty- and inequality-reducing policies, as well as how politics shapes their implementation.
- Department: Development and Governance
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Instructor:
Cesar Zucco
Info - 3 points
Race, Gender, and Political Change
Race, Gender & Politics
This course examines how the current racial and social justice awakening, at the intersection of race and gender—is reshaping American politics and policy. Through case studies and guest speakers, students will examine the impact of movements such as # MeToo and Black Lives Matter on voting rights, governance, and philanthropy. The course asks whether the United States has fulfilled its promise of representative government and considers how policymakers might address persistent systemic barriers to political power based on race and gender.
Students will analyze structural inequality and its effects across institutions, policies, and public discourse. Emphasis will be placed on actionable strategies to advance equity within inherently inequitable systems. The course is designed to equip emerging policy professionals with the tools to foster more inclusive leadership and effect lasting change.
- Department: Urban and Social Policy
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Instructor:
Jeri E Powell
Info - 1.5 points
Artificial Intelligence and Climate Chan
AI and Climate Change
Pre-reqs: CEEN IA7200: Fundamentals of Environmental Economics and Policy,
or
CEEN IA7300: Energy Systems Fundamentals,
or
SUMA PS5155: Energy Markets and Innovation. Instructor permission is also required for registration. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a hot topic. More than 800 million people now use ChatGPT each week, trillions of dollars are being invested in data centers globally, and policymakers around the world are considering how best to respond to the growth in AI.
Meanwhile countries around the world are struggling to respond to climate change. Based on global average temperatures, July 22, 2024 was the warmest day ever recorded; 2024 was the warmest year ever recorded; and the 10 warmest years on record are the past 10 years. Yet despite encouraging developments, including the dramatic drop in the price of renewable energy in the past decade, global emissions of greenhouse gases continue to climb.
Can AI help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases? Will increased power demand for AI lead to greenhouse gas emission increases, outweighing any benefits? Can AI help with adaptation to climate change? Should policymakers encourage the use of AI to help fight climate change and discourage AI applications that may increase greenhouse gas emissions? If so, how?
This course will cover these questions. The course is an advanced seminar. After an initial class session covering core AI concepts, we will explore different ways AI could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change, as well as ways in which AI could lead to greenhouse gas emissions increases. We will explore barriers to the use of AI to respond to climate change, risks of using AI for that purpose, policy options for addressing these risks and barriers, and ways in which different stakeholders can work together in using AI tools to fight climate change.
- Department: Climate, Energy, & Environment
- 1.5 points