The undergraduate engineering degree in Photovoltaics (PV) and Solar Energy was established in 2000 and is a four year full-time program. It is the first of its kind internationally and won the Education and Awareness Award at the 2004 Energy and Water Green Globe Awards held by the Department of Energy, Utilities and Sustainability. The program has been established in response to rapid growth in the industry in recent years in both manufacturing capacity and job creation. In 2004, global manufacturing of solar cells expanded 67% - growth reminiscent of the electronics industry in the booming 1980s.

The program includes training in technology development, manufacturing, quality control, reliability and life-cycle analysis, cell interconnection and encapsulation, a range of solar cell applications, system design, maintenance and fault diagnosis, marketing, policy development and the use of other renewable energy technologies. Considerable emphasis is placed on gaining hands-on experience of working with PV devices, modules and systems.

Innovative teaching techniques have been developed to enhance the learning environment. UNSW academics in the photovoltaic field have been consistently ranked amongst the leaders worldwide through international peer review. This team has held the world record for silicon solar cell efficiencies for decades and had been responsible for developing the most successfully commercialized new photovoltaic technology internationally throughout the same period.

Second Area of Specialisation
The cross-disciplinary nature of photovoltaics and renewable energy applications necessitates many PV engineers possessing broad engineering backgrounds or else working in teams with other engineers. A good example is the UNSW Solar Car Project involving PV engineers, electronics engineers, control engineers, mechanical engineers, chemical engineers, power engineers, biomedical engineers, computer engineers, and communicating engineers. Therefore it is important for photovoltaic engineers to have a broader understanding of other engineering disciplines.

A unique feature of this program is that in Year 2, students have the opportunity to select one of nine possible strands to complement their education in Photovoltaics and Solar Energy. Each strand comprises 18 units of credit with the opportunity to subsequently select additional electives in the corresponding area in the final two years, subject to the approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator. The strands available are listed below and cover areas such as computing, electronics, mathematics, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, physics, chemical engineering, and architecture. Students may also formulate their own strands subject to the approval of the Undergraduate Coordinator.

Selection of a second area of specialization is subject to the program rule that states that no more than 60 UOC of first-year level courses may be counted toward the BE degree in Photovoltaics and Solar Energy.

Photovoltaics and Solar Energy is also available as a component of the combined degree programs
BE (Pvse)/BSc, program 3655 programs/3655
BE (Pvse)/BA, program 3656 programs/3656
BE (Pvse)/BCom, program 3715 programs/3715

For details of all academic requirements for this program, see http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules

Please see: http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules

The program structure below gives one sequence of courses that fulfils the requirements of the degree. The timing of the general education courses and elective courses may be modified to optimize the student's choice of courses. While some courses are given twice a year, many courses are given only once a year and some once every two years. In addition, courses may have prerequisites and exclusions. Thus students should plan their enrolments appropriately.

PLEASE NOTE:

Plus choose 2 electives from the Year 1 Elective list http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules/elective.htm

Suggested Year 1 Electives for this program are:

For information relating to Years 2-4 of the Flexible program structure please refer to the school website http://www.pv.unsw.edu.au

PROGRAM STRUCTURE FOR STUDENTS WHO ENROLLED PRIOR TO 2006 IS AS FOLLOWS

Year 2

Selected Strand 12 UOC

SOLA2060 is offered every second year and will not be offered in 2006.

Year 3

Professional Electives 18 UOC

Selected Strand (continued) 6 UOC

General Education 3 UOC

SOLA3507 is offered every second year and will not be offered in 2006.

Year 4

Professional Electives 12 UOC

General Education elective 6 UOC

Where students have a weighted average mark (WAM) less than 65, they should enrol in the group thesis SOLA4914 and SOLA4915.

SOLA4012 is offered every second year and will not be offered in 2006.

Years 2 & 3 Strand Options

Please note that the strands listed below are subject to change and may not be available every year.

Strand 1 Computing

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

And choose one from the following to complete the strand:

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

PHYS3080 has PHYS3010 or PHYS3210 and PHYS3020 as co-requisites

PHYS3310 has PHYS3080 as a pre-requisite

Strand 9 Faculty of the Built Environment

And choose from the following to complete the strand:

BLDG1212 requires completion of BLDG1211 - Construction Technology 1A


Professional Electives for Years 3 & 4

Because of timetable clashes not all combinations or courses are possible

The following courses are offered every second year and will not be offered in 2006:
SOLA5051, SOLA5054, SOLA5055, SOLA5508.

Electives can also be chosen from the courses listed as electives for Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering for which appropriate prerequisite requirements have been satisfied and which conform to the credit point requirements. Approval to substitute these electives for SOLA professional electives must be sought from the Undergraduate Coordinator. Substitutions will be restricted to a maximum of two.

The program selected by each student must be approved by the Head of School. Not all electives are available each session or each year, nor is the full range available to part-time students. Students are advised each year of the timetable of available electives. Substitution is not permitted if it unduly restricts the range of subjects studied to only one area of Photovoltaic Engineering.

Please see http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules

Please see http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules

Please see http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules

For information regarding fees for UNSW programs, please refer to the following web-page:  https://my.unsw.edu.au/student/fees/FeesMainPage.html

Please see http://www.eng.unsw.edu.au/rules