Sustainable Engineering Concentration

As global energy and resource demands rise, Ohio Northern University’s (ONU) Sustainable Engineering concentration equips you to design smarter, greener solutions. You’ll build on your engineering foundation while gaining critical skills to make innovative strides in green manufacturing, alternative and renewable energy, managing resources responsibly, and reducing waste in production.

Type of Offering

Concentration

College

Engineering

Why Choose ONU's Sustainable Engineering Program?

Pair your mechanical engineering degree with a concentration in sustainable engineering to find innovative solutions to future-focused problems. Through hands-on experiences and a tight-knit environment, you’re empowered with the skills, creativity, and support needed to make a lasting impact on improving our energy and resource usage in manufacturing, product design, and construction.

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During your time in the sustainable engineering concentration, you uncover opportunities to grow in the classroom, around campus, and in the real world.
●    Small classes that connect you with other passionate engineering majors and create an on-campus community where you’ll thrive.
●    Transformative student life opportunities that open doors, like studying abroad in Puerto Rico to learn about sustainable building practices and joining ONU’s engineering competition teams.
●    Faculty mentorship that encourages your intellectual growth and helps shape your future success.
●    Internships and co-ops that provide vital career development opportunities to refine your skills and build a professional network.

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Learn more about the College of Engineering

Build Well-Rounded Expertise

Adding a concentration in sustainable engineering to your Mechanical Engineering major ensures you develop the technical foundation to design efficient, reliable systems and products with people and the planet in mind. This balanced approach helps you discover solutions that reduce environmental impact, improve energy use, and advance sustainable innovation.

Innovation Through Competition

Competition empowers you to push boundaries and spark new ideas. By joining ONU’s competition teams, you collaborate with classmates to design sustainable solutions and test your skills against top schools nationwide. Along the way, you’ll uncover innovative approaches to building, creating, and generating progress in sustainable engineering.

More About Competition Teams

Future-Proof Your Career With Real-World Experience

At ONU, we help you discover your professional future by connecting you to co-op and internship opportunities before graduation. These immersive experiences sharpen your competitive edge, strengthen your resume, and cultivate a thriving professional network.

Co-op Program

Sustainable Engineering Program Courses and Curriculum

ONU’s Sustainable Engineering concentration gives you hands-on knowledge and a solution-oriented perspective on designing for a greener world. Building on the firm foundation of your Mechanical Engineering major, this concentration adds specialized expertise in sustainability.

As you progress, you sharpen in-demand skills in energy efficiency, renewable energy systems, sustainable product development, and environmental ethics. Along with the technical expertise, you gain a forward-thinking approach that integrates sustainability into any engineering discipline. By analyzing real-world challenges and applying sustainable best practices, you graduate ready to craft innovative solutions that make lasting changes across industries.

To earn your engineering bachelor’s degree with a sustainable engineering concentration, you must complete 128 credit hours of coursework, depending on your major. The concentration includes a blend of required courses that establish your technical foundation and electives that let you align your studies with your personal and professional interests.
Your sustainable engineering concentration ends with a senior capstone project, which allows you to put your theoretical knowledge into practice. As you embark on this project, you’ll have the personalized support of an ONU faculty advisor who offers guidance, answers your questions, and challenges you to go beyond your limits.
As an ONU engineering student, you’re guided by mentors who invest in your growth. Our engineering faculty brings real-world experience into the classroom and shares their expertise to help you explore every angle of sustainable engineering. With their support, you can build confidence, diversify your skills, and prepare for a fulfilling future.

Meet ONU's Faculty

Study in Cutting-Edge Facilities

During your time in engineering, you learn, research, and innovate with your peers and mentors in the 105,000-square-foot James Lehr Kennedy Engineering Building. It offers more than 10,000 square feet of large-scale project and design space. Additionally, this LEED-certified building provides modern research laboratories where supportive faculty guide your hands-on exploration.

Charting Career Paths in Sustainable Engineering

Be a part of creating a greener future by studying sustainable engineering. With our program’s hands-on approach, you graduate equipped to step into diverse, sustainability-focused fields where innovation meets impact. Popular career paths often include renewable energy, green manufacturing, environmental consulting, and sustainable construction.

ONU alumni have gone on to roles such as:
● Principal Operations, Sustainability at Salas O'Brien
● Manufacturing Engineer at First Solar
● Solar Field Engineer
● Transmission Engineer at AES Ohio

“The ability to integrate sustainable principles into design is rapidly becoming a core expectation.”

Bryan Cousino, BSME`03

Power Your Future in Sustainability at ONU

With ONU’s blend of technical training and real-world experience, you graduate ready to lead in renewable energy, green design, and beyond. The expertise you acquire in the Sustainable Engineering concentration empowers you to launch a thriving career that brings sustainable solutions to industries and communities worldwide.

Take the first step toward living the Polar Bear life.