There are various schools that offer programs exclusively geared toward solar energy or photovoltaics. Arapahoe Community College in Littleton, Colorado provides certification as an "Active Solar Thermal Technician" and "Solar Photovoltaic System Technician." Frostburg State University in Frostburg, Maryland offers courses that prepare students for certification in "Design, Installation, and Maintenance of Residential Photovoltaics and Wind Generation Systems." In addition to certification as a solar technician, Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri also offers an Associate of Arts in Alternative Energy-Solar.
The U.S. Department of Energy and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Technical Institute in Atlanta, Georgia, have established the University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaics (UCEP). As one of only two centers of its kind in the United States, UCEP offers a concentration in the technology and science of advanced photovoltaics to students seeking graduate and undergraduate degrees in Electrical Engineering.
Alternative energy refers to more environmentally-friendly power sources that can replace whatever the traditional energy source is at a given time. Modern alternative energies, such as solar, are seen as options to replace fossil or nuclear fuels.
Colleges which offer solar energy courses as a requirement for an Alternative Energy degree include Coconino Community College in Flagstaff, Arizona (Associate of Applied Science in Alternative Energy Technology); SUNY- Canton College in Canton, New York (Bachelor of Technology in Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems); and Everglades University in Boca Raton, Florida (Bachelor of Science Degree in Alternative and Renewable Energy Management).
Renewable or sustainable energy is power that comes from sources that are not only environmentally friendly, but also from sources that cannot be depleted. Even though all renewable energies are considered to be alternative energies, not all alternative energies are renewable. However, solar power is both an alternative and renewable/sustainable resource.
There are numerous colleges that offer solar energy classes in conjunction with degrees for renewable/sustainable energy including John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas (Bachelor of Science Renewable Energy); Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois (Bachelor of Science Renewable Energy) and University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland (Masters of Engineering in Sustainable Energy Engineering)
Environmental Science covers a wide range of subject matter from alternative and renewable energies to agricultural and marine studies. Not every degree program in this field includes extensive coursework in solar energy. However colleges that offer degrees in Environmental Science/Studies with coursework in solar energy include the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware (Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science - Sustainable Energy Technology); and Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii (Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science).