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Master of Arts / This thesis is an exploratory study that aims to identify whether it is adequate to apply the current approach of considering policies related to geothermal energy under the general umbrella of renewable policies or we need to use a system-sector based approach specifically for geothermal energy systems. I have identified a total of twenty-three different policy types related to geothermal energy systems in U.S. states. To understand how geothermal related policies diffuse from one U.S. state to another, and, therefore, better design policies to promote the use of geothermal energy in U.S. states, we need to perform several diffusion studies. This process is time consuming and expensive. Thus, focusing on the most promising geothermal related policies, at least as a start, is crucial for future studies focusing on the diffusion of geothermal related policies between U.S. states. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the preliminary step of selecting a limited set of geothermal related policies for future policy diffusion studies. The main conclusions and answers provided in this thesis provide a strong support to the hypothesis that a system-sector based approach is needed when studying policies related to geothermal energy in U.S. states. I explicitly report that each of the three main geothermal systems is impacted by different set of policy categories and types. I also discuss that not all policies have the same impact on all sectors in which the geothermal energy is applied; in other words, the utilization of geothermal energy in the different sectors is promoted by different policies in distinguished ways. Moreover, the discussion in this thesis highlights the shortcomings of the common approach usually used in diffusion v studies of renewable energy policies. This approach considers all renewable energies as a general category, neglecting any potential impacts due to the unique characteristics of each renewable source. I show that, for example, the most popular policy types considered in policy diffusion studies for renewable energies are not the most significant ones for the different geothermal systems. I also highlight the fact that other policy types that are generally overlooked in policy diffusion studies of the generalized renewable energies are more significant for geothermal energy systems. These results indeed support my hypothesis regarding the importance of system-sector based approach when investigating geothermal energy policies.