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Graduate Programs of Study
Master of Nuclear Engineering (M.N.E.)
This program is specifically designed to meet the
needs of students who hold a Bachelor of Science degree in an engineering
discipline and wish to pursue a practitioner-oriented program of education
in nuclear engineering. Candidates must complete 21 credit hours of graduate
courses taken primarily in nuclear engineering and 9 credit hours in an
associated minor field of study such as mechanical, chemical, electrical,
or materials engineering. Completion of a project dealing with a current
topic of interest to the nuclear industry, followed by an oral examination,
is required. A well-prepared student can complete all of the requirements
for the M.N.E. degree in 15 months. This degree has been fruitful in recent
times for those seeking nuclear industry employment.
Master of Science (M.S.)
Bachelor degree holders in any of the fields of
engineering, physical sciences, or mathematics may qualify for successful
advanced study in nuclear engineering through the M.S. program. Students
in fields other than nuclear engineering will find prior experience or
education in nuclear physics, mathematics (up to and including differential
equations), and neutron physics to be helpful, but exposure to these subjects
may be gained during the first semester of graduate study. The M.S. degree
requirements include 15 to 18 credit hours of graduate courses in nuclear
engineering, 9 credit hours in a minor field of study, and 3 to 6 credit
hours of research, for a total requirement of 30 credit hours. Submission
of an acceptable thesis based on original research followed by an oral
examination complete the M.S. degree program. Students generally take
about 21 months to complete this degree.
The Department of Nuclear Engineering, in collaboration
with the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, offers a master's degree program with emphasis in radiological
health and safety. The requirements of this program are similar to those
described above except that courses are taken on both campuses to cover
a wide spectrum of topics in radiological health. The M.S. degree has
proved to be a very useful program of study for a broad variety of nuclear
engineering careers because of the flexibility in the course program
and the special skills acquired through research.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
The Ph.D. degree is primarily a research degree
that represents attainment of a high degree of scholarship in a special
field. The course program for the Ph.D. is designed to give every student
a general background in fundamental areas of nuclear engineering and advanced
knowledge in a selected area of research and in other subjects as dictated
by the student's interests and career needs. At the end of one year of
study, the student appears for a comprehensive written qualifying examination
based on subject matter regarded as the core of nuclear engineering. Students
successfully completing this examination are allowed to work towards the
Ph.D. degree without an intervening M.S. degree. The program typically
contains 50 hours of graduate course credits, excluding research credits,
and typically requires four to five years beyond the B.S. degree for completion,
including dissertation. Approximately 18 semester credits are in a minor
field, and this minor department may elect to test the student separately
on courses in that discipline. Following the qualifying examination, the
candidate actively pursues dissertation research. Doctoral dissertations
result in research publications in major journals. A doctoral degree is
generally sought by those who are motivated towards careers in industrial,
academia, or national laboratories.
 
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