Beginning January 2020, a minor in nuclear engineering will be available to College of Engineering and College of Science undergraduate students in addition to other majors that meet the course requirements. Naval ROTC students are encouraged to obtain the minor if they will be going into the nuclear Navy.

“The goal of the minor is to prepare engineering and science students for careers at nuclear engineering-related companies, nuclear power plants, state and national government positions, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Navy, naval shipyards that build nuclear-powered ships and submarines, and for graduate students in nuclear engineering,” said Mark Pierson, associate professor of practice in mechanical engineering.

The minor requires 18 credit hours with four required courses and two electives. Most engineering and science students take an introduction to differential equations course, which is a pre-requisite for some of the nuclear engineering courses, which means there would be an additional five courses needed to complete the minor.

As most engineering degrees require five technical electives, the nuclear course electives would in most cases satisfy technical elective requirements. Many students could add the nuclear engineering minor without adding to their academic course load.

The minor, according to Pierson, will also help encourage students to pursue graduate degrees in nuclear engineering offered through the mechanical engineering department.

Interested students should check with their academic advisors to see the full list of pre-requisites for nuclear engineering courses.

Minor Requirements: 18 credit hours

Required courses (4):

  • MATH 2214 - Introduction to differential equations
  • NSEG 3145 - Fundamentals of nuclear engineering I (Fall)
  • NSEG 3146 - Fundamentals of nuclear engineering II (Spring)
  • NSEG 3604 - Radiation detection, protection and shielding

NSEG 5114 – Nuclear engineering fundamentals may be substituted for NSEG 3145/3146 sequence, but then a third elective course will be required for the total 18 credit hours.

Electives (2):

  • MSE 4384 Nuclear materials
  • NSEG 4204 - Nuclear fuel cycle
  • NSEG 4214 - Nuclear power plant operations
  • NSEG 4424 - Reactor thermal hydraulics
  • NSEG 4994 - Nuclear eng. undergraduate research (3 hours max)
  • NSEG 4974 - Nuclear eng. independent study (3 hours max)
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