Minor in Nuclear Engineering

The minor in nuclear engineering is designed to provide undergraduate students from other appropriate engineering programs with the fundamental concepts and practices of nuclear engineering, necessary to equip them with a sound understanding of nuclear engineering.

The minor in nuclear engineering is intended to allow students to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of nuclear physics and engineering.  It is designed to provide students with the essentials necessary for employment in nuclear- related fields.  Students considering nuclear graduate programs would also benefit from the minor in nuclear engineering. The courses designed for this minor will cover the following fundamental nuclear engineering areas, necessary to achieve the program goals and learning outcomes:

1. Radiation science and health physics
2. Nuclear reactor physics
3. Nuclear systems and operation
4. Nuclear thermal hydraulics
5. Materials in nuclear power plants

Goals

 

The goals of the program are:

1. To provide graduates with fundamental knowledge in nuclear engineering.
2. To enable graduates to relate nuclear engineering theory to practice.
3. To equip graduates with design and problem-solving skills in nuclear engineering.
4. To prepare graduates for careers as nuclear engineering professionals.
5. To encourage graduates to pursue self-learning and personal development experiences.

 

 

Learning Outcomes

A student graduating with a minor in nuclear engineering will be able to:

(1)	Identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics.
(2)	Apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors.
(3)	Communicate effectively with a range of audiences.
(4)	Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities in engineering situations and make informed judgments, which must consider the impact of engineering solutions in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts.
(5)	Function effectively on a team whose members together provide leadership, create a collaborative and inclusive environment, establish goals, plan tasks, and meet objectives.
(6)	Develop and conduct appropriate experimentation, analyze and interpret data, and use engineering judgment to draw conclusions.
(7)	Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies.

Minor Requirements

Minor in Nuclear Engineering Requirements

The interested students in the nuclear engineering minor program are required to take 5 courses (15 credit hours), from the list of courses provided below, with minimum of 12 extra credit hours in addition to the ones required by their major. For the students from mechanical, chemical and petroleum, and aerospace, NUCE 303 could be waived (if the students took the equivalent course (s) from their major). Hence, they would only need to take four courses from the minor program.

NUCE 301	Radiation Science & Health Physics	3
NUCE 303	Mechanics & Thermal-hydraulics Principles for Nuclear Engineering	3
NUCE 304	Evaluative Methods for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Security	3
NUCE 401	Introduction to Nuclear Reactor Physics	3
NUCE 402	Introduction to Nuclear Systems and Operation	3
NUCE 352	Materials in Nuclear Power Plants	3