Program Information

Background and Overview

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Sunday, June 6, 2004, ran an article by Dave Copeland entitled “Nukes lacking people power.” A quote from Ted Quinn, co-chair of the American Nuclear Society’s special commission on workforce development, says “The average age in plants today is 49 to 50, and in five years, those people are going to be retiring, so we have a pretty big shortage of workers coming up.”

To help address this need, the Office of Continuing & Distance Education in Engineering and the Department of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering has developed a series of courses, that are delivered live and/or on-demand video over the Internet, and will lead to a Master’s of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering degree.

The Master of Engineering degree requires 27 credits of course work plus 3 credits of research/paper writing (NucE 597C) to complete the degree. Eighteen (18) credits must be 500 level courses (including the paper credits – NucE 597C). The remaining 12 credits may be 400 level courses. You may begin the program as a non-degree graduate student. However, you can only complete 12 credits as a non-degree graduate student. You will need to apply as a degree seeking student to continue in the program beyond 12 credits.

Special Note Regarding Nuce 597C Professional Topics Paper

You should be thinking of a paper topic early on in this program. You are required to get a paper topic and advisor approved before you register for the paper credits (NucE 597C). There is a submission form for this information under the Forms and Program Resources tab. You should start this process early, before you register for the paper credits. You can be working on your paper for months before actually registering for the paper credits. The process goes like this:

1. Submit the Professional Topic and Advisor Selection Form, after you have chosen a topic and researched which faculty member is in your chosen area. (See the form for directions).
2. Receive approval on your paper topic and acceptance by your chosen advisor. Go to ANGEL, in the NucE 597C Paper Info under MY GROUPS to see paper examples that have been accepted and semester due dates.
3. Submit an outline of your paper to your advisor and get feedback. Correspond with your advisor and get their comments.
4. It takes time for your advisor to review your paper and make comments. It is important that you allow enough time for several reviews and revisions to be made throughout the paper approval process.
5. If you feel you will graduate this semester, you must go to eLion and file your intent to graduate form. See Forms and Resources for dates and links.

Course Web Sites

• NucE 403 Advanced Reactor Design
• NucE 405 Nuclear and Radiochemistry
• NucE 406 Introduction to Statistical Thermodynamics
• NucE 408 Radiation Shielding
• NucE 409 Nuclear Materials
• NucE 420 Radiological Safety
• NucE 430 Design Principles of Reactor Systems
• NucE 428 Nuclear Waste Control
• ME/NucE 460 Reliability Concepts in Design
• NucE 497A Introduction to Nuclear Engineering
• NucE 497 Radiation Measurement Lab
• NucE 497C Dynamic Modeling of Energy Systems
• NucE 501 Reactor Design
• NucE 512 Nuclear Reactor Statics and Fuel Management
• ME 515 Two-Phase Heat Transfer
• ME 565 Optimal Design of Mechanical and Structural Systems
• NucE 521 Neutron Transport Theory
• NucE/METALS 523 Environmental Degradation of Materials in Nuclear Power Plants
• NucE 525 Monte Carlo Methods
• NucE 530 Parallel/Vector Algorithms for Scientific Applications
• NucE 597B Advanced Thermal Hydraulic Analysis
• NucE 597C Professional Topics in Nuclear Engineering
• NucE 597D Nuclear Reactor Safety
• NucE 597K Nuclear Kinetics and Dynamics

Schedule of Previously Offered Distance Education Courses