About the Program

The Department of Nuclear Engineering offers three graduate degree programs: the Master of Engineering (MEng), the Master of Science (MS), and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD).

Master of Engineering (MEng)

In collaboration with other departments in the College of Engineering, Nuclear Engineering offers a one-year professional master's degree. The accelerated program is designed to develop professional engineering leaders who understand the technical, environmental, economic, and social issues involved in the design and operation of nuclear engineering devices, systems, and organizations. Prospective students will be engineers, typically with industrial experience, who aspire to substantially advance in their careers and ultimately to lead large, complex organizations, including governments.

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Admissions

Admission to the University

Uniform minimum requirements for admission

The following minimum requirements apply to all programs and will be verified by the Graduate Division:

1. A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;
2. A minimum grade-point average of B or better (3.0);
3. If the applicant comes from a country or political entity (e.g. Quebec) where English is not the official language, adequate proficiency in English to do graduate work, as evidenced by a TOEFL score of at least 570 on the paper-and-pencil test, 230 on the computer-based test, 90 on the iBT test, or an IELTS Band score of at least 7 (note that individual programs may set higher levels for any of these); and
4. Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in the given field.

Applicants who already hold a graduate degree

The Graduate Council views academic degrees as evidence of broad research training, not as vocational training certificates; therefore, applicants who already have academic graduate degrees should be able to take up new subject matter on a serious level without undertaking a graduate program, unless the fields are completely dissimilar.

Programs may consider students for an additional academic master’s or professional master’s degree if the additional degree is in a distinctly different field.

Applicants admitted to a doctoral program that requires a master’s degree to be earned at Berkeley as a prerequisite (even though the applicant already has a master’s degree from another institution in the same or a closely allied field of study) will be permitted to undertake the second master’s degree, despite the overlap in field.

The Graduate Division will admit students for a second doctoral degree only if they meet the following guidelines:

1. Applicants with doctoral degrees may be admitted for an additional doctoral degree only if that degree program is in a general area of knowledge distinctly different from the field in which they earned their original degree. For example, a physics PhD could be admitted to a doctoral degree program in music or history; however, a student with a doctoral degree in mathematics would not be permitted to add a PhD in statistics.
2. Applicants who hold the PhD degree may be admitted to a professional doctorate or professional master’s degree program if there is no duplication of training involved.

Applicants may only apply to one single degree program or one concurrent degree program per admission cycle.

Any applicant who was previously registered at Berkeley as a graduate student, no matter how briefly, must apply for readmission, not admission, even if the new application is to a different program.

Required documents for admissions applications

1. Transcripts:  Upload unofficial transcripts with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcripts of all college-level work will be required if admitted. Official transcripts must be in sealed envelopes as issued by the school(s) you have attended. Request a current transcript from every post-secondary school that you have attended, including community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs.
   If you have attended Berkeley, upload unofficial transcript with the application for the departmental initial review. Official transcript with evidence of degree conferral will not be required if admitted.
2. Letters of recommendation: Applicants can request online letters of recommendation through the online application system. Hard copies of recommendation letters must be sent directly to the program, not the Graduate Division.
3. Evidence of English language proficiency: All applicants from countries in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Burma, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, and most European countries. However, applicants who, at the time of application, have already completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better at a U.S. university may submit an official transcript from the U.S. university to fulfill this requirement. The following courses will not fulfill this requirement: 1) courses in English as a Second Language, 2) courses conducted in a language other than English, 3) courses that will be completed after the application is submitted, and 4) courses of a non-academic nature. If applicants have previously been denied admission to Berkeley on the basis of their English language proficiency, they must submit new test scores that meet the current minimum from one of the standardized tests.

Admission to the Program

Admission to the graduate program in nuclear engineering is available to qualified individuals who have obtained a bachelor’s degree from a recognized institution in one of the fields of engineering or the physical sciences. For all programs, required preparation in undergraduate coursework includes mathematics through partial differential equations and advanced analysis, nuclear reactions, and thermodynamics. Admission is granted on the basis of undergraduate and graduate records (if any), statement of purpose, record of work experience and professional activities, letters of recommendation, and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), if applicable.

Doctoral Degree Requirements

In order to receive the Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering, all students must successfully complete the following three milestones: 

• Required coursework: major and minor requirements
• Departmental Exams: first year screening exams and the oral qualifying exam
• Dissertation

Curriculum

Departmental Exams:

Screening Exam

Students must pass a written screening exam during the first year in graduate study. This exam which is based on undergraduate thermodynamics, nuclear materials, heat transfer and fluid mechanics, nuclear physics, neutronics, radiaoactive waste management and fusion theory. Four of the seven areas must be passed in order the pass the exam. There are two chances to pass.

Oral Exam

After completion of the coursework for the Ph.D. the student takes the Oral Exam. The content of the exam is usually a presentation of the student's research and questions relating the coursework in the outside minor. The exam committee is composed of 4 faculty members (normally three from the department, and a non-departmental faculty member who represents an outside minor.)

Ph.D. Dissertation

A dissertation on a subject chosen by the candidate, bearing on the principal subject of the student's major study and demonstrating the candidate's ability to carry out independent investigation, must be completed and receive the approval of the dissertation committee and the dean of the Graduate Division. The committee consists of three members, including the instructor in charge of the dissertation and one member outside the candidate's department.

Master's Degree Requirements (MS)

Master's students must choose between two degree plan options: Plan I or Plan II.  Plan I requires at least 20 semester units of upper division and graduate courses, plus a thesis. At least 8 of these units must be in 200 series courses in the student's major subject.  Plan II requires at least 24 semester units of upper division and graduate courses, followed by a comprehensive final examination administered by the department. At least 12 units must be in graduate courses in the student's major subject. In Nuclear Engineering, the “examination” takes the form of a project and presentation

Curriculum

Both MS Plan I and Plan II are subject to the following:

i) Units for 298 (seminar) courses are not counted towards the degree.

ii) A Study plan approved by the major field adviser is required each semester.

iii) A maximum of 4 units of coursework from approved non-academic institutions or four units from another academic institution can be used, provided course was taken while in graduate standing and meets departmental approval.

iv) Units for graduate courses taken as an undergraduate are allowed if the units were in excess of units required to satisfy the BS degree requirements.

Noncourse Requirements

Plan I: Thesis (Requires thesis committee composed of three faculty.)

Plan II: Completion of a project culminating in a written report and an oral presentation before a committee of three faculty members or two faculty members and one approved non-university person. Approval by the professor in charge of the research project and the Chair of the Graduate Advisers is required.

All students must take at least 2 letter-grade NE courses during the first year as a graduate student.

Master's Degree Requirements (MEng)

Curriculum

Courses

Nuclear Engineering

Faculty

Professors

Joonhong Ahn, Professor. Radioactive waste management, mathematical safety assessment of deep geologic repository, transport of radionuclides in geologic formations, environmental impact of severe accidents.
Research Profile

Ehud Greenspan, Professor.

Ka-Ngo Leung, Professor.

Digby D. Macdonald, Professor.

Edward C. Morse, Professor. Applied plasma physics: fusion technology: microwaves, experimental investigation of RF plasma heating, experimental studies of compact toroids spectral method for magnetohydrodynamic stability.
Research Profile

Eric B. Norman, Professor. Nuclear astrophysics, experimental nuclear physics, homeland security, neutrinos.
Research Profile

Per F Peterson, Professor. Heat and mass transfer, safety, nuclear engineering, multiphase transport, thermal hydraulics, nuclear reactor design, radioactive waste, nuclear materials management.
Research Profile

Karl A Van Bibber, Professor.

Kai Vetter, Professor.

Jasmina L. Vujic, Professor. Nuclear engineering, numerical methods in reactor physics, neutron and photon transport, reactor core design and analysis, shielding, radiation protection, biomedical application of radiation, optimization techniques for vector, parallel computers.
Research Profile

Assistant Professors

Massimiliano Fratoni, Assistant Professor.

Peter Hosemann, PhD, Assistant Professor. Microscopy, nanomaterials, Nuclear materials, material science, radiation damage, corrosion in liquid metals, materials development, materials under extremes, nuclear applications, ion beam microscopy, nanoscale mechanical testing.
Research Profile

Rachel Slaybaugh, Assistant Professor.