Program Overview

Department of Nuclear Engineering

The Department of Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, offers a comprehensive Master's Degree program designed to equip students with advanced knowledge and skills in nuclear engineering.

Master’s Degree

The Master's Degree program in Nuclear Engineering requires a minimum of 30 graduate credit hours. The program is structured to provide students with a broad understanding of nuclear engineering principles and practices, as well as specialized knowledge in their chosen area of research.

Credit Hours Required

• A minimum of 30 graduate credit hours are required.
• 15 credit hours of graduate courses across the breadth of nuclear engineering (NE) are mandatory.
• Two credit hours (1+1) of NE 501 are required, and a maximum of 3 credit hours of NE 501 can be used towards the 15 credit hours of NE graduate courses.
• An additional 9 credit hours of graduate courses related to the student’s research, as approved by the student’s committee, typically selected from Nuclear Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or Material Science.
• Only 9 credit hours of 400 level graduate coursework can be applied towards the 24 credit hour course requirement.

Option Requirements

• Thesis Option: NE 500 Thesis, 6 credit hours.
• Project Option: NE 598, Nuclear Engineering Practice, 3 or 6 credit hours.
  • Two engineering practice projects (6 credit hours of NE 598).
  • One engineering practice project (3 credit hours of NE 598) plus 3 credit hours of additional nuclear engineering course work.

Additional Course Requirements

• Students without a BS in nuclear engineering, or the equivalent, must take NE 433 and NE 470, both of which may be taken for graduate credit.

Non-Course Requirements

• The student must pass an oral examination on all work presented for the degree (all course work and thesis).

Additional Information

• A typical MS program in traditional nuclear engineering would consist of three courses per semester and would take three to five semesters dependent on prior education and course load.
• The most up-to-date requirements and a description of graduate courses are located in the Graduate Catalog.