Our Bachelor of Science degree in nuclear engineering aims to train the next generation of nuclear engineers for the scientific and industrial work force. It features basic knowledge in nuclear science and technology as well as further elective in depth topics. Our program is ABET certified preparing our students for further degrees or a successful career in industry.
Nuclear Engineering focuses on solving several of the world's most important grand-challenge problems. Our graduates work in industry, the national laboratories, government and academia, applying the engineering science, the computational and analytical tools and the experimental methods we teach at U.C. Berkeley. Our graduates also apply their expertise more broadly, ranging from computational skills in dot-com startups to modeling the effects of cosmic rays spacecraft for aerospace companies. Nuclear engineering is concerned with the science of nuclear processes and their application to the development of various technologies.
Nuclear Engineering is a highly interdisciplinary field involved in many aspects of our daily life such as electrical power generation where 20% of the nation’s power is nuclear, medical isotope production for cancer treatment, homeland security aspects for identifying nuclear materials in shipping containers, petroleum exploration by quantifying the amount of carbon hydrides in a potential oil field, nuclear policy informing policy makers of technical advances, semiconductor applications and fundamental science trying to explain the nature of the universe just to name a few. Since all matter consist of atoms the science and engineering considering the core of atoms is engaged in numerous aspects.
All NE students have opportunities to work in NE research laboratories, or at nearby National Laboratories, to obtain experience in nuclear engineering research during their undergraduate studies. The department highly encourages especially undergraduate students to work side by side with faculty and graduate students to obtain firsthand experience in the field.
The UCB-NE department encourages and fosters undergraduate student [UGS] engagement in current engineering and science topics. Highly talented UGS can participate in international conferences and meetings getting engaged in Nuclear Engineering as a profession.
The professional field, although highly interdisciplinary, is unified via a professional society, the American Nuclear Society. Our work toward advanced energy systems, waste management, and nuclear medical applications is highly interdisciplinary, and thus many NE students pursue double major degrees: EECS for those interested in fusion energy systems and computational methods; ME for those interested in mechanical design and heat transfer; MSE for those interested in nuclear materials; and ChemE for those interested in nuclear chemistry.
