Graduate Degrees

• Master of Science (M.S.) in Nuclear Science
• Master of Science in Engineering (M.S.E.) in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nuclear Science
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with Scientific Computing Option

Programs of Study

Master of Science Programs

M.S. in Nuclear Science and M.S.E. in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences

Students entering the program in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited engineering program. The nuclear science program is available to those with bachelor's degrees from recognized programs in physics, chemistry, or mathematics who wish to work in the field of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences.
Students planning to enter the M.S. degree program who do not have an undergraduate degree in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences should take courses in atomic and nuclear physics and in advanced mathematics for engineers (Math 450 or equivalent). Students without these prerequisites will be requested to make up the deficiencies in addition to the 30 hours required for the M.S. degree. An upper-level course in electronic circuits (EECS 314 and Physics 455 or equivalent), a course in fluid mechanics (CEE 325 or equivalent), a course in computer programming (Eng 101, EECS 283, or equivalent) are recommended as desirable preparation.

The requirements for the master's degree are 30 hours of course work at the graduate level, including 20 hours from nuclear engineering and radiological sciences and four credits outside the department. At least four of the nuclear engineering and radiological sciences courses, excluding NERS 599 and NERS 799, must be at the 500-level or higher. All M.S. degree students must take a formal 400-level or higher lab course while enrolled as a graduate student. The student, with approval of the program advisor, may substitute a master's project report for 2 to 6 credit hours of graduate course work. In this case, the student will be required to make a seminar presentation of the master's project, in addition to a written final report. Additional courses are selected with the help of the program advisor from courses in nuclear engineering and radiological sciences, cognate fields of engineering, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and others.

Ph.D. Programs

Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and Ph.D. in Nuclear Science

The doctoral degree is conferred in recognition of marked ability and scholarship in some relatively broad field of knowledge. A part of the work consists of regularly scheduled graduate courses of instruction in the chosen field and in such cognate subjects as may be required by the committee. In addition, the student must pursue independent investigation in a subdivision of the selected field and must present the result of the investigation in the form of a dissertation. The selected fields (options) are:

• Fission Systems and Radiation Transport
• Materials
• Plasma and Fusion
• Radiation Measurements and Imaging
• Radiation Safety, Environmental Sciences and Medical Physics

A student becomes an applicant for the doctorate when admitted to the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies and accepted in a field of specialization. Candidacy is achieved when the student demonstrates competence in her/his broad field of knowledge through completion of a prescribed set of courses and passing a comprehensive examination. A special doctoral committee is appointed for each applicant to supervise the work of the student both as to election of courses and in preparation of the dissertation. All Ph.D. students must take NERS 515, Nuclear Measurements Laboratory and 6 credit hours of NERS courses selected from outside the student's option, and obtain a grade of B or better for each of these courses.

Candidate Status: Candidacy requirements are described in requirements for Achieving Candidacy section of the Rackham Graduate Student Handbook. For information on the dissertation committee, final oral examination, and publication of dissertation, see the Rackham Graduate Student Handbook.

Note: The Graduate Record Exam (GRE) is required for financial consideration and fellowship nominations.

UM URLs of Interest:

• UM NERS Department:
  http://www.ners.engin.umich.edu
• Rackham Graduate School Home Page:
  http://www.rackham.umich.edu
• Rackham Publications:  Graduate Student Handbook:
  http://www.rackham.umich.edu/StudentInfo/Publications/
• Online Application:
  https://apply.embark.com/Grad/Umich/Rackham/ProgramA/
  

Ph.D. in Scientific Computing

The Ph.D. program in scientific computing is a joint degree program-students pursue their doctoral studies in a home department such as Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences and take additional courses in areas such as numerical analysis, scientific computation, and the study of algorithms for advanced computer architectures. This interdisciplinary program is intended for students who will make extensive use of large-scale computation, computational methods, or algorithms for advanced computer architectures in their doctoral studies. Students are expected to complete the normal doctoral requirements of their home department as well as additional requirements in the area of scientific computation.