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University of Pittsburgh    
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
 
  Dec 11, 2024
 
2024-2025 Undergraduate Catalog

Nuclear Engineering Certificate


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U.S. domestic nuclear capacity has the potential to scale from ~100 GW in 2023 to ~300 GW by 2050 based on power system decarbonization modeling, which suggests that the U.S. will need ~200 GW of additional nuclear generation capacity, while creating up to 275,000 high-paying jobs. The undergraduate certificate in Nuclear Engineering is a five-course sequence, consisting of three nuclear engineering courses and two discipline-specific courses related to nuclear engineering from the various engineering departments. Any undergraduate engineering students in the Swanson School of Engineering can earn the certificate in conjunction with an undergraduate engineering degree. Qualified students in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences can pursue the certificate with approval from the Nuclear Engineering program director.

After earning the certificate, students should be able to do the following: apply the concepts of nuclear and reactor physics, reactor kinetics, radiation protection, fuel depletion, and heat transfer to engineering problems; apply engineering skills, knowledge, and expertise to nuclear energy problems; for light water reactors and advanced reactors, support engineering projects for the design of the reactor core and the reactor coolant system; assess important social and technical issues related to nuclear science and technology; and describe and explain the nuclear fuel cycle from mining to disposal including reprocessing and waste management.

Interested students should visit http://www.engineering.pitt.edu/nuclear/ or contact either the Director or Associate/Academic Director of the Nuclear Engineering program; currently, these posts are occupied by Dr. Heng Ban (heng.ban@pitt.edu) and Dr. Tom Congedo (tvc9@pitt.edu), respectively.

Requirements


Fifteen (15) credits are required to complete the certificate. A minimum 2.5 GPA is required for students to participate in the certificate. Students must obtain a GPA of at least 2.5 for the courses taken.  All undergraduate certificate students are required to complete three (3) courses from the list below as well as two (2) department specific courses:

Plus two (2) Degree Specific Courses


Students should select two (2) courses from the list below that are appropriate to their degree of study.

Non-engineering Math and Science Majors


Non-engineering math and science majors (e.g., Math, Chemistry, Physics) must complete the three (3) core Nuclear Engineering courses, provide the Director of the Nuclear Engineering a proposal for two additional courses in the student’s major and obtain the Director’s signed approval. The one-page proposal must include the following:

  • two (2) courses from the student’s major
  • the catalog description of the two (2) courses
  • a short statement on how these two (2) courses complement the three (3) core nuclear courses and/or apply to nuclear engineering.

This proposal will be signed by the Director or Associate Director of the Nuclear Engineering program and kept on record by the MEMS Department.

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