Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Engineering

Rensselaer's Nuclear Engineering program is home to over 130 undergraduate and graduate students. With focuses on reactor physics and design, thermal-hydraulics, health physics, and reactor materials, the Nuclear Engineering program offers a diverse set of courses to fit almost any curriculum. Additionally, the program includes a competitive Senior Design Program, maintains two world-class research facilities, and is home to a highly active student section of the American Nuclear Society. The NE Department was officially formed in 1960 and is one of the oldest such programs in the U.S. The construction of the accelerator facility was completed in 1961 and the facility would soon be named after Professor Gaerttner who was instrumental in establishing NE at Rensselaer and who served as NE's first departmental head. Within a few years, the NE Department at Rensselaer awarded its first PhD degrees and then B.S. degrees.

At Rensselaer, concentrations are available in fission reactor physics, reactor engineering, health physics, thermal-hydraulics, reliability and safety, and reactor materials. Boasting unique and state-of-the-art research facilities, Rensselaer students have access to a critical reactor, a large electron accelerator, and modern computer interfacing technology. With today's need for inexpensive sources of energy, Rensselaer nuclear engineering graduates are in great demand for positions in industry or graduate study. Additionally, there are exciting possibilities in space power propulsion, fusion reactor engineering, medicine, and national defense.

The doctoral degree requirements include 72 credits for students entering the graduate program with a bachelor's degree or 48 credits for students entering with a master's degree. In addition to residence and dissertation credits requirements, students must successfully complete 36 course credits if entering with a bachelor's degree or 12 course credits if entering with a master's degree. The graduate students's Ph.D. adviser will guide the student in all aspects of his/her academic and research programs. This adviser is usually a faculty member from the MANE department but can occasionally be from a different department. If a student chooses to do a thesis with an adviser from another department, then a doctoral committee co-chair from within the MANE department is required. Major milestones for the Ph.D. program in MANE include passing a doctoral qualifying exam, a doctoral candidacy exam, and successfully defending the dissertation in an open presentation to his or her committee. The Ph.D. degree is awarded for research making an original contribution to fundamental knowledge in a particular field or in an interdisciplinary field or for research into the relation of a discipline to educational problems and objecties within the field. The Ph.D. dissertation must be scholarly, creative, original, and publishable.

For admission to graduate study, an applicant must have a U.S. bachelor's degree or the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree prior to enrollment.
Transcripts and Degrees must be in English (all post-secondary education, including transcript keys).
Unofficial transcripts should be uploaded to your graduate application. The minimum requirement for admission consideration is the completion and award of a four year U.S. bachelor's degree, or its equivalent, by the time of planned enrollment.
Personal Statement
Resume or curriculum vitae
Two letters of recommendation
Portfolio, if required by department

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