Graduate Guidelines - Nuclear Engineering Department

Download the Guidelines and Procedures for Graduate Students as a pdf.

The graduate program in nuclear engineering at Berkeley offers instruction, research, and professional education in nuclear energy (fission and fusion), nuclear waste and materials management, and biomedical, bionuclear and radiological science. Established in 1958, the Department provides a graduate program consisting of the principal fields of reactor theory, reactor engineering, including thermal hydraulics and safety; nuclear materials; nuclear reactions and instrumentation; thermonuclear fusion; nuclear waste management; risk and systems analysis; biomedical imaging; and radiation physics and dosimetry. There are about 65 graduate students and 65 undergraduate majors in the Department. Graduates find opportunities for employment and professional careers in the United States and abroad. Recent graduates are employed in academia, industry, national laboratories, and state and federal agencies.

The Department has strong relations with the nearby Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Los Alamos National Laboratory. A number of faculty and students collaborate with researchers in these laboratories, and use the facilities of these laboratories in their research projects.

Each student has an academic adviser who takes responsibility for general academic counseling, offers suggestions on programs of study and degree committees, and monitors the student's overall academic progress. Each academic adviser meets with a student at least once a semester to review and approve the student's proposed course of study for the next semester, sign the student's program card and discuss the student's general progress through the program. Each term, after meeting with the adviser, the student should obtain from the SAO the adviser code needed in order to enroll on-line or via Telebears (enrollment by phone system—642-3400) for the next semester.

The Graduate Adviser Chair, Brian D. Wirth, is authorized to sign most of the forms and petitions submitted by or for NE students to the Graduate Division. New graduate students should first pick up their registration forms from the SAO and then consult with the Graduate Adviser as soon as possible after arrival on campus.

The department’s Student Affairs Officer (SAO), Lisa Zemelman, counsels students on campus policies, regulations and procedures, helps monitor students' degree progress, and assists students with administrative problems related to the completion of degree requirements. The SAO also maintains graduate student records, schedules examinations, and assists students with finding funding and jobs.

Direct supervision of each student's research is the responsibility of a research adviser selected by the student in accordance with his or her areas of interest. This adviser will become the chair of a student’s 3 person MS or Ph.D. thesis committee; the chair takes primary responsibility for directing the student's work. The research adviser will meet with the student to help determine his or her major and minor fields, and to recommend a suitable program of study leading to the MS or Ph.D. degree. In most cases, the research adviser and academic adviser will be the same person.

Students are required to update each semester a program card giving a list of courses which they propose to take to complete their degree requirements. The program card is available from the SAO. The list must be approved and signed by the student’s academic adviser and Graduate Adviser Chair, and then returned to the SAO for placement in the student's file.

There is no prescribed course of study for the NE program. Recommendations for specific course work are generally made by the student's academic adviser. Students are expected to enroll in courses and seminars relevant to their major and minor fields. Before being advanced to candidacy for the Ph.D., students must fulfill all course requirements.

The Schedule of Classes and a separate departmental list indicate which courses are offered in a given term. The General Catalog lists all courses offered on campus; it is available on line at http://www.berkeley.edu/catalog/ Links to NE graduate courses and undergraduate courses:

http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/courses/grad_courses.htm

http://www.nuc.berkeley.edu/courses/undergrad_courses.htm

All students must take at least 2 letter-graded NE courses during the first year as a graduate student.

The University expects graduate students to register continuously for courses except when officially withdrawn or on Filing Fee status. The Department expects students to register for 13 units each semester—these normally include a combination of coursework and independent study (NE 299) units and a one-unit NE 298 research seminar. Students who have advanced to Ph.D. candidacy usually enroll in 12 units of NE 299, and 1 unit of NE 298 with their research adviser. Additionally, all students are asked to enroll in NE 295, the department colloquium. Students are required to attend the weekly colloquium meetings held on Monday afternoons during their first year to acquaint them with the various research topics in nuclear engineering

Graduate students who have not advanced to candidacy must enroll for a minimum of 12 units, including Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) and Graduate Student Researchers (GSRs) .. Students on filing fee do not enroll in coursework. Graduate students must enroll for a minimum of 4 units in the 100 or 200 series of courses for the semester to count toward academic residence (see below).

International Students

The University defines full-time study for international students (required to meet the terms of a student visa) as 8-9 units if at least one unit is in a graduate course (200 or 600-level), or 12 units if no graduate course is included (all courses below 200-level). Generally, international students must take a full program to meet the terms of their visas.

International students should consult Services for International Students and Scholars (642-2818, http://www.ias.berkeley.edu/siss/) for further information on academic issues or personal counseling.

Effective Fall 2006, graduate students who have advanced to candidacy for the doctorate are eligible for a full reduction of the annual nonresident tuition fee, subject to the understanding that: (a) a doctoral student may receive the zero nonresident tuition rate for a maximum calendar period of three years; and (b) any such student who continues to be enrolled or who re-enrolls after the three-year period will be charged the full nonresident tuition rate that is in effect at the time.

English Language Proficiency

Prospective Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) who do not speak English as a native language must demonstrate oral English proficiency in order to teach at Berkeley. In those countries where the TOEFL Internet-based Test (TOEFL iBT, also referred to as the "Next Generation TOEFL") has been introduced, English language proficiency is determined by the speaking section score of the TOEFL iBT. In those countries where the new TOEFL iBT has not yet been introduced, students can demonstrate their proficiency by taking and passing the Test of Spoken English (TSE) before enrolling in Berkeley or the Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit (SPEAK) or the Oral Proficiency Test (OPT) on the UC Berkeley campus. A passing score on any of these tests must be obtained before a student who does not speak English as a native language can be appointed as a GSI.

The Department strongly recommends that all international students who do not pass the SPEAK of OPT test take an English Proficiency course. Whether or not a student will be working as a teaching assistant, these courses will improve the student’s ability to discuss his or her work in class and oral exams and will improve the student’s confidence in presenting work in English. It is required that students take the SPEAK test before enrolling in a language course. Arrangements must be made in advance with the GSI Training Office (langpro@uclink.berkeley.edu ). Further information may be found at http://gsi.berkeley.edu/lpp/index.html (information about GSI testing and the SPEAK practice test).

Prospective international GSI’s who have not passed the SPEAK or OPT tests, and who want to enroll in the Language Proficiency Program course, LANGPRO 100A or 100B for Fall, must pre-register for placement into the appropriate level. Placement is determined by SPEAK and OPT scores and previous enrollment in LANGPRO courses.

Other English courses offered: IDS 140 Technical Communication for Non-Native Speakers (no test required) and E 190 Technical Communication.