I am a high school student and I want to study nuclear.
Which program should I take?
Nuclear is broad topic area. Nuclear Physics (the study of nuclear reactions)
is just about a dead area. Reactor Physics (the study of the neutron flux
in nuclear reactors, an engineered device) is not. There are many related
disciplines, such as Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering,, etc.,
that are disciplines in themselves but are relevant to nuclear reactors
because reactors have coolant systems, control systems, etc. Radiation Health
Physics (Physics
and Astronomy Department), dealing with radiation and biological matter,
is another related discipline. Taking a physics degree will usually get
you into studying the fundamental nature of things whereas taking an engineering
degree gets you into using what science discovers to design useful devices.
Engineering Physics
is an engineering program that leans towards the sciences more than Mechanical
or the other engineering programs. It may be the choice for you because
it provides a broad curriculum in engineering, physics and mathemathics,
giving you great flexibility in career paths. I suggest you have a look
at the web sites for the science faculty and for the engineering faculty
to learn more about what science
and engineering
programs have to offer. The site you are viewing right now is an nuclear
engineering web site. Have a look around. All the programs are good
but none are easy. The trick is to find the best match for you. Where is
your passion? What kind of career are you looking for? Do you have the marks
to get into the program you want?
Where can I find out about jobs in Nuclear Engineering?
For starters, check out the Careers page
on this web site.
Where can I study Nuclear Engineering in Canada?
Check out the Who's Who page on this
web site for links to the various professors at various universities that
offer programs that relate to Nuclear Engineering.
Can I take Nuclear Engineering at McMaster via distance
education? What can I take at McMaster?
We don't have a 'distance ed' program as such yet. We do have a number
of graduate level nuclear courses that can be taken individually for credit
or as part of a graduate level program. See the departmental
page for details on graduate programs in Engineering Physics.
I am working in the nuclear area. What courses and other resources are available to me?
CANTEACH (http://canteach.candu.org) is, by design, a public domain library and you are of course welcome to make full use of the material you find there.
Actual delivery of courses are done elsewhere. To get you going, here are some pointers to the main organizations that offer courses:
Select universities - see http://www.nuclearcanada.ca if you are interested in the traditional degree programs. As a working professional, I suspect you are not given that you have a day job. But McMaster and UOIT do offer diploma courses at the grad level. I am more familiar with the McMaster Nuclear Technology Diploma since I designed it. I do know that a number of industry employees have taken it and 'nukified' themselves. See http://engphys.mcmaster.ca/graduate/diploma.htm and http://nuclear.uoit.ca/EN/main/74127/284754/gdip.html. The Mac courses are $950 per course plus incidentals. 4 courses make a diploma.
UNENE - see www.unene.ca. Here a working professional can get a Master's degree via weekend courses. The UNENE courses are $2500 per course plus incidentals. 10 courses or 8 + a project are needed for the degree. The employer typically foots the bill.
We are trying as best we can to make our courses open access via the web. All my course material on this website are available, including recorded lectures and many worked examples. These are my old courses and I have since retired from Mac. Most of the UNENE courses have open material and access to the password protected material may be granted selectively if you request it. There are class recordings there too.
How do I get to the Nuclear Research Building
and the McMaster Nuclear Reactor?
