A question about course 22. Please help.

<p>I want to major in course 22. But, MIT seems to be the only top school to offer nuclear engineering for grad school. If I get a BS in nuclear engineering at MIT, where do I go from there, in regards to getting a masters? What if MIT rejects me for grad school? Do I switch my concentration for grad school?</p>

<p>UC Berkeley not awesome enough for you? :)</p>

<p>One of my friends mentioned doing chemical/nuclear engineering together, so I’m guessing you could do something like that to keep your choices open.</p>

<p>I’ll leave it to people who have more experience though…</p>

<p>In most of the engineering departments at MIT, especially the smaller ones, if you are a reasonably good MIT student and want to do your graduate work at MIT, you will be able to.</p>

<p>I’m most familiar with course 16, where about half of each graduating class applies to grad school at MIT and only a handful (single digits) are rejected each year. I don’t know if the situation is the same in course 22, but I think it probably is. You could always ask the department representative at CPW (there will probably be a fair for different departments) how many MIT alums are currently students in the department’s graduate programs.</p>

<p>Hello. I was Courses 8 and 22 at MIT. I’m currently getting a M.S. in Course 22 at MIT, and I might continue on for a Ph.D. in Course 22. </p>

<p>Course 22 has a 5-year B.S./M.S. program that is basically the same as the M.Eng. program in Course 6, and admission to it is based mostly on grades. If you have a GPA above a certain cutoff (approximately 4.3/5.0, I think), you will very likely be admitted. </p>

<p>For the Ph.D. program, MIT undergrads and M.S. students are considered in the same pool with applicants from other schools. Like all Ph.D. programs, admission is based primarily on research potential. Of course, if you’ve been working with professors in the department, that will help you. I don’t know what fraction of MIT undergrads who apply to the Ph.D. program are admitted, but I’m pretty sure it is high. There are plenty of former MIT undergrads in the Ph.D. program. Also, about half of Course 22 Ph.D. students did not major in nuclear engineering as undergrads. </p>

<p>You’re right that MIT and UC Berkley are the only really prestigious schools that have strong nuclear engineering programs. I think that’s really unfortunate, because the nuclear industry is likely to rapidly expand in the near future and needs all the talented people it can get. I would like to see schools like Stanford and Caltech develop nuclear engineering departments. </p>

<p>Anyway, to answer your question, MIT Course 22 definitely does not discourage its undergraduates from entering its Ph.D. program. If anything, it encourages them to do so. Also, you should never decide which undergrad school to attend based on which grad school you want to attend…because a lot can change in four years.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley? Like I said, MIT is the only prestigious schools that offers nuclear engineering.</p>

<p>Thank you 123, your response was very helpful. I believe that going into nuclear engineering is very worthwhile, and was surprised to find that this is not a commonly offered major. Basically, I would stick with MIT from undergrad until pHD for nuclear engineering? (If I go that far)</p>

<p>UC Berkeley is a great school. Hopefully the State of California gets its fiscal act together so that doesn’t change.</p>

<p>Yes, you could get your B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Course 22 at MIT…but only if you get good grades and demonstrate research potential as an undergrad. Don’t take those things as a given.</p>