<p>I mean, I see that MIT is #1 for graduate programs for nuclear, but what makes its undergraduate unique compared to like Texas A&M or GaTech or any other school with a top nuclear program?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about nuclear engineering specifically (it’s a pretty small major, so I only know a few people who were in the department), but at MIT in general, undergraduates and grad students take classes together and do research in the same labs, so the strong graduate program and the strong undergraduate program are really one and the same.</p>
<p>When people talk about how their various departments treat them, I hear nuclear engineering come up as one that loves its students like fuzzy bunnies. It’s a small department (with 42 undergrads, it is one of the smallest non-humanities majors at the undergrad level), so you’d get lots of personal attention.</p>
<p>Also, MIT has its own nuclear reactor, which is used for research (and possibly for lab classes?). You can get a part-time job as a reactor operator (whether you are course 22 or not).</p>
<p>If you’re interested, it has a joint bachelor’s/master’s, five-year, program.</p>
<p>The MIT Nuclear Science and Engineering (NSE) Department is sexy. I was an undergrad in NSE (course 22) and Physics (course 8), and then I got a master’s in NSE (course 22) in my 5th year. The 5-year program is similar to the 5-year M.Eng. program in other MIT departments.</p>
<p>Here are some reasons why the MIT NSE program is excellent (sexy):</p>
<ol>
<li><p>small department and lots of UROP opportunities (professors like the undergrads so much that the grad students often get jealous)</p></li>
<li><p>lots of labs, including a fission reactor and at least two significant fusion experiments (NSE dominates basically all of Albany Street)</p></li>
<li><p>Due to all the concerns about energy independence and climate change, nuclear power is making a comeback in the U.S. Since the U.S. hasn’t built any commercial reactors in 30 years, nuclear engineers are few and old…which means that it is really, really easy to get a great job.</p></li>
<li><p>If you love physics but want to actually design things instead of just theorizing, study nuclear engineering. It probably involves more traditional physics concepts than any other engineering field. Of course, the NSE classes don’t go anywhere near as deep into physics as the actual Physics (course 8) classes, but many NSE students take Physics classes in addition. I double-majored in NSE and Physics. </p></li>
<li><p>Admission to the 5-year master’s program depends mostly on grades. If you get A’s and B’s in the undergraduate program, you can slide right into the master’s program. If you get A’s and B’s in the undergraduate program AND show significant research potential (remember that UROPs are easy to get), getting into the Ph.D. program is not terribly difficult. </p></li>
<li><p>Nuclear energy is a political issue. Most nuclear engineers are frustrated by this, because U.S. energy policy never really makes sense (for different reasons in 2009 than in 2008) and politics just keeps getting in the way of science. However, this presents a unique opportunity for engineers to get involved in policy. There are lots of opportunities for research projects involving nuclear energy policy and/or economics.</p></li>
<li><p>So why do undergrad nuclear engineer at MIT as opposed to some other school? Well, I’ve already mentioned that it is easier to get into the MIT grad program from the MIT undergrad program than from another undergrad program. Also, the very small undergraduate program at MIT allows for exceptional research opportunities with exceptional professors…which is exactly what makes the graduate program so good. Of course, don’t forget about all the other awesome things about being an MIT undergrad in general.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>A 5 year master’s program sounds nice >.> Though how did u double-up, on the CB website it says that MIT does not offer double majoring.</p>
<p>About 20% of MIT students double-major, actually, so that info from College Board is not correct. Perhaps they are confused because MIT used to offer only dual degrees (students were awarded two bachelor’s degrees for completing two majors).</p>
<p>More information can be found [url=<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/uinfo/academics/programs/reqs/doublemajor.html]here[/url”>http://web.mit.edu/uinfo/academics/programs/reqs/doublemajor.html]here[/url</a>].</p>