Want a unique opportunity to not only get a classroom education, but hands-on opportunities in state-of-the art test facilities? Want an opportunity to see how nuclear reactors work? Ever curious what Radiation Health Physicist do? Do you want to be a solution to our greenhouse and energy related problems? We are proud to provide this unique environment that melts classroom academics with opportunities in test facilities that only exist here at Oregon State University.

We are the only Nuclear Engineering and Radiation Health Physics department in the country that has a test facility that performs confirmatory tests for nuclear power plants. This allows opportunities for our students that they cannot get anywhere else.

The Department is housed in the Radiation Center that has a 1 megawatt TRIGA reactor. That stands for Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics. Students in their first term of Nuclear Engineering class get a chance to see how this reactor operates.

OSU's TRIGA Reactor housed in the Radiation Center.

Nuclear engineering is not just about nuclear plant and reactor core design. There are many directions nuclear engineering students have gone into and are not bound by nuclear plants or reactor core design.

Our students have found career paths in computational methods and parallel processing, medical applications of nuclear engineering, environmental management for nuclear and hazardous waste, and some have even gone into business applications. Our undergraduate program encompasses not just nuclear engineering courses but courses in other engineering disciplines. This results in a well-rounded, well educated, and very employable nuclear engineers.

“Health physics” is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the benefits of the peaceful use of the atom. Radiation control incorporates an understanding of many disciplines. It has common scientific interests with many areas of specialization: physics, biology, biophysics, engineering (nuclear, civil, mechanical, or electrical), chemistry, genetics, ecology, environmental sciences, metallurgy, medicine, physiology, and toxicology. The wide spectrum of knowledge required of the health physicist makes this profession both challenging and rewarding.

What factors can affect the typical nuclear engineer salary? Mainly your experience and the part of the industry you choose. Most entry-level nuclear engineers can expect a starting salary somewhere in the mid-$50,000 range, though the trend has been higher recently. If you are competent and work hard, in the nuclear power part of the industry you can expect significant raises early in your career and bonuses each year-end.

For Radiation Health Physicists, again experience, what part of the country, and what industry you choose play a factor when it comes to salary. According to the Health Physics Society’s latest salary survey the minimum salary started at $46,000. However with less than 15 years experience with a B.S. degree in Radiation Health Physics the average salary was $96,000.

Brian Collins, undergraduate student graduate with his B.S. Degree in Nuclear Engineering in June 2006. He was able to work in the AP1000 Test Facility calibrating equipment and help conducting confirmatory testing. Brian decided to get a M.S. Degree in Nuclear Eningeering here at Oregon State University. Upon defending his Master's Degree in December 07, he has a job waiting for him at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington.

OSU’s admission requirements promote student success by assessing student preparedness and academic potential in the unique context of each student’s personal experience. Admission assessment will consider all achievements, both academic and non-academic, to enroll students with a broad range of characteristics and perspectives. Considerations include, but are not limited to: academic achievement, creativity, initiative, motivation, leadership, persistence, service to others, intellectual curiosity, exceptional personal or academic recognition, unusual talent or ability, substantial experience with other cultures, and ability to overcome significant challenges.

What Admissions Looks For In Prospective Students

Strength of Curriculum

• Quality, quantity, and level of coursework throughout the entire high school program, especially coursework completed beyond the minimum courses required (see high school course requirements chart).
  
• AP, IB, Oregon PASS, or college coursework completed or in progress.
  Strength of the program taken within the context of the high school attended.
  
• Completion of a progressively challenging math sequence, demonstrated by performance.
  

Academic Performance

• Minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 and completion of 14 required subject area courses.
  
• Class rank taken in context with academic rigor and class size of high school attended.
  
• Performance on standardized tests: SAT I, or ACT. SAT II subject tests will be considered when available.
  

Insight Resume

• Understanding of you as a unique, contributing individual.
  
• Your accomplishments, perspectives, experiences, and talents.
  
• Your achievements within the context of your social and personal circumstances.
  
• Participation in activities that develop academic, intellectual, and leadership abilities.

The RHP program prepares students for professional careers in the field of radiation protection. Employment opportunities in the field include: federal, state, and local environmental protection agencies; medical care facilities; nuclear reactor sites; national laboratories; and private consulting.

Our RHP BS degree is accredited by the Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). The majority of NE students take the Engineer in Training (EIT) examination during their senior year; this is the first step toward becoming a registered Professional Engineer (PE).

If you would like to see what a typical 4-year plan looks like, click here.

If you are interested in applying for our Nuclear Engineering program, please click here or if you have any questions about our program, please feel free to contact Kristie Marsh.

RHP is an integrated study of the physical aspects of ionizing and non-ionizing radiation, their biological effects, and the methods used to protect people and their environment from radiation hazards while still enabling the beneficial uses of radiation and radioactive material.

Nuclear Engineering (NE) Nuclear engineers design, build and operate complex systems involving radiation and/or radioactive materials. Employment opportunities in the field include: nuclear utilities; reactor and nuclear fuel vendors; national laboratories; federal agencies (NASA, DOE, NRC, etc.) and private consulting.

Our NE BS degree is accredited by the Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). The majority of NE students take the Engineer in Training (EIT) examination during their senior year; this is the first step toward becoming a registered Professional Engineer (PE).

If you would like to see what a typical 4-year plan looks like, click here.

If you are interested in applying for our Nuclear Engineering program, please click here or if you have any questions about our program, please feel free to contact Kristie Marsh.

Current areas of research interest in Nuclear Engineering are oriented toward advanced power reactor development, thermal hydraulics and numerical methods and analysis.