StudyQA — Master: Nuclear Energy — University of Cambridge (Page 6)

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The MPhil in Nuclear Energy, provided by the Department in collaboration with the Cambridge Nuclear Energy Centre, is a one year full-time nuclear technology and business masters for engineers, mathematicians and scientists who wish to make a difference to the problems of climate change and energy security by developing nuclear power generation. The combination of nuclear technology with nuclear policy and business makes the course highly relevant to the challenges of 21st century energy needs, whether in the UK or in countries across the globe.

The MPhil is part of the University of Cambridge's Strategic Energy Initiative in response to the prospect of a nuclear renaissance in the UK and around the world. The aim is to provide a masters-level degree course in Nuclear Energy which will combined nuclear science and technology topics with business, management and policy teaching. Students will be equipped with the skills and information essential to responsible leadership of the international global nuclear industry.

The course recognises that, though the prospects for nuclear energy are now better than they have been for twenty years, the nuclear sector is situated within in a wider market for energy technologies, and has no special right to be developed. The political, economic and social contexts for nuclear power are as important as the technical merits of the designs of reactors and systems. The course therefore has a multi-disciplinary emphasis, aiming to be true to the reality of policy-making and business decision-making.

This course is for students who have a good degree in Engineering or related science subject and who wish to gain the knowledge and skills to build a career in the nuclear and energy sectors. Secondary career paths might include nuclear proliferation prevention, radiological protection, nuclear governance, nuclear medicine and health physics. While the prime focus of the course is to equip students for roles in industry, there is a path towards research through preparation for a PhD programme. The modular open architecture of the course allows students to tailor the degree to suit their background, needs and preferences.

Learning Outcomes

The course will equip its graduates with a wide range of skills and knowledge, enabling them to fully engage in the nuclear sector.

Graduates will have developed a knowledge and understanding of nuclear technology, policy, safety and allied business. They will have received a thorough technical grounding in nuclear power generation, beginning with fundamental concepts and extending to a range of specialist topics. They will also be equipped with an appreciation of the wider social, political and environmental contexts of electricity generation in the 21st century, with a firm grounding in considering issues such as climate change, energy policy and public acceptability.

The programme will cultivate intellectual skills allowing graduates to engage with the business, policy and technical issues that the development and deployment of nuclear energy poses. These include skills in the modelling, simulation and experimental evaluation of nuclear energy systems; critically evaluating and finding alternative solutions to technical problems; applying professional engineering judgment to balance technological, environmental, ethical, economic and public policy considerations; working within an organisation to manage change effectively and respond to changing demand; understanding business practice in the areas of technology management, transfer and exploitation.

The programme will also develop transferable skills enabling graduates to work and progress in teams within and across the nuclear sector, including the management of time and information, the preparation of formal reports in a variety of styles, the deployment of critical reasoning and independent thinking.

Finally, graduates will have research experience having planned, executed, and evaluated an original investigative piece of work through a major dissertation.

Continuing

Students wishing to apply for continuation to the PhD would normally be expected to attain an overall mark of 70%.

The course is designed to take 11 months, from October to August each academic year, with students taking the equivalent of ten standard (16 lectures each) taught modules plus a long research project and dissertation.

Nuclear Energy Modules

NE1*	Reactor Physics Dr G Parks Core physics and shielding – steady state power and shapes, depletion control elements and use of poisons, core kinetics and system control.	16 lectures	NE MPhil
NE2*	Reactor Engineering & Thermal-hydraulics Dr E Shwageraus, Dr A White Coolant types, thermal cycles, heat transfer, thermal limits and Reactor systems, their optimisation and operating characteristics including normal operation and how to address main types of fault condition.	24 lectures	NE MPhil
NE3	Materials Dr K Knowles and Professor N Fleck Fuel and reactor materials – including selection, safety and life issues – radiation behaviour and damage, structural integrity and fracture mechanics, EAC	16 lectures	NE MPhil
NE4	Fuel Cycle, Waste & Decommissioning Dr I Farnan, R Skelton Whole fuel cycle: mining to waste and how waste is managed, decommissioning principles.	16 lectures	NE MPhil
NE5*	Nuclear Safety Principles and Practice Professor M Weightman This module will provide an understanding and an ability to recognise key design and safety issues and how they might be addressed, including the principles and practices of reactor safety as it affects design, operation and justification of modern reactors.	8 lectures	NE MPhil
NE6*	Nuclear Technology Policy Professor W Nuttall Energy studies and climate change, economics of energy, nuclear politics, proliferation and physical security.	16 lectures	NE MPhil
NE7*	Nuclear Practice Various External Lecturers The module consists of a series of lectures by senior external members of the UK nuclear industry and related government bodies, giving their viewpoint and experience of important past events on the current prospects and issues that affect the sector.	8 lectures	NE MPhil
NE8	Computational Reactor Modelling Various The module covers the basic theory and methods in computational reactor physics followed by a series of practicums with hands-on experience of using state-of-the-art computer codes used for simulation of nuclear systems.	16 lectures	NE MPhil
NE9	Advanced Fission and Fusion Reactor Systems Dr E Shwageraus This module will provide an understanding of advanced reactor systems, why they are being pursued, their advantages and their difficulties in proceeding to become commercially viable designs. Additionally, an introduction to the main ideas behind nuclear fusion for energy, focusing on the basic ideas and concepts and the practical issues of bringing fusion to market, will be provided.	16 lectures	NE MPhil

All these modules are developed specifically for the Nuclear Energy course. They draw on existing teaching in Nuclear Power Engineering from Part IIB of the Engineering Tripos and Nuclear Materials from Part III of the Natural Sciences Tripos. Also, Nuclear Technology Policy makes use of some material from the Technology Policy MPhil in the Judge Business School.

Students are required to take a majority (equivalent of at least five standard modules) of the core nuclear energy material, including those marked with asterisks, which are compulsory.

Course Requirements

Students are required to take a majority of the core nuclear energy subjects, including five compulsory taught nuclear modules:

Michaelmas & Lent TermsEither (standard stream)

one to four electives from a defined range of existing technical or management modules

Or (research stream)

one to four electives from a defined range of existing technical modules

Easter Term

Long research project/dissertation May-August

Teaching is through lectures, seminars (which all students are expected to attend), supervisions, distinguished lectures and dissertation supervision. Assessment is through written exam papers taken early in the Easter Term with a 15,000 word marked dissertation on a research topic which is to be completed by the end of August.

Elective Modules

Students chose between one and four modules; October to March.

Either (standard stream):	one to four electives from a defined range of existing technical or management modules
Or (research stream):	one to four electives from a defined range of existing technical modules (as agreed by the research supervisor)

The following list indicates the elective modules planned to be offered for the next Academic Year. Modules are drawn from existing courses offered within the Engineering Tripos, Natural Sciences Tripos and as part of MPhils taught by the Judge Business School.

Management

Technology Policy: Concepts and Frameworks	TP1	JBS MPhil
Strategic valuation: uncertainty and real options in system design	TPE25	JBS MPhil
Economic Foundations of Technology Policy*	TP2	JBS MPhil
Business, Government and Technology in Emerging Markets	TP4	JBS Mphil
Policy, Design and Evaluation	TP5	JBS MPhil
Managing the Innovation Process	TPE20	JBS Mphil
Entrepreneurial Science & Innovation Policy	TPE21	JBS Mphil
Electricity and Environment	TPE22	JBS Mphil
Negotiation Skills	TPE23	JBS Mphil
Management of Technology	4E4	Eng Tripos
International Business Economics	4E5	Eng Tripos
Accounting and Finance	4E6	Eng Tripos
Strategic Management	4E11	Eng Tripos

* Pre-requisite for TP5

Technical

Practical Optimisation	4M17	Eng Tripos
Sustainable Energy	4M15	Eng Tripos
Sustainable Design & Implementation	ESD 550	ESD MPhil
Driving Change towards Sustainability	ESD 150	ESD MPhil
Particle & Nuclear Physics/Comp Physics	PNP	Nat Sci Tripos
Extraction & re-cycling	M3	Nat Sci Tripos
Steels	M21	Nat Sci Tripos
Corrosion & Protection	M15	Nat Sci Tripos
Electrochemical Engineering	B2	Chem Eng Tripos
Fluid Mechanics & Environment	B6	Chem Eng Tripos
Computational Fluid Dynamics	4A2	Eng Tripos
Turbomachinery I	4A3	Eng Tripos
Renewable Electrical Power	4B19	Eng Tripos
Design Methods	4C4	Eng Tripos
Design Case Studies	4C5	Eng Tripos
Random and Non-linear Vibrations	4C7	Eng Tripos
Concrete and Masonry Structures	4D7	Eng Tripos
Pre-stressed Concrete	4D8*	Eng Tripos
Structural Steelwork	4D10	Eng Tripos
Construction Management	4D16	Eng Tripos
Plate & Shell Structures	4D17	Eng Tripos
Control System Design	4F1	Eng Tripos
Robust & Non-Linear Systems and Control	4F2	Eng Tripos
Computer Vision & Robotics	4F12	Eng Tripos
PDE & Variational Methods	4M12	Eng Tripos
Present and Future Energy Systems	4M18	Eng Tripos
Medical Physics	4I8	Eng Tripos

Please note, occasionally modules may be unavailable.

Magistr (Master's Degree) at Pass level. Diploma Specialista (completed post-1991) with a minimum overall grade of good or 4/5 Bachelor's from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and other prestigious institutions with an overall grade of 4/5 Bologna Bachelor's from other institutions with an overall grade of 5/5, Excellent
Diploma Specialista (completed post-1991) with a minimum overall grade of Excellent or 5/5 Bachelor's from Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and other prestigious institutions with an overall grade of 5/5
IELTS (Academic) 7.0
TOEFL Internet Score 100
£50 application fee
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