Mapping mathematical requirements to become a Nuclear Engineer

Based on what I can find

Hello all,

Today’s write-up is a high-level look at what mathematics topics we would need to learn and understand to become a nuclear engineer. This post is a quick look at a couple sources, with a follow-up for more detail in another another post.

First thing I searched was “What does it take to become a nuclear engineer?”, which yielded the US’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ website.

Under the “How to Become One” tab, we look to the “Education” paragraph.
It states, among many things, that courses offered by colleges and universities would contain calculus, algebra and trigonometry. It is a start, but not very detailed in what you’d have to learn.

Another source I found was by WeUseMath.org, which is a little more detailed. It states the math requirements as

• College Algebra

• Geometry

• Trigonometry

• Calculus I/II

• Linear Algebra

• Differential Equations

• Statistics

This is a little better, but I don’t believe it is sufficiently detailed. It might be better to study a typical nuclear engineering course from a top-rated University.

Naively, I am going to look at MIT’s Nuclear Science and Engineering course.
The good thing is, they’ve split everything into basic requirements, core subjects and selective electives.

However, for tonight I will leave it here and will go through it in more detail tomorrow.

Thank you all for reading this post.

Steve Frampton.