Graduate Studies

Overview

1. Name of the program:

   Master program in Nuclear Engineering/Reactor Engineering.

    

2. Program location

   The Nuclear Engineering Department, located in Southern Building 40, has more than 2000 square meters space for its graduate and undergraduate programs. This space is used for academic and research purposes.

    

3.  Program Background

   The Nuclear Engineering/Reactors Engineering Master Program established on June 29th, 1987 (3^rd Thul-Qi’dah 1407), is one of the oldest and most prestigious programs of its kind in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

   The program is designed to fulfil the needs of the Nuclear Industry and research in the Kingdom. It enables qualified engineers to pursue advanced studies in the field of nuclear technology on a full-time basis. The program is strengthened by the Saudi Vision 2030 and the subsequent establishment of the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) and Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission (NRRC) and the regional and global orientation to enable and develop the nuclear sectors.

   The NE Master program requires students to be enrolled full-time on-campus.  Courses are offered for two main semesters (Fall and Spring), using traditional lecture/tutorial/ laboratory mode/seminars/group discussion/oral presentations.

    

4. MSc. Program Vision

   To provide strategic leadership in graduate education that advances humanity, supports community, and furthers knowledge to shape the future.

    

5. MSc. Program Mission

   To prepare specialized professional leaders who advance knowledge and understanding, drive innovation, and contribute to the resolution of complex national and global problems and challenges while behaving in ways that are consistent with Islamic values and beliefs and reflect high levels of loyalty, responsibility, and commitment to the sustainable development of the society.

    

6. Program Objectives
   • Support, motivate, and encourage creativity and innovation in teaching and commitment to the best practices in nuclear education. 
   • Provide robust support to the students, help them thrive at KAU, and prepare them for success after graduation. 
   • Provide the students with a body of knowledge that is at the forefront of Nuclear Engineering disciplines and develop their intellectual abilities as graduate degree holders. 
   • Encourage faculty and students for the ethical production of research and innovation and improve their contribution to the areas of nuclear research that are globally relevant and of great importance to the Saudi Society. 

    

7. List of the Program Achievements, Awards, and Significant Accomplishments:

   The Master program in Nuclear Engineering at King Abdulaziz University has garnered several achievements, awards, and significant accomplishments that reflect its commitment to nuclear science and engineering, in line with the goals of advancing peaceful nuclear energy applications in Saudi Arabia. Here are some general achievements and recognitions:

   • Quality Assurance and Academic Accreditation: The department regularly undergoes quality reviews and assessments by the Evaluation and Quality Assurance of University Performance (EQAUP), an entity that works to guarantee high academic and administrative standards in King Abdulaziz University.
   • The Master program faculty and students are involved in extensive research, leading to publications in high-impact international journals on nuclear safety, reactor design, thermal-hydraulics, radiation protection, and nuclear materials.
   • Collaboration with international institutions. The program collaborates with leading global institutions such as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other universities and research institutes for research projects, often focusing on nuclear safety, non-proliferation, and advancements in reactor technology.
   • Participation in the Saudi National Atomic Energy Project (SNAEP): The Nuclear Engineering Department plays a crucial role in Saudi Arabia's ambitions to develop a peaceful nuclear energy program through the Saudi National Atomic Energy Project, which includes R&D efforts and policy shaping in nuclear energy.
   • Graduate students from the program have represented KAU in nuclear engineering competitions and conferences at both national and international levels, winning awards for their research presentations and innovation in nuclear energy applications.
   • Faculty members have been recognized for their contributions to nuclear engineering research and development, including receiving national and international grants and awards for their work in nuclear safety, radiation protection, and reactor design.
   • Faculty and students have been invited to participate in technical meetings, conferences, and workshops hosted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), showcasing the program's alignment with global nuclear safety standards and innovations.
   • The Master program benefits from cutting-edge research facilities, including radiation laboratories, nuclear simulation tools, and thermal-hydraulic test facilities that allow students to conduct experiments related to reactor design, radiation protection, and fuel cycle technologies.
   • The program often works in collaboration with King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE) to ensure that research aligns with Saudi Arabia’s long-term goals of establishing nuclear power plants and expanding renewable energy integration.
   • Development in collaboration with KACARE of a Nuclear Training Reactor, a significant milestone for training and simulation that helps students gain hands-on experience in reactor operations, safety protocols, and research.
   • Faculty members from the program often serve as consultants and advisors for the Saudi government and nuclear regulatory bodies in developing nuclear policies, safety protocols, and regulatory frameworks, particularly in relation to energy generation and radiation safety. 
   • Graduate students often participate in exchange programs with nuclear research institutes and universities abroad, gaining exposure to international best practices and technologies in nuclear engineering.
   • The program’s efforts align closely with Saudi Vision 2030, which seeks to diversify the energy sector by incorporating nuclear energy as a reliable and clean energy source. Research efforts in this program directly contribute to the development of policies and frameworks for establishing nuclear power plants and radiation protection in the Kingdom.

       

8. Program Learning Outcomes

   By the time of graduation, MS students in nuclear engineering should be able to:
   Knowledge and understanding
   K1	Demonstrate deep awareness of the knowledge body that is at the forefront of nuclear engineering disciplines as well as established research/inquiry techniques in the field. (PLO1)
   Skills
   S1	Identify, formulate, and solve complex nuclear engineering problems by providing creative solutions and making sound judgement in the absence of complete data relevant to the matters concerned. (PLO2)
   S2	Apply scientific research methodology and place the results in a broader context and critically evaluate their own and others' research. (PLO3)
   S3	Apply critical thinking, scientific reasoning, and advanced numerical and/or experimental tools to interpret scientific literature in nuclear engineering. (PLO4)
   S4	Demonstrate effective oral, written, and graphical communication skills to disseminate knowledge and analyze data using advanced information communication technology tools. (PLO5)
   Values
   V1	Recognize ethical and professional responsibilities, take full responsibility for their own independent learning and behave in ways consistent with Islamic values and believes. (PLO6)
   V2	Acquire and apply new knowledge as needed, using appropriate learning strategies, with high autonomy while collaborating with others whenever required. (PLO7)

    

9. Program Graduate Attributes

   Graduates of the MS Program in Nuclear Engineering should: 

   1. Consistently respond to complex academic and professional issues, providing creative solutions and making sound judgments in the absence of complete data relevant to the matter concerned. 
   2. Act autonomously in tackling and solving both anticipated and unpredictable problems, cooperate with others, and provide leadership when appropriate in group situations. 
   3. Follow, and actively encourage others, to apply sound ethical and moral judgments in dealing with sensitive and complex issues that may involve difficult value conflicts. 
   4. Take full responsibility for their own independent learning and provide leadership in developing opportunities to support the continuing professional development of others. 
   5. Behave in ways that are consistent with Islamic values and beliefs, and reflect high levels of loyalty, responsibility, and commitment to service to society.

    

10. Admission Requirements
    

    The program applies fairly the general admission requirements specified by KAU Deanship of Graduate Studies which are publicly disclosed and published on the Deanship website:

    For Local Students (Saudi/Non-Saudi):

    • Approved official academic bachelor’s degree qualification of grade no less than high "Good" from Science, Engineering or Renewable Energy programs. 
    • English language exam minimum score of 5 in IELTS or equivalent. 
    • Approval of employer (if any). 
    • Good conductance and medical condition. 
    • Two recommendation letters from previous instructors. 
    • Applicant should not be previously dismissed from one of the educational institutions in Saudi Arabia.

    For International Students:

    • Age does not exceed (30) years for M.Sc. degree applicant. 
    • An approved official academic qualification of grade not less than "Very Good", if the degree offered in grades in the applicant home country. 
    • Meet one of the following scores in English language exams:

     

    Exam Type	Minimum Score
    TOEFL (PBT)	500
    TOEFL (CBT)	173
    TOEFL (IBT)	61
    IELTS	5
    STEP	83

     

    • Good conductance and medical condition. 
    • Two recommendation letters from previous instructors. 
    • Applicant should not be previously dismissed from one of the educational institutions in Saudi Arabia.

       

11. Careers Opportunities for the Graduated Students
    • King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy
    • Nuclear and Radiological Regulatory Commission
    • Ministry of Energy
    • Ministry of Education
    • Ministry of Health
    • Oil and Petrochemicals Industry
    • Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization
    • Saudi Customs Authority

    
    
    

12. Curriculum
    

Old Curriculum

New Curriculum

Courses’ Description 

Old Curriculum:

-       Math639        Advanced Engineering Mathematics

Solutions of non-linear differential equations, complex matrices, Eigen value and Eigen vector, Laplace transformation, Z-transforms, calculus of variation, complex variable, Conformal mapping and special functions.

-       NE511            Nuclear Radiation Detection (including 1 hr lab)

Advanced principles of radiation interaction with matter, nuclear radiation detection and measurements, types of radiation detectors, detection system performance parameters, data reduction and analysis, evaluation of instruments and technique available for radiation measurements, problems involving reactor engineering measurements. Laboratory.

-       NE512            Advanced Nuclear Reactor Theory

Advanced nuclear reactor core and component analysis and design, reactor fuel lattice optimization, reactivity coefficients, kinetics and central reactor power distribution calculations, critical heat flux and hot spot factors, plant stability and transient behavior.

-       NE521            Radiation Protection Engineering (including 1 hr lab)

Philosophy of radiation protection, radiation health effects, ICRP limits, the ALARA concept, derived limits, DAC, emergency situations, operation radiation protection, engineering controls, administrative controls, monitoring for external and internal exposure, regulations, responsibilities, limitation on release of radioactivity to the environment, dispersion models, meteorological factors, laboratory.

-       NE522            Radiation Shielding Design

Advanced concepts in shielding design, analysis of shielding systems for protection against different radiations, Kernel technique, heat

generation in shields, shield optimization.

-       NE523            Advanced Radiation Dosimetry Calculations

Advanced concepts for treatment of internal and external radiation hazards, precautions against internal contamination and shielding against external radiation hazards, Critical organ and organ burden, dose fractions to different organs for sources inside it as well as from other organs, advanced concepts of dosimetry and dose fractions.

-       NE531            Radioisotope Applications

Biomedical, agricultural and industrial uses of radiation. Isotopic power sources. Non-destructive analysis.

-       NE541            Safety and System Reliability

Nuclear safety concepts and criteria. Radiation safety as applied to accelerators, nuclear reactors and radioactive by-products. Credible accidents, fission product release and transport, atmospheric dispersion, source terms, mathematical models for determination of maximum permissible body burdens and concentrations in air and water, radioactive license application, review and compliance. Criticality accidents.

-       NE551            Radiation Effects on Materials

Characteristics of radiation environments, scattering and absorption cross-sections. Determination of neutrons and gamma-rays flux and spectrum. Defects in materials by gamma and neutrons. Experimental observations of radiation damage. Effects of annealing and impurities. Defect clusters, voids and bubbles .Radiation hardening and embrittlement. Radiation-induced swelling. Radiation effects on non-metals, including semi-conductors and polymers.

-       NE561            Nuclear Reactor Systems

Analysis of various reactor systems. Design of reactor systems for LWR, HWR, GCR and fast reactors.

-       NE562            Nuclear Power Planning

Importance of nuclear power planning studies, long range forecasting of electrical power demand, economics of generation of electricity from nuclear and fossil fueled power plants, methods for selection of economically optimal generation program, organization steps, site selection, preparations of feasibility studies, safety criteria, project management and project implementation.

-       NE571            Radioactive Waste and Waste Disposal

Radioactive waste resources assessment. Chemical reprocessing. Radioactive waste processing and management. Environmental safeguards. Disposition of radionuclides. Site selection and environmental effects. Transportation and handling of radioactive wastes.

-       NE581            Special Topics

Selected topics in an identified area of radiation protection engineering and health physics, and nuclear power planning offered to enable students to undertake and complete limited investigations not within their thesis research and not covered by any other courses in curriculum or a course to be selected from other engineering graduate courses with the approval of the nuclear engineering department.

-       NE589            Seminar

This course is intended to train the student in the preparation and presentation of topics of current interest selected by the student and instructor.

-       NE599            Master Thesis

Research toward thesis.

New Curriculum

NE 611:        Nuclear Reactor Physics

This course provides the basics of reactor physics at the graduate level. Emphasis will be given to the energy distribution of neutrons in an infinite, homogeneous and critical reactor, diffusion theory, energy group constants in the presence of resonance absorbers and reactor kinetics. Numerical projects using Matlab will be given to students.

NE 621:        Reactor Engineering

This course covers the thermal hydraulics of different types of reactor cores including heat generation and removal, heat sources, steady and unsteady one dimensional and two-dimensional heat conduction in fuel elements, convection with and without phase change and thermal core design. Numerical projects will be assigned to students to model certain thermal hydraulics phenomena.

NE 656:       Operational Radiation Safety 

Radiobiology and radiation protection. Optimization and safety procedures and equipment involving ionizing radiation.  Use of personal dosimeters and area monitors for various types of ionizing radiation. Roles of the various regulatory bodies. International and national legal frameworks for nuclear industry. Role of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

NE 635:       Radiation Transport

Neutron transport equation, methods of solving neutron transport equation, point kernel technique, build-up factors, Monte Carlo simulation, pseudo-random numbers generation, probability density functions, sampling, particle tracking, geometry specifications, variance reduction techniques, numerical simulations 

MATH 639:  Advanced Engineering Mathematics

Infinite series, matrices, special function, Laplace transformation, Fourier series and integration, partial differential equation, nonlinear differential equations.

IE 694:          Engineering Research Skills and Methodology

Systematic thinking in planning, Engineering Research to develop skills to conduct research , interdiction and practicing the research technicalities including choosing a research topic, use of library, development of research personnel, data collection, analysis and presentation of results, when involved in difference research models, the student is also subjected to the technicalities of thesis writing and oral presentation, case studies.

NE 681:        Seminar

Students select a subject of interest and make research about it. Then he will organize a presentation for faculty members and students. The topics may be any aspect of nuclear engineering and must be approved by the academic advisor.

NE 699:        Master Thesis

The student will defend openly his thesis in the front of a scientific committee of faculty members in subject.

NE 630:        Radiation Effects on Materials

Properties and selection of materials for nuclear steam supply systems and to radiation effects on materials. Implications of radiation damage to reactor materials and material problems in nuclear engineering are discussed. An overview of nuclear steam supply systems, crystal structure and defects, dislocation theory, mechanical properties, radiation damage, hardening and embrittlement due to radiation exposure and problems concerned with fission and fusion materials.

NE 640:        Nuclear Radiation Detection and Instrumentation

Basic nuclear physics and radiation decay, interaction of radiation with matter, counting statistics and error propagation, properties of radiation detectors and pulse processing, radiation spectroscopy, detection efficiency, dead time, gas filled detectors, scintillation detectors, solid-state detectors, neutron detectors, state of the art radiation detectors, analog and digital pulse processing.

NE 651:        Current Methods in Radiation Protection

Radiation protection guides such as ICRP, NCRP etc. Radiation safety criteria, Allowable Limit on Intake (ALI), Derived Air Concentration (DAC), Maximum Permissible Concentration (MPC). Basic principles for external and internal radiation protection and radioactive waste management.  Compartmental bio-kinetics models and important intake characteristics, uptake, concept of critical organ and SEE (Specific Effective Energy) concept and dose calculations.   

NE 653:        Nuclear Fuel Cycle

Sources of nuclear fuel, mining, milling, and purification, principles of isotope enrichment, fuel fabrication, transport and reprocessing of spent fuel. In-core fuel management, linear reactivity, batch, nodal and pin cell methods, power shape and control management, partial core reloading, fuel depletion, poison management and hauling strategy, breeding and fast reactors, economics of the fuel cycle, computation of fuel cycle costs, waste disposal.

NE 667:        Radiochemistry and Analysis

The course introduces chemical properties in radiation and radiochemistry. Use of stability constants and relationship between speciation, kinetics and thermodynamics. Influence of radiolysis on chemistry of radioisotopes. Radioisotope production and use. Radiochemical separations.  The course also reviews current advances in radiochemistry, hot atom chemistry, radiation chemistry, and nuclear spectrometry.

NE 673:        Computational Methods in Radiation Dosimetry

Intake and deposition ICRP models, MIRD method. Use of software packages for internal dose assessment. Physics and chemistry of radiation effect. Micro-dosimetry in the determination of absorbed dose distribution within tissue. MCNP dose calculation. Statistical fluctuations of absorbed dose at the cellular and subcellular level.  Radiation emergency response. 

NE 691:        Special Topics in Nuclear Reactors Engineering

Nuclear reactor technologies and its applications, reactor research and fuel material manufacturing, applications of artificial intelligence and modern technologies in the field of nuclear power generation.

NE 692         Special Topics in Nuclear Reactors Engineering 2

Nuclear reactor technologies and its applications, reactor research and fuel material manufacturing, applications of artificial intelligence and modern technologies in the field of nuclear power generation.