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INTRODUCTION
The
Department of Nuclear Engineering (NE) was established in 1977 to meet the
current and future needs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the fields of
Nuclear Power, Radiation Safety, and Radioisotope Applications in medicine
and industry.
In 2003, the Nuclear Engineering program was evaluated for the first
time by the Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) of ABET based on the
Engineering Conventional Criteria and was recognized to be “Substantially
Equivalent” to ABET accredited programs.
In the year 2007, the
NE Department introduced two new programs in addition to the Nuclear
Engineering program; these are: The Nuclear Engineering (Medical Physics)
program, and the Nuclear Engineering (Radiation Protection) program. The new
programs broadened the curriculum to include radiological engineering topics.
They further expanded the appeal of the department, and the undergraduate
enrolment trend in the department showed consistent yearly increases. The
trend of renewed interest in nuclear education among students was clearly
evident through the leadership encouragement and support of the KAU
University, Faculty of Engineering, and the NE department.
In 2008, the Nuclear Engineering program had an EAC of ABET general
review visit that resulted in the accreditation of the program.
Department now awards
degrees on each program separately upon completion of the required courses.
The award degrees are Nuclear Engineering (NE), Nuclear Engineering (Medical
Physics) (NEMP), and Nuclear Engineering (Radiation Protection) (NERP). Since
2011, the NE department is cooperating with the King Abdullah City for Atomic
and Renewable Energy (K.A.CARE) to provide and work for our future Nuclear
Engineering graduates. In 2015, the program had the
last EAC of ABET general review visit that resulted again in the
accreditation of the Nuclear Engineering program (NE), as well as the first
time accreditation of the other programs; Nuclear Engineering
(Medical Physics) (NE-MP), and Nuclear Engineering (Radiation Protection)
(NERP).
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