The University of California, Berkeley offers both a Master of Engineering and a Master of Science degree option in Nuclear Engineering. The Master of Engineering program is a professional program that takes one year to complete. It focuses on the design and operation of nuclear engineering systems. The program is suitable for working engineers who wish to advance into leadership roles in their careers. The interdisciplinary curriculum includes a technical specialization in an area of Nuclear Engineering, a series of engineering leadership courses, and a capstone project. The MS program is only available to students pursuing the university's Nuclear Engineering Ph.D. It requires either a master's thesis or a research project with a written report and oral presentation.
Berkeley conducts significant Nuclear Engineering research in areas such as energy, fission, fusion, materials, risk safety analysis, and waste management. The university's Nuclear Engineering department is home to a Nucleonics Lab, which houses a particle accelerator. Berkeley innovations include the invention of the cyclotron particle accelerator and the discovery of 16 chemical elements on the periodic table. The "Father of the Atomic Bomb," J.R. Oppenheimer, was a Berkeley physicist. Albert Einstein's son Hans was a leading global scholar in hydraulic engineering and a long-time faculty member at the university. The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranks Berkeley the fourth best university in the United States.