NUCLEAR SECURITY MASTER’S DEGREE PROGRAM AT THE PENN STATE UNIVERSITY

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Educating the next cadre of specialists and thought leaders on nuclear issues – including nuclear security, nuclear energy, and nuclear nonproliferation - has become a critical national security imperative in the USA. Nuclear sector workforce challenges are not unique to the USA. The workforce challenges are particularly acute in the field of nuclear security. To enhance skills and knowledge of the next cadre of specialists in nuclear security, the Pennsylvania State University jointly with Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Texas A&M University launched a nuclear security education program in 2010. After initial two years of collaborative development of joint courses Penn State improved the courses and continued teaching them over the years with tens of graduate students. Penn State decided to start a formal master’s degree program for a nuclear security option in 2018. This program is unique and combines the technical, societal, and policy aspects of nuclear security and safety. The nuclear security master’s degree program at Penn State is as the first degree program developed in the USA for nuclear security and is designed to train the next generation of nuclear security experts who can actively contribute to improving nuclear and radiological security around the world.