My Course Schedule
| Semester | MIT # | Type | Course Name | Due |
| 1 | 22.05 | NS-U | Neutron Science and Reactor Physics | 10/10/15 |
| 1 | 8.02 | PH-U | Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism | 10/10/15 |
| 1 | 18.02 | MH-U | Multivariable Calculus | 10/10/15 |
| 2 | 22.01 | NS-U | Introduction to Ionizing Radiation | 11/14/15 |
| 2 | 8.03 | PH-U | Physics III: Vibrations and Waves | 11/14/15 |
| 2 | 18.03 | MH-U | Differential Equations | 11/14/15 |
| 3 | 22.02 | NS-U | Introduction to Applied Nuclear Physics | 12/12/15 |
| 3 | 22.S27 | NS-G | Seminar: Fusion and Plasma Physics | 12/12/15 |
| 3 | 2.06 | EN-U | Fluid Dynamics | 12/12/15 |
| 4 | 22.071J | NS-U | Introduction to Electronics, Signals, and Measurement | 1/16/16 |
| 4 | 8.04 | PH-U | Quantum Physics I | 1/16/16 |
| 4 | 18.06 | MH-U | Linear Algebra | 1/16/16 |
| 5 | 22.081J | NS-U | Introduction to Sustainable Energy | 2/13/15 |
| 5 | 22.312 | NS-G | Engineering of Nuclear Reactors | 2/13/15 |
| 5 | 2.59J | EN-G | Thermal Hydraulics in Power Technology | 2/13/15 |
| 6 | TH-01 | TH-U | THESIS I – Focus: TBD | 3/16/15 |
| 7 | 22.091 | NS-U | Nuclear Reactor Safety | 4/30/16 |
| 7 | 22.611J | NS-G | Introduction to Plasma Physics I | 4/30/16 |
| 7 | 2.084J | EN-G | Structural Mechanics in Nuclear Power Technology | 4/30/16 |
| 8 | 22.615 | NS-G | MHD Theory of Fusion Systems | 6/4/16 |
| 8 | 8.05 | PH-U | Quantum Physics II | 6/4/16 |
| 8 | 18.05 | MH-U | Introduction to Probability and Statistics | 6/4/16 |
| 9 | 22.616 | NS-G | Plasma Transport Theory | 7/2/16 |
| 9 | 8.06 | PH-U | Quantum Physics III | 7/2/16 |
| 9 | 2.64J | EN-G | Superconducting Magnets | 7/2/16 |
| 10 | TH-02 | TH-G | THESIS II – Focus: Nuclear Fusion | 8/6/15 |
| 11 | 22.033 | NS-U | Nuclear Systems Design Project | 9/17/15 |
| 12 | Apps | AA-A | Applications and Letters of Recommendation | 11/1/15 |
Key
| Code | Course Type / Level |
| NS | Nuclear Science |
| PH | Physics |
| MH | Math |
| EN | Engineering |
| TH | Thesis Writing |
| -U | Undergraduate Course |
| -G | Graduate Course |
| # of Courses | Course Type |
| 12 | Nuclear Science |
| 5 | Physics |
| 4 | Math |
| 4 | Engineering |
| 25 | Total MIT/OCW Courses |
| # of Courses | Course Level |
| 17 | Undergraduate |
| 8 | Graduate |
| 25 | Total MIT/OCW Courses |
| # of Courses | Additional |
| 2 | Thesis Writing |
A few notes:
I basically used the undergraduate NSE BS degree as a guideline, with the MS/Eng degree for NSE with a focus on Nuclear Fusion Power to fill in all of the supplemental courses. Not all of the courses required or recommended for the degrees are available on OCW. There were a few Fusion-related graduate level courses that were not offered on OCW, but I’m sure I will make do with what I’ve got above–and I filled in some of the Fusion spots with engineering courses which will certainly help me be more literate on the mechanical side of reactor design.
I consider this to be a living document as I may swap courses based on logistics or the actual progress of the learning. For instance, if I feel like a course is heavily overlapped by another I may waive it and move on to another course, or if I feel like I am missing something I may put a course on hold and do a prerequisite math or engineering course to get up to speed.
Each semester is 4 weeks long and has 1 “buffer” week that follows it, in case I can’t hit a timeline for work or life purposes. Then I’ve allotted about a month and a half for applications and letters of recommendation! I’m looking forward to that after completing all of these great courses.
Finally, I originally started with 22.02 as my first NSE course, but because the book took so long to get here, I decided to just launch with 22.05 as my first course. Ultimately I think this is good because the 22.05 book Nuclear Reactor Physics is really straightforward and enjoyable.