As Utah explores an expanded role for nuclear energy, the University of Utah is preparing students to contribute to the state’s changing energy landscape.
Utah News Dispatch recently highlighted plans to update the University’s nuclear engineering minor with new coursework in nuclear energy, science and technology. The revised curriculum has been approved by the University’s Academic Senate and is expected to become available in fall 2027, pending additional University approvals.
“Our minor has been focused a lot on medical physics and isotopes, and then radiochemistry, and a variety of things that relate to instrumentation and radiation detection,” Utah Nuclear Engineering Program Director Supathorn Phongikaroon told Utah News Dispatch. “With the new revision of the course, we are now offering more in terms of nuclear energy and science, nuclear science and technology.”
The proposed curriculum would introduce seven courses covering subjects such as nuclear fuel cycles, nuclear power plants and thermodynamic analysis, the biological effects of radiation, nuclear systems and design, and nuclear security and nonproliferation. A proposed general education course would also introduce students from across the University to the history and global impacts of nuclear energy.
The expansion will complement—not replace—the program’s existing strengths in areas including isotopes, radiochemistry, medical physics, instrumentation and radiation detection.
Interest among students is already growing. Enrollment in the University’s introductory nuclear engineering course has nearly doubled, increasing from approximately 20–25 students to almost 50. The revised curriculum will help the University respond to that interest while preparing graduates to support Utah’s emerging nuclear energy sector and broader workforce needs.
The initiative aligns with statewide conversations about energy production, advanced nuclear technologies and Utah’s potential role in the nation’s nuclear energy future. It also creates new opportunities for collaboration among the University, government agencies, national laboratories and industry partners.
Read the full story by Alixel Cabrera in Utah News Dispatch.
Editor’s note: The revised curriculum remains subject to additional University approvals.