Nuclear Packaging Graduate Program

Packaging University

Since 1986, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has supported Packaging University. This program currently offers 21 in-person, one- and two-week courses on nuclear packaging, transportation security and safeguards and related topics. They are taught by subject matter experts from these seven DOE national laboratories.

• Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois
• Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California
• Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Washington State
• Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico
• Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina

Year after year, engineers and managers from industry, national labs and government agencies from within and outside the United States take these classes. The courses are offered in-person at the national labs or other authorized locations to help professionals from a variety of organizations to network with instructors and each other. Packaging University course descriptions and national laboratory enrollment and fee payment processes are included on the Packaging University Courses website.  The schedule of upcoming courses is also available on the Packaging University website.   

Nuclear Packaging Graduate Program (NPGP)

The University of Nevada, Reno Nuclear Packaging Laboratory (NPL) has developed and experimentally validated computational methods to predict the thermal behavior of nuclear packaging under normal and severe fire accident conditions since 1993. In 2013, DOE PCP began working with the NPL to develop the University’s Nuclear Packaging Graduate Program (NPGP). The goals of that educational program are to help early and mid-career professionals enter and advance in nuclear packaging, transportation security and safeguards and related fields and to help organizations support the professional development of their highly engaged staff members. To achieve this, the program is designed to offer curricula of courses that

• help working professionals gain the depth and breadth of skills needed to solve complex nuclear packaging and related problems;
• help participants network with the subject matter experts who teach the courses and the cohort of professionals who take them; and
• lead to recognized accredited university graduate credentials.   

Currently, the NPGP offers the following two graduate certificates:

• The Graduate Certificate in Nuclear Packaging (GCNP), which focuses on design, review and use packages for spent fuel as well as all Type B and fissile materials.
• The Graduate Certificate in Transportation Security and Safeguards (GCTSS), which helps participants understand U.S. and international technical requirements and challenges around protecting, controlling, and accounting for nuclear/radiological materials during their transport.

A graduate certificate is an accredited university credential that is more practical-knowledge based and requires less full-time commitment than research-based masters or Ph.D. degrees. The University and DOE PCP currently are working to assemble an advisory council consisting of experienced subject matter experts and hiring managers. The council will review student, employer and industry feedback and recommend updates to assure program quality and relevance.

In the Media

• Mechanical Engineering professor wins national award for nuclear packaging program
• Pioneering partnership opens doors to a new generation of engineers
• Nuclear materials packaging program awards certificate to first graduate
• Nuclear materials packaging makes transportation, storage safe and secure
• Argonne fast-tracks training in nuclear packaging