Academic Program Review Self-Study Report February 8-11, 2015 Table of Contents I. Executive Summary of the Self-Study Report ..................................................... 1 A. Message from the Department Head and Graduate Program Adviser ................................ 1 B. Charge to the External Review Team .................................................................................. 2 II. Introduction to Department ..................................................................................3 A. Brief departmental history ................................................................................................... 3 B. Mission and goals ................................................................................................................ 3 C. Administrative structure ...................................................................................................... 4 D. Advisory Council ................................................................................................................. 7 E. Department and program resources ..................................................................................... 8 1. Facilities ........................................................................................................................... 8 2. Institutes and Centers ..................................................................................................... 11 3. Finances ......................................................................................................................... 13 F. External program accreditations ........................................................................................ 13 G. Date of last APR external review ...................................................................................... 13 H. Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 13 III. Academic Programs and Curricula ....................................................................15 A. Programs offered ............................................................................................................... 15 B. Program curricula .............................................................................................................. 15 1. Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering .................................................................... 15 2. Master of Engineering in Nuclear Engineering ............................................................. 19 3. Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering ........................................................................................ 19 C. Admissions criteria (doctoral students) ............................................................................. 20 D. Number of degrees awarded per year (most recent five years) ......................................... 23 E. Average time to degree (most recent five years) ............................................................... 24 F. Academic enhancements / high-impact opportunities for students ................................... 25 G. Assessment of student learning outcomes ......................................................................... 25 H. Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 26 IV. Faculty Profile ....................................................................................................28 A. Core faculty ....................................................................................................................... 28 1. Number .......................................................................................................................... 28 i 2. Core faculty / student ratio ............................................................................................. 28 3. Publications (most recent five years) ............................................................................. 28 4. External grants (most recent five years) ........................................................................ 29 5. Teaching load ................................................................................................................. 29 B. Faculty other than core ...................................................................................................... 29 C. Faculty diversity ................................................................................................................ 30 D. Faculty qualifications and recognitions ............................................................................. 31 E. Metrics ............................................................................................................................... 35 F. Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 37 V. Student Profile ....................................................................................................38 A. Doctoral students ............................................................................................................... 38 1. Enrollment, including percentage of full-time students ................................................. 38 2. Student diversity / demographics ................................................................................... 39 3. Retention rates ............................................................................................................... 41 4. Graduation rates ............................................................................................................. 41 5. Average time to degree (most recent five years) ........................................................... 42 6. Average institutional financial support provided ........................................................... 43 7. Percentage of full-time students with institutional financial support ............................ 43 8. Student publications / presentations (most recent five years) ........................................ 44 9. Employment profile (in field within one year of graduation; most recent five years) .. 44 B. All other students ............................................................................................................... 47 1. Student diversity / demographics ................................................................................... 47 2. Retention Rates .............................................................................................................. 48 3. Graduation Rates ............................................................................................................ 49 C. Graduate placement / employment .................................................................................... 50 D. Student awards ................................................................................................................... 55 E. Student professional development ..................................................................................... 59 VI. Concluding Observations ...................................................................................61 Appendix A. 18 Characteristics of Texas Public Doctoral Programs (2012) ........................... 63 Appendix B. Weave Online Entries .......................................................................................... 66 Appendix C. College of Engineering Annual Diversity Plan Accountability Report .............102 Appendix D. Nuclear Engineering Academic Analytics Report ............................................. 108 ii Appendix E. Growth Plan ....................................................................................................... 118 Appendix F. Nuclear Engineering Fact Sheet......................................................................... 154 Appendix G. 2007 Academic Program Review ...................................................................... 156 Appendix H. 2011 Academic Program Review Update ......................................................... 169 iii Table of Tables Table 1. Requirements for the Ph.D. degree plan (for students without Master’s degree)* ......... 19 Table 2. Requirements for the Ph.D. degree plan (for students with Master’s degree)* .............. 19 Table 3. Number of Earned Degrees by Academic Year .............................................................. 24 Table 4. Doctoral Graduation Data ............................................................................................... 24 Table 5. Master’s Graduation Data ............................................................................................... 25 Table 6. Texas A&M Nuclear Engineering Graduate Program Rankings.................................... 27 Table 7. Core Faculty to Graduate Enrollment Ratio ................................................................... 28 Table 8. Faculty Publications ........................................................................................................ 29 Table 9. Faculty Research Expenditures ....................................................................................... 29 Table 10. Faculty Other Than Core to Graduate Enrollment Ratio .............................................. 30 Table 11. Core Faculty Diversity .................................................................................................. 31 Table