Radiochemistry Graduate Certificate
Radiochemistry is a growing, dynamic field of study that explores the relationship between radioactive materials and their chemical behaviors. Our Radiochemistry Graduate Certificate program teaches you how these radioactive elements interact with matter and contribute to groundbreaking technologies. By studying radiochemistry, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the forces that power stars, fuel innovation in healthcare, and help protect our planet.
Program Overview
With a radiochemistry graduate certificate, students study radioactive materials through the interdisciplinary lens of chemistry and nuclear engineering.
You’ll examine the complex relationships between radioactive materials and their chemical reactions, properties, and applications, all while preparing for impactful careers in nuclear energy, space, defense, healthcare, and even environmental monitoring.
Whether you’re interested in continuing your education at the doctoral level or gaining deeper expertise in your professional field, this certificate teaches you critical skillsets in environmental radioactivity, radioemission detection, and biological radiation effects.
Why Study Radiochemistry?
The graduate certificate in radiochemistry provides students with a wide range of career options, highly valued collaborative coursework, and hands-on experiential learning opportunities unique to UT.
Dynamic Career Opportunities
Whether you’re interested in doctoral study or pursuing a professional career, you’ll gain the skills necessary to excel in areas such as medical research and imaging, national security, nuclear engineering, and environmental chemistry.
Interdisciplinary Coursework
UT’s graduate certificate offers courses from both the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Nuclear Engineering in the Tickle College of Engineering, meaning you’ll be exposed to expert faculty and students, allowing you to collaborate across disciplines and forge unexpected connections.
Hands-On Learning
With courses in chemistry and nuclear engineering, you’ll be exposed to lab-based classes that prepare you to work with radiation detection systems, nuclear instrumentation, and medical imaging devices such as dosimeters.
What Can You Do with a Graduate Certificate in Radiochemistry After Graduation?
Radiochemistry is a growing field, with job opportunities spread across many disciplines within the career. With this graduate certificate you could be a part of pioneering research within healthcare institutions, governmental research organisations, diagnostic imaging centers, or other industries, applying what you’ve learned in our hands-on, student-centered program. In academic and research environments, you could become a researcher (of radiochemistry or nuclear chemistry), faculty at a university, or research scientist. In laboratories, you could become a radiochemist, national lab project scientist, program manager or nuclear fuel cycle specialist. Others go into the health industry, working with medical technology as a nuclear medicine technologist, clinical radiochemist, or radiation safety officer. Your chemistry and engineering background can help you go into careers that combine expertise in jobs such as nuclear systems engineer, radiochemical process engineer, advanced reactor materials scientist, or environmental remediation engineer. Our program ultimately provides you with a vast, adaptable skill set for a successful career in a growing field.
Featured Courses
NE 550 Radiation Measurements Laboratory
In this course, students will learn physics and electronics associated with radiation detection and measurement. Concepts covered include radiation interactions and signal formation in different detector types, radiation counting and spectroscopy, nuclear instrumentation, applications of radiation detection systems, and statistical methods of data analysis.
NE 433 Principles of Health Physics
Topics covered in this course include radiation quantities, limits and risk assessment, external and internal dosimetry, biological effects of radiation, radiation detection, radiation interactions and decay, applications. Graduate students taking the course will perform advanced calculations related to radiation protection and dosimetry in addition to the material described above.
CHEM 511 Analytical Separations
This course covers physical principles and instrumentation of the modern methods of separation of mixtures into simpler fractions or pure compounds.
CHEM 531 Materials Inorganic Chemistry and Catalysis
This course covers a survey of the structure properties of contemporary inorganic materials. Topics include structure and bonding, methods of synthesis and characterization, and introduction to heterogeneous catalysis.
Complementary Minors and Certificates
Looking to enhance your degree? Consider these programs as a complement to your primary major.
Looking For More Options?
The College of Arts and Sciences offers students the broadest range of academic programs and opportunities for research and creative activities at the University of Tennessee, powered by faculty expertise across every discipline.
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