MSc Nuclear Science and Technology

For entry in the academic year beginning September 2026, the tuition fees are as follows:

• MSc (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £14,200
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £35,200
• MSc (part-time)
  UK students (per annum, over two years): £11,050
  International, including EU, students (per annum, over two years): £11,050
• MSc (part-time distance learning)
  UK students (per annum, over three years): £7,400
  International, including EU, students (per annum, over three years): £7,400
• PGDip (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £18,400
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £18,400
• PGDip (part-time)
  UK students (per annum, over two years): £9,200
  International, including EU, students (per annum, over two years): £9,200
• PGCert (full-time)
  UK students (per annum): £11,000
  International, including EU, students (per annum): £11,000
• PGCert (part-time)
  UK students (per annum, over two years): £5,500
  International, including EU, students (per annum, over two years): £5,500

Further information for EU students can be found on our dedicated EU page.

The fees quoted above are fully inclusive of tuition, administration and computational costs.

Fees for entry are subject to yearly review. The University reserves the right to increase your tuition fee by up to 7% each year for courses lasting more than one year, including to reflect rising costs associated with delivering our educational and wider student experience. Postgraduate fees information .

Always contact the admissions team if you are unsure which fee applies to your qualification award and method of attendance.

International student CAS deposit

Self-funded international applicants are required to pay a deposit of £2500 towards their tuition fees before a confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is issued. Some applicants will be required to pay a higher deposit. More information on tuition fee deposits .

All students should normally be able to complete their programme of study without incurring additional study costs over and above the tuition fee for that programme. Any unavoidable additional compulsory costs totalling more than 1% of the annual home undergraduate fee per annum, regardless of whether the programme in question is undergraduate or postgraduate taught, will be made clear to you at the point of application. Further information can be found in the University's Policy on additional costs incurred by students on undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes (PDF document, 91KB).

We offer a number of postgraduate taught scholarships and awards to outstanding UK and international students each year.

The University of Manchester is committed to widening participation in master's study, and allocates £300,000 in funding each year. Our Manchester Master's Bursaries are aimed at widening access to master's courses by removing barriers to postgraduate education for students from underrepresented groups.

We also welcome the best and brightest international students each year and reward excellence with a number of merit-based scholarships. See our range of master’s scholarships for international students .

And, if you have completed an undergraduate degree at The University of Manchester, or are currently in your final year of an undergraduate degree with us, you may be eligible for a discount of 10% on tuition fees if you choose to study on a taught postgraduate course here. Find out if you're eligible and how to apply .

For more information on master's tuition fees and studying costs, visit the University of Manchester funding for master's courses website to help you plan your finances.

This unit provides a comprehensive overview of the welding and cladding processes that are relevant to the fabrication of primary circuit components in a pressurised water reactor. Emerging near-net shape manufacturing processes are also introduced. The physics of heat source-material interactions is covered for key welding processes, together with an overview of the working principles and necessary equipment. The metallurgy of welding is also covered, and specific considerations for primary circuit materials are explored. Links between manufacturing choices and through-life structural performance are made through considering the factors that affect the development of the mechanical properties of welds, residual stresses and distortion, and common weld defects. Strategies for inspection and quality assurance are outlined and related to the requirements in relevant engineering codes and standards. Learning is reinforced through the consideration of case studies that have received considerable attention in the engineering literature. Finally, emerging trends in manufacturing practice are highlighted.  

No pre-requisites, but pre-course reading of parts of the N06 delivery is required. 

The unit aims to:  

- Explain how welded joints influence (and can limit) the through-life structural performance of nuclear components.  

- Introduce the welding, cladding and near-net shape manufacturing processes that are relevant to the manufacture of primary circuit components in pressurised water reactors.  

- Review basic concepts of welding metallurgy together with factors that affect the weldability of materials that are relevant to primary circuit components.

- Describe non-destructive examination techniques and how they can be applied to detect the presence of common weld/manufacturing defects.  

- Identify and review trends in manufacturing practice for primary circuit components in pressurised water reactors.  

ILO 1

Describe the principles of operation for welding processes that are relevant to nuclear manufacturing, including the main characteristics and associated advantages and disadvantages for each process, and explain relevant methods of process control.

ILO 2

Apply principles of welding metallurgy and combine them with an understanding of welding process technology to qualitatively predict features of the resulting microstructures and the resulting variations in mechanical properties across welded joints.  

ILO 3

Describe the concept of weldability and use it to specify the elements of a suitable heat treatment schedule for a welded joint.

ILO 4

Evaluate and compare welding procedures that involve different welding processes and weld pass sequences in regard to the development of residual stresses and distortion.

ILO 5

Select appropriate non-destructive evaluation techniques for welded and clad components based on an understanding of the defects that can form with different welding processes and weld configurations and justify the choices that are made.

ILO 6

Describe key requirements in engineering codes and standards that apply to the manufacture and inspection of pressure retaining components in nuclear plant and explain their significance for nuclear manufacturing.

Students are taught via directed reading (pre-course) and directly in appropriately equipped rooms at the institution delivering the module, or through distance (online) delivery. Learning is consolidated in tutorial and review sessions.

· Pre-course directed reading

· Direct Teaching

· Review sessions

· Tutorial sessions

Students are able to exercise their intellectual skills through in-class discussion, tutorial sessions, the completion of a coursework assignment, and in a final examination.

· In-class discussion

· Tutorial sessions

· Post-course assignment

· Final examination

Students are able to exercise their practical skills through tutorial sessions and completion of the coursework assignment.

Tutorial sessions

Post-course assignment 

Students are able to enhance their transferable skills through in-class discussion, tutorial sessions, and the completion of the post-course assignment.

· In-class discussion

· Tutorial sessions

· Post-course assignment

Unseen Examination and Post-Course Assignment

Exam: through final mark within 3 weeks of the examination

Post-course Assignment: through written comments and final grade within 3 weeks of submission.

Sindo Kou, “Welding Metallurgy”, Third Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2021. 

R. W. Messler Jr, “Principles of Welding: Processes, Physics, Chemistry, and Metallurgy”, John Wiley & Sons, 1999. 

John C. Lippold, Damian J. Kotecki, “Welding Metallurgy and Weldability of Stainless Steels”, Wiley-VCH, 2005.