MASTER OF SCIENCE (NUCLEAR SAFETY, SECURITY & SAFEGUARDS)

Study Duration
Minimum 3 semesters (1½ year)
Maximum 4 semesters (2 years)
*Classes on weekends

Intake
Intake – 2 times a year (March & October)
*subjected to UKM academic calendar

STSN6042 Radiation Effects, Safety and Radiation Protection
This course will provide the basic overview and understanding of nuclear and radiation properties and effects, and how the principles of radiation protection is applied to minimize the adverse effects of nuclear and radiation exposure towards public and radiation worker safety. Topics in this course includes Nuclear Properties; Nuclear Reactions; Radioactive Decay; Interaction of Radiation with Matter; Effects of Ionising Radiation on Biological Systems, Principles of Radiation Protection; Protection against Occupational Exposure and Protection of the Public.

STSN6153 International and National Legal Framework for Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard
This course will provide an overview of the relevant international binding and non-binding legal instruments, international organizations involved in nuclear safety, security and safeguards issues and will focus on the elements of a national legal regime needed to establish and maintain nuclear application in a country. It aims to promote knowledge and understanding of the diversity of legal matters and issues related to nuclear safety, security.

STSN6023 Basic Concepts and Principles in Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguard
This course focuses on the Basic Concept of Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security and Nuclear Safeguards. Their relationships for the national, regulatory and operational levels will be discussed in details including some practical examples of how 3S are intertwined within the legal, regulatory and operational areas of nuclear facilities and other activities involving nuclear material, such as those in hospitals and industry. It also explores some of the synergies between the 3S. In addition, the effectives and efficient strategies for implementing 3S in nuclear operation will also be discussed. The areas in which good practices of 3S have been identified as well as challenges in the implementation of 3S will also be included in this course.

STSN6082 Practical I
This course involves practicals and demonstration of the detection device identiFINDER, which is one of the most basic mobile equipment in Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards. This practical course will concentrate on giving students the understanding behind the working principle of the device, and carry out experiments that highlights the capability and limitations of the device, and situation or conditions where the device can be optimally utilised.

STSN6972 Research Project I
This course is aim at training students to study specific topics on nuclear safety security and safeguards through extensive readings and guided research. Students are required to identify a research project, propose research plan and literature review. The research will be conducted in STSN6986 Research Projects II.

STSN6113 Uses of Nuclear Security and Safeguard
The course will provide a general overview regarding nuclear safeguards and nuclear security in the most common nuclear technologies in power generation, industry and medicine. Nuclear reactors, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, radioisotope production and radioisotope applications will be considered in more detail.

STSN6193 Physical Protection of Nuclear Materials and Nuclear Facilities
The course in intended to provide an appreciation for need to protect nuclear materials and nuclear facilities from adversaries and sabotage with grounding in the basic principles of nuclear security and management. The course will provide a general description of adversaries (their tactics and methods, psychological aspects and adversary organizations), the role of threat information in developing appropriate security measures and counterterrorism methods. The course will provide all important elements of the process of PPS design, such as target identification, PPS evaluation approaches, response and communication, vulnerability assessment, performance testing, operating principles and contingency plan will be described in detail.

STSN6182 Control and Accounting of Nuclear Materials for Safeguard and Security Purposes
This course covers Nuclear Materials Subject to Safeguards; Basic Principles of Nuclear Material Management; Statistical Aspects of Nuclear Material Accountancy and Auditing; Containment and Surveillance; Material Balance: Areas, Balance Period, Inventory

STSN6183 Nuclear Forensics
The focus of this course on nuclear forensics will be on a detailed description of analytical tools for nuclear forensics and nuclear forensic analysis. In addition, the course will emphasize the sampling and distribution methods in a nuclear forensics laboratory. Considerable time will be spent on interpretation of findings in nuclear forensics and data quality methods aiming to enhance confidence in driven conclusions.

STSN6342 Nuclear Emergency Preparedness and Response
This course will provide an overview of established requirements for an adequate level of preparedness and response to a radiation emergency. Introduction to National Radiation Safety, Prevention and Management of Radiation Accidents will be discussed in detail. This includes the national plan for nuclear or radiological emergencies, transboundary emergencies and the role of the regulatory body.

STSN6282 Nuclear Securities Management
This course focuses on the Basic Elements of Nuclear Safety, Nuclear Security and Nuclear Safeguards and their Interrelationship. It examines methods for planning and evaluating nuclear security activities at the State and facility level, establishing nuclear security culture in different types of nuclear and radiological installation. The roles and responsibilities at the International, State and Operational levels will also be discussed as well as prevention and transport security, detection, response, and information security.

STSN6382 Practical II
This course involves practicals and demonstration of the detection device identiFINDER, which is one of the most basic mobile equipment in Nuclear Safety, Security and Safaeguards. This second practical course concentrates on the analyses of data obtained from the field to achieve the correct conclusion. Emphasis is given on the procedure to transfer information from the identiFINDER to the analytical software, and the application of the analytical software to determine the nuclear material, enrichment and shielding. Students will also be exposed to advanced analyses done with additional information obtained from gamma spectrum.

STSN6283 Nuclear Securities for Materials Outside Legal Control
This course will emphasize the need for a robust second line defence in a State, i.e. effective capabilities to detect and interdict unauthorized movement of nuclear and other radioactive materials both at borders and within the state. The course will provide the fundamental components necessary for developing and implementing effective detection strategies and for maintaining detection system.

STSN6352 Cyber Security
This course will provide an overview of computer security specifically as it applies to nuclear security. The focus of computer security is preventions, detection and response to malicious acts involving computer systems. It aims to address the establishment and improvement of programmes to protect those computer systems, networks and other digital systems that are critical for the safe and secure operation of the nuclear facility and for preventing theft, sabotage and other malicious acts.

STSN6062 Fuel Cycle and Radioactive Waste Management
The course covers overview of the nuclear fuel cycle; the “front end” of the fuel cycle; nuclear fission reactor; reprocessing: THORP case study; the “back end” of the fuel cycle; types of nuclear waste, waste classification and overall management like treatment and disposal of radioactive waste from NPP and treatment facilities, solidification and volume reduction technology, package and transportation, interim storage and disposal repository, repository safety analysis, decontamination and decommission, and spent fuel management.

STSN6976 Research Project II
This course is a continuation of STSN6972 Research Project I. Students are required to carry out research, analyse and present results as well as writing a dissertation to be evaluated. Students must show the originality of their research and must be able to defend their findings.

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field with minimum CGPA 2.50 or equivalent, from any institutions of higher learning  recognized by the UKM Senate; or
• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant field with minimum CGPA 2.00 – 2.49 or equivalent, with minimum of 5 years working experience or research project in relevant field. Proof of the working experience of a foreign candidate should be acknowledge by the embassy of the respective country; or
• Fulfill Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning (APEL A) for local candidates only:
  • should be more than 30 years of age in the year of application; and
  • possess at least STPM or diploma in relevant field or other equivalent qualification recognized by the Government of Malaysia and approved by the UKM Senate; and
  • possess a certificate of MQA APEL with MQF Level 7
• An international student shall obtain minimum results of TOEFL iBT score 46 / IELTS band 5.5 / CEFR band B2 / MUET band 3 (An international student who comes from a country where English is the official language, or who has obtained academic qualifications from any institution of higher learning that uses English as the medium of instruction may be exempted from the requirement for TOEFL / IELTS / MUET); and
• Fulfill other requirements prescribed by the UKM Senate from time to time.