NDE Education

The Center for NDE mission includes research and education programs.  There are typically over 50 students that are part of CNDE’s programs, either as participants in the NDE courses offered at ISU or as contributing researchers either at the undergraduate or graduate level.  The following education options are available:

  • Undergraduate Minor in NDE
    A multi-disciplinary qualification available to engineering students at ISU for which 16 credits are required. Students take courses that cover the principles of NDE.  An associated lab provides hands-on opportunities for the most often used inspection methods including penetrant, magnetic particle, ultrasonics, eddy current, x-ray, and thermal methods.  Many students also do an independent study with CNDE researchers.
  • Graduate Programs in NDE
    • Graduate Certificate in NDE Online
      The graduate certificate in NDE consists of 13 credits of graduate coursework, available online.
    • Thesis-Based Programs
      At the present time Iowa State University does not offer masters or doctoral programs in the discipline of nondestructive evaluation.  You may, however, pursue a thesis-based MS or PhD degree in a traditional engineering discipline such as aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, engineering mechanics, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering etc with a research project that is focused on NDE.  To do this you should apply for admission to one of the engineering programs and look for a major professor within that program who conducts research in NDE.  You may contact individual professors to find out if they are planning to hire new students into their research groups but please do this only if you have a very definite interest in working with that professor – professors are busy and cannot respond to poorly targeted requests.

      • Master of Science (MS)*
        Each engineering program has its own specific set of requirements for the MS degree.  Typical requirements are 20 credits of coursework and 12 credits of research.
      • Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)*
        Each engineering program has its own specific set of requirements for the PhD degree.  Typical requirements are 36 credits of coursework and 36 credits of research.* This information is provided for general guidance and is not specific to any particular program.

Education Programs

Education and training is an important focus of the overall CNDE efforts.  Iowa State University is only US institution to offer an NDE minor at the undergraduate level with 20 to 30 students typically enrolled in the program.  In 2011, a graduate level certificate in NDE became available thru on-line learning, also a first in the nation offering.  CNDE also has a number of specific training developments including programs for FAA Aviation Safety Inspectors and Certification Engineers and materials for use internally at companies.  A major accomplishment of the CNDE programs is the NDT Resource Center, the NDE website used by over 300,000 users per month.  Through this website, new educational materials with high quality graphics and interactive content have been made available to the NDT community.  To raise awareness of NDT as a career field, science-based educational materials and career information were also developed for junior and senior high school students.  With details at www.ndt-ed.org, the site is recognized as the resource for students, technicians and engineers.

CNDE graduates are working in a variety of industrial, government and academic settings.  We welcome inquiries regarding our programs, graduates and collaborations.  Please send requests to cnde@cnde.iastate.edu.

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