Introduction

Since the passage of Public Law 733 by the 83rd Congress (1954), degrees have been authorized for conferral by the Commander of Air University on persons who meet all requirements established by the Air Force Institute of Technology. Programs in the Institute were first accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development (ECPD) in 1955. The Institute is now accredited through the Doctoral level by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Master's degree level programs in Nuclear Engineering and Electro-Optics are also accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET).

The programs currently offered in the Department of Engineering Physics are Applied Physics (M.S. and Ph.D.) with specialization in Engineering Physics, Space Environment Physics or Computational Chemistry, Materials Science and Engineering (Non-structural, M.S. and Ph.D.), Electro-Optics (M.S. and Ph.D.), Nuclear Engineering (M.S and Ph.D.), and Measurement and Signature Intelligence (Certificate).

The Nuclear Engineering Program was initiated in 1954, and accredited by ABET in 1964. The initial emphasis of this program was the nuclear powered aircraft and base nuclear power. This emphasis shifted in the mid-sixties to nuclear weapon effects. In the mid-eighties the emphasis was broadened to include space nuclear power and in the early nineties to include counter-proliferation of and environmental nuclear technology. The Engineering Physics Program began as the Space Physics Program in 1963. As the Air Force moved out of space in the late sixties and NASA moved in, the emphasis of the program shifted to optics and high energy lasers and in 1969 the name of this program was changed to Engineering Physics. It was further changed to Applied Physics in 1992 and includes specializations in engineering physics, space environment physics, and computational chemistry.