Nuclear Engineering Degree
Best Schools for Nuclear Engineering
Top 9 schools ranked by DegreeWorth Score. Click any row for full AI scenario analysis and earnings projections.
| # | School | DW Score | Earnings | AI Risk | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC |
71 65–72 |
$74,540/yr | High | 19.9x |
| 2 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL |
67 62–66 |
$81,134/yr | High | 11.7x |
| 3 | Missouri University of Science and Technology Rolla, MO |
67 63–67 |
$77,947/yr | High | 14.2x |
| 4 | The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN |
67 62–69 |
$73,724/yr | High | 16.4x |
| 5 | Oregon State University-Cascades Campus Bend, OR |
67 61–69 |
$69,657/yr | High | 17.7x |
| 6 | Oregon State University Corvallis, OR |
66 60–68 |
$69,657/yr | High | 16.5x |
| 7 | Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN |
66 61–66 |
$63,226/yr | High | 14.8x |
| 8 | Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX |
65 59–67 |
$66,604/yr | High | 16.5x |
| 9 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY |
53 47–54 |
$77,014/yr | High | 3.0x |
Highest Earning Nuclear Engineering Programs
Schools where Nuclear Engineering graduates earn the most in their first year after graduation.
| School | 1-Year Earnings | DW Score | AI Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | $81,134/yr | 67 | High |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | $77,947/yr | 67 | High |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | $77,014/yr | 53 | High |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | $74,540/yr | 71 | High |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | $73,724/yr | 67 | High |
| Oregon State University-Cascades Campus | $69,657/yr | 67 | High |
| Oregon State University | $69,657/yr | 66 | High |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | $66,604/yr | 65 | High |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | $63,226/yr | 66 | High |
Best ROI for Nuclear Engineering
Schools with the highest earnings-to-tuition ratio for Nuclear Engineering.
| School | ROI Multiple | Earnings | DW Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh | 19.9x | $74,540/yr | 71 |
| Oregon State University-Cascades Campus | 17.7x | $69,657/yr | 67 |
| Oregon State University | 16.5x | $69,657/yr | 66 |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | 16.5x | $66,604/yr | 65 |
| The University of Tennessee-Knoxville | 16.4x | $73,724/yr | 67 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | 14.8x | $63,226/yr | 66 |
| Missouri University of Science and Technology | 14.2x | $77,947/yr | 67 |
| University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | 11.7x | $81,134/yr | 67 |
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 3.0x | $77,014/yr | 53 |
Related Majors
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Frequently Asked Questions
About This Data
This page aggregates Nuclear Engineering programs across 9 schools using earnings data from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, employment projections from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034), and AI automation risk research from OpenAI and academic institutions.
The DegreeWorth Score (0–100) combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings, AI resilience, job market size, and return on investment. Each school's program page includes three AI scenarios (optimistic, base case, pessimistic) showing how automation could affect 10-year earnings.