Best Schools for Nuclear Engineering in 2026
These are the top schools offering Nuclear Engineering, ranked by DegreeWorth Score. The score combines graduate earnings, AI automation resilience, job market demand, and return on tuition investment. The average Nuclear Engineering graduate earns $72,611/yr across 9 schools.
All Nuclear Engineering Programs Ranked
Click any row for full AI scenario analysis, earnings projections, and career path breakdown.
| # | Program | DW Score | Earnings | AI Risk | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Nuclear Engineering
North Carolina State University at Raleigh · Raleigh, NC |
71
65–72 |
$74,540/yr | High | 19.9x |
| 2 |
Nuclear Engineering
Oregon State University · Corvallis, OR |
66
60–68 |
$69,657/yr | High | 16.5x |
| 3 |
Nuclear Engineering
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville · Knoxville, TN |
67
62–69 |
$73,724/yr | High | 16.4x |
| 4 |
Nuclear Engineering
Oregon State University-Cascades Campus · Bend, OR |
67
61–69 |
$69,657/yr | High | 17.7x |
| 5 |
Nuclear Engineering
Missouri University of Science and Technology · Rolla, MO |
67
63–67 |
$77,947/yr | High | 14.2x |
| 6 |
Nuclear Engineering
Texas A & M University-College Station · College Station, TX |
65
59–67 |
$66,604/yr | High | 16.5x |
| 7 |
Nuclear Engineering
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign · Champaign, IL |
67
62–66 |
$81,134/yr | High | 11.7x |
| 8 |
Nuclear Engineering
Purdue University-Main Campus · West Lafayette, IN |
66
61–66 |
$63,226/yr | High | 14.8x |
| 9 |
Nuclear Engineering
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute · Troy, NY |
53
47–54 |
$77,014/yr | High | 3.0x |
Methodology
Programs are ranked by DegreeWorth Score, which combines four equally weighted factors: graduate earnings (Year 1 after graduation), AI automation resilience (based on OpenAI and academic research), job market size (BLS annual openings), and earnings-to-tuition multiple (10-year projected earnings vs. 4-year tuition).
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, which reports actual median earnings of graduates — not self-reported surveys.