undergradly.
Major · Engineering

Engineer the systems that split atoms, fuse plasmas, and power grids without carbon

Nuclear Engineering applies physics, mathematics, and engineering to systems that release and control nuclear energy — fission reactors, fusion devices, fuel-cycle processes, radiation shielding, and reactor safety. About 425 bachelor's degrees are awarded annually across roughly 24 ABET-accredited programs in the United States, with completions concentrated at large public research universities and the federal service academies. Five-year median earnings for completers run about $99,178.

Schools offering
24
Annual completions
425
Typical degree level
Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$99k

About this major

Nuclear engineering is the discipline of designing, operating, and licensing systems that release and control nuclear energy — fission reactors today, fusion devices increasingly, and the radiation, fuel, and shielding problems that surround both. Where a physicist asks how a nuclear reaction works, a nuclear engineer asks how to run that reaction safely, reliably, and within a regulatory framework that treats safety margins as binding constraints rather than aspirations. The curriculum builds on calculus, differential equations, physics, and chemistry, then moves into reactor physics and neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, radiation transport and shielding, nuclear fuel-cycle analysis, and reactor safety. Simulation tools — MCNP for neutron transport, RELAP for thermal-hydraulics, Serpent for fuel-cycle work — enter the picture in the middle years, and several programs operate small research reactors that students actually train on. Most programs close with a capstone design project: a small modular reactor concept, a fuel assembly redesign, or a shielding analysis for a real facility.

The major attracts people who are drawn to large, regulated energy systems and the physics underneath them. The math is comparable to other engineering disciplines and the physics is heavier than most — reactor physics, neutron transport, and radiation shielding all rest on quantitative reasoning that has to become genuinely fluent. The regulatory dimension is also unique: nuclear engineers spend significant time working with the NRC's licensing framework, ASME codes for pressure vessels, and ANS standards for reactor design. Students who can hold the technical and the regulatory layers simultaneously — understanding that a safety margin is both a number and a legal commitment — tend to move through the upper-division sequence more readily than those who are strong on one side and weak on the other.

Career outcomes are strong and the graduate population is unusually small. About 425 bachelor's degrees are awarded annually across roughly 24 ABET-accredited programs — a fraction of mechanical engineering's 33,431 completions or even chemical engineering's 7,914. Five-year median earnings for bachelor's completers run about $99,178. The nuclear engineer occupation posts a $127,520 median wage. Top programs by completion volume are Texas A&M (72), Tennessee-Knoxville (32), Purdue, UIUC, and NC State (31 each), Oregon State (27), and Penn State (22), with the U.S. Military Academy (21) and U.S. Naval Academy (20) supplying the federal-service pipeline. Geographic concentration is real: Oak Ridge, Idaho Falls, the Boston fusion cluster, and the Norfolk/Newport News naval shipyard region are where the work is most concentrated.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Architectural and engineering managers $168k +3.8% Bachelor's degree
Engineering teachers, postsecondary $106k +8.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Nuclear engineers $128k -1.1% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$99k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if reactor physics, fuel-cycle engineering, or fusion plasma physics are subjects you find yourself wanting to actually understand rather than survive. The major rewards students who are comfortable with quantitative physics, who don't mind that the discipline is regulated to the level of legally-binding safety margins, and who are willing to take the credentialing path seriously — ABET-accredited bachelor's, then EIT/FE, and for some roles a Senior Reactor Operator license earned on the job. The five-year earnings data is clear-cut for this major: it reflects bachelor's completers at $99,178, with the nuclear engineer occupation paying $127,520. If you're considering nuclear engineering specifically, plan for the four-year ABET program.

Think twice if you want broad industry flexibility and your interest in nuclear is general rather than central. Mechanical engineering covers more ground across manufacturing, energy, automotive, and aerospace without locking you into a single industry, and mechanical engineers do substantial work at nuclear facilities anyway — it is a viable back door. Think twice also if you are uncomfortable with the geographic concentration: nuclear engineering work clusters around specific places — Oak Ridge, Idaho Falls, the Boston fusion scene, the Norfolk/Newport News naval shipyards, the SRS/Vogtle area in the Southeast — and being open to relocation matters more here than in most engineering disciplines. Think twice if you are not a U.S. citizen and your interest centers on Naval Reactors, NNSA labs, or weapons-adjacent work — those roles require DOE Q or DoD clearance, which is closed to non-citizens, though commercial utility, reactor-designer, and fusion-startup roles remain open. And think twice if a curriculum built on neutron transport, thermal-hydraulics, and radiation shielding sounds like coursework to grind through rather than engage with — the day-to-day experience of the major will feel the same way.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Nuclear Engineering

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
Texas A&M University-College Station College Station, TX 0 72 72
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN 0 32 32
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette, IN 0 31 31
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 0 31 31
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC 0 31 31
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 27 27
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park, PA 0 22 22
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 0 21 21
United States Naval Academy Annapolis, MD 0 20 20
University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque, NM 0 18 18
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Mechanical Engineering

33,431 completions/yr

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

14,891 completions/yr

Civil Engineering, General

13,488 completions/yr

Computer Engineering, General

9,312 completions/yr

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

8,569 completions/yr

Chemical Engineering

7,914 completions/yr

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General

6,386 completions/yr

Engineering, General

5,416 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do nuclear engineering majors actually study day-to-day?
The curriculum builds on calculus, differential equations, physics, and chemistry, then specializes into reactor physics and neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, radiation transport and shielding, nuclear fuel-cycle analysis, and reactor safety and licensing. Upper-division work gets into reactor systems design, instrumentation and control, radiation detection and measurement, and Monte Carlo simulation tools like MCNP and Serpent. Lab work runs alongside lectures — several programs operate small research reactors that students actually train on. Most programs close with a capstone design project, often centered on a small modular reactor concept, a fuel assembly, or a shielding problem. It is mathematically demanding from the start.
Do I need a bachelor's, or is an associate's enough for nuclear engineering?
For the nuclear engineer role and its associated earnings, a bachelor's from an ABET-accredited program is the practical requirement. The data shows no meaningful associate-level earnings split for this major — the five-year median of $99,178 reflects bachelor's completers almost entirely. Associate's programs in nuclear technology exist and feed reactor operator and radiation protection technician roles at operating plants — those are real careers, but they are technician-level rather than engineer-level work. The Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) license, which can pay $150,000 to $200,000, is earned on the job at a specific plant after years of training, not at the associate level. If your goal is design, safety analysis, licensing, or research, plan for the four-year ABET degree.
What kinds of jobs do nuclear engineering graduates actually land in?
Three employer types absorb most graduates. First, existing fleet operators — Constellation, Vistra, Duke Energy, Southern Company, TVA, Dominion — hire for reactor engineering, refueling outages, and dry-cask storage projects. Second, reactor designers and the advanced-reactor wave: Westinghouse, GE Hitachi, Framatome, NuScale, X-Energy, TerraPower, Kairos Power, Oklo, and a hiring boom in fusion startups (Commonwealth Fusion Systems, TAE, Helion). Third, the federal stack — DOE national labs (ORNL, INL, LANL, LLNL, ANL, PNNL, Sandia), the NRC, and the Naval Reactors program (Bechtel/KAPL/Bettis) for submarine and carrier propulsion. The tracked SOC outcomes — nuclear engineer at $127,520 median, engineering manager at $167,740, and postsecondary engineering teacher at $106,120 — understate the range, since several Naval Reactors and lab roles require security clearances that come with their own pay structures.
Is nuclear engineering's job market actually growing? BLS shows -1.1% for nuclear engineers.
The headline BLS projection for nuclear engineers is -1.1%, which reflects the historical pattern of a slowly retiring fleet without much new construction. That projection is a backward-looking snapshot. The 2023 to 2026 picture is meaningfully different: the Inflation Reduction Act includes production tax credits for existing nuclear, the DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program is funding NuScale, X-Energy, and TerraPower designs, the NRC is rolling out the Part-53 framework for advanced reactors, and fusion has moved from research to billion-dollar private investment. Hiring at reactor designers and fusion startups is up sharply, and the existing fleet faces a workforce-replacement wave as Boomer-era engineers retire. The candidate pool is also small — about 425 graduates per year nationally — which tends to work in graduates' favor regardless of the headline projection.
Is nuclear engineering the right fit, or should I consider a related major?
Nuclear engineering is the right call if reactor physics and the regulatory-engineering side of large energy systems genuinely interest you, and if you are comfortable working in an industry with a small employer set, security-clearance pathways, and geographic concentration around specific clusters (Oak Ridge, Idaho Falls, Boston for fusion). If you want broad engineering flexibility and the option to pivot industries every few years, Mechanical Engineering (33,431 completions per year) is the wider path — mechanical engineers also do significant work at nuclear facilities. If you are drawn to the physics-and-math layer underneath nuclear systems specifically, Engineering Physics is closer to that. Electrical and Electronics Engineering opens the door to instrumentation, control systems, and grid-side roles at utilities. Each of those keeps nuclear as an industry option without locking you into the discipline.
What's a realistic earnings picture after a nuclear engineering degree?
Five-year median earnings for this major run about $99,178, almost entirely at the bachelor's level. The nuclear engineer occupation itself posts a $127,520 median wage, with experienced engineers at utilities, national labs, and reactor designers commonly running well above that. The ceiling for the architectural and engineering manager track is $167,740, typically reached after a decade or more. The wage premium that doesn't show up in the SOC tables is the Senior Reactor Operator (SRO) license at operating plants, which after roughly six years of plant experience and a difficult licensing exam pays $150,000 to $200,000. Roles requiring DOE Q-clearance or DoD secret/top-secret clearance — common at Naval Reactors, NNSA labs, and weapons-adjacent work — carry their own premium for U.S. citizens.