Nuclear Engineering Degrees (2026 stats)

Last updated: April 29, 2026 Source: College Scorecard

TL;DR

Nuclear Engineering maps to BLS occupations averaging about $114,867, with roughly 69,280 workers nationwide in those roles. About 959 degrees completed in recent IPEDS counts; median program completion runs near 57%.

Key Statistics

959
Total Degrees Awarded (2023)
$12,688
Median In-State Public Tuition
$61,020
Median Out-of-State Private Tuition
$114,867
Avg. Wage (related occupations)
69,280
Workers (related occupations)
57.0%
Median Graduation Rate (4-yr schools)
0
Bachelor's Completions (IPEDS 2023)

Nuclear Engineering: what the data shows

Common questions about nuclear engineering degrees, answered from IPEDS, College Scorecard, BLS OEWS, and O*NET in this repository—not program marketing copy.

What is a nuclear engineering degree?

A Nuclear Engineering program is classified under NCES CIP 00.1423 in the 00.0014 field family (00.14).

IPEDS counted 959 completions for this CIP in the survey year in our extract.

Types of nuclear engineering degrees and related programs

Other NCES program codes in the 00.14 family with pages on EDsmart Data:

What do you learn in nuclear engineering?

O*NET skill ratings for occupations mapped to this major emphasize Equipment Maintenance, Repairing, Troubleshooting, Operations Monitoring, Quality Control Analysis, Complex Problem Solving, and related competencies. See the Skills section for the full list in our extract.

What degree do you need?

For Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (top mapped occupation), O*NET incumbent surveys in our career profile report these education credentials most often: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).

O*NET education distributions describe incumbent workers, not minimum legal or employer requirements.

What jobs can you get with a nuclear engineering degree?

Our degree→occupation mapping links Nuclear Engineering to the BLS roles below. Employment is U.S. OEWS; median wage is national May 2024 where published in our extract.

OccupationU.S. employmentMedian annual wage
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians136,390$78,680
Computer Hardware Engineers75,710$155,020
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters43,640$39,270
Brickmasons and Blockmasons53,520$60,800
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians36,880$52,080
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products293,930$100,070

See Careers & Jobs for mean wages and industry context.

Is a nuclear engineering degree worth it?

Among schools reporting in our Scorecard extract, median published in-state tuition is $12,688 and median net price is $17,722.

We do not score "worth" on opinion—compare debt, earnings, wages for mapped occupations, and completion data above against your cost and career target.

Institutions

Information about the types of higher education institutions that grant degrees in Nuclear Engineering and the types of students that study this field.

Tuition Costs for Common Institutions

$12,688 Median In-State Public

$61,020 Median Out of State Private

Tuition costs for Nuclear Engineering majors are, on average, $12,688 for in-state public colleges, and $61,020 for out of state private colleges.

Tuition costs comparison for Nuclear Engineering programs.

Degrees Awarded Over Time

959 Total Degrees Awarded in 2023

This chart shows the number of degrees awarded in Nuclear Engineering from 2015 to 2023.

Historical trend of degrees awarded in Nuclear Engineering.

Top 5 Schools by Enrollment

# School State Enrollment
1 Texas A&M University-College Station TX 59,099
2 Ohio State University-Main Campus OH 44,617
3 Purdue University-Main Campus IN 39,637
4 University of Wisconsin-Madison WI 35,665
5 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign IL 34,623

Schools with the largest enrollment offering Nuclear Engineering programs.

Top 5 Most Affordable Tuition

# School State Tuition
1 University of Florida FL $6,381
2 University of New Mexico-Main Campus NM $8,115
3 Idaho State University ID $8,356
4 University of Idaho ID $8,816
5 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC $8,895

Schools with the lowest tuition costs for Nuclear Engineering programs.

Top 5 Lowest Net Price

# School State Net Price
1 University of Florida FL $6,351
2 Wilberforce University OH $7,349
3 University of Utah UT $13,172
4 Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus GA $13,289
5 University of Washington-Seattle Campus WA $13,485

Schools with the lowest average net price for Nuclear Engineering programs.

Graduation Rates

56.95% Median Graduation Rate (150% of normal time)

57.64% Average Graduation Rate

144 Institutions Reporting

43.28% - 72.24% Interquartile Range

Graduation/completion rates for Nuclear Engineering programs across institutions.

Related specializations

Other NCES program codes in the 00.14 CIP family with dedicated pages on EDsmart Data.

Careers & Jobs

Occupations linked to this major in our degree→career mapping, with wages and employment from processed BLS career profiles in this repo.

Across these BLS occupations, employment-weighted mean pay is about $114,867. Figures are national OEWS estimates for the occupation—not earnings of Nuclear Engineering graduates alone.

Related occupations (BLS OEWS)

Occupation Mean annual wage U.S. employment
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians$88,062136,390
Computer Hardware Engineers$188,33375,710
Helpers--Pipelayers, Plumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters$53,31243,640
Brickmasons and Blockmasons$74,53853,520
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians$58,11636,880
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products$131,986293,930

Open each occupation for full career profile charts and industry breakdowns on EDsmart Data.

Employment

Wages and industry mix below use BLS OEWS data for occupations linked to this major in our mapping—not a graduate earnings survey.

Yearly Income for Common Jobs

$136,006 Average Wage in Workforce

The average salary for Nuclear Engineering majors is $136,006.

Average annual salaries of the most common occupations for Nuclear Engineering majors.

Occupations by Share

69,280 2023 Workforce

The number of Nuclear Engineering graduates in the workforce has been growing.

Various jobs filled by those with a major in Nuclear Engineering by share of the total number of graduates.

Diversity

Demographic information for those who earn a degree in Nuclear Engineering in the United States.

Workforce Age

N/A Average Age in 2023

This chart shows distribution of ages for employees with a degree in Nuclear Engineering.

Age distribution for Nuclear Engineering degree holders in the workforce.

Gender Distribution

Gender distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Gender distribution of Nuclear Engineering degree recipients.

Race and Ethnicity Distribution

Race and ethnicity distribution data is not available for this degree program.

Racial and ethnic distribution of Nuclear Engineering degree recipients.

Degrees Awarded

The most common degree types awarded to students graduating in Nuclear Engineering are Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree, and Associates Degree.

Distribution of degree types awarded in Nuclear Engineering.

Skills

Data on the critical and distinctive skills necessary for those working in the Nuclear Engineering field from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Required Skills

Nuclear Engineering majors need many skills, but most especially Critical Thinking, Active Listening, and Reading Comprehension.

Rating of how necessary various skills are for Nuclear Engineering majors.

Skills Bar Chart

This bar chart shows the same information as the radar chart, displaying the importance of each skill.

Skill importance ratings for Nuclear Engineering majors.

About

Nuclear Engineering

In 2023, 959 degrees were awarded across all undergraduate and graduate programs in Nuclear Engineering.

CIP Code

00.1423 - Nuclear Engineering

What the data shows

Mapped BLS occupations show employment-weighted mean pay of about $114,867. The largest mapped role by headcount is Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians (136,390 U.S. jobs in OEWS).

Published tuition medians in College Scorecard land at $12,688 in-state at public colleges and $61,020 at private institutions for programs in this field.

Data Sources

This page uses data from the following sources:

  • College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
    • Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
  • Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
    • Employment and wage data by occupation
    • Latest data: May 2024
    • Source: bls.gov/oes
  • O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
    • Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
    • Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
    • Source: onetcenter.org
  • IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
    • Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
    • Data years: 2015-2024
    • Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
  • Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
    • Demographic and workforce data
    • Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
    • Source: census.gov/acs

Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.

Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.

Methodology

Data for this profile is sourced from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard dataset, IPEDS completion data, and Bureau of Labor Statistics employment data.

All financial figures are adjusted for inflation and represent the most recent available data. Employment and wage data are from the most recent Census Bureau ACS PUMS estimates.