2025 Best Nuclear Engineering Schools
14
Colleges in the United States
860
Nuclear Engineering Degrees Awarded
$76,233
Avg Early-Career Salary
You'll be studying one of the lesser sought-after majors if you pursue a degree in
nuclear engineering. It is ranked #253 out of 395 major degree programs in terms of popularity. While this may limit the number of schools that offer the degree program, there are still top-quality ones to be found.
In 2025, College Factual analyzed 14 schools in order to identify the top ones for its Best Nuclear Engineering Schools ranking. When you put them all together, these colleges and universities awarded 860 degrees in nuclear engineering annually.
Jump to one of the following sections: * Degree-Level Rankings
Choosing a Great Nuclear Engineering School
The nuclear engineering program you select can have a big impact on your future. That's why we developed our collection of Best Schools for Nuclear Engineering rankings. We derive our Best Overall Nuclear Engineering School rankings by rolling up our degree-level rankings after weighting them by the number of degrees awarded at each school.
You may want to choose one of the degree levels below to find the schools of most interest to you.
Pick Your Nuclear Engineering Degree Level
The nuclear engineering school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we've developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of the Best Nuclear Engineering Schools.
More interested in schools in a specific area of the country? Filter this list by region or state.
To further help you make the college decision, we've developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you.
Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.
Read more about College Factual's methodology.
Best Schools for Nuclear Engineering in the United States
The schools below may not offer all types of nuclear engineering degrees so you may want to filter by degree level first. However, they are great for the degree levels they do offer.
10 Top Schools in Nuclear Engineering
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In MA
39
Nuclear Engineering Degrees Awarded
Any student who is interested in nuclear engineering needs to look into Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Located in the city of Cambridge, MIT is a private not-for-profit school with a large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #1 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means MIT is a great school overall.
There were about 39 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at MIT in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Texas A&M University - College Station is a wonderful choice for students interested in a degree in nuclear engineering. Located in the city of College Station, Texas A&M College Station is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #42 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means Texas A&M College Station is a great university overall.
There were roughly 122 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at Texas A&M College Station in the most recent year we have data available. After graduation, nuclear engineering degree recipients generally make around $66,604 in the first five years of their career.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University - College Station
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In CA
43
Nuclear Engineering Degrees Awarded
It is difficult to beat University of California - Berkeley if you want to pursue a degree in nuclear engineering. UC Berkeley is a very large public university located in the city of Berkeley. A Best Colleges rank of #14 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UC Berkeley is a great university overall.
There were approximately 43 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at UC Berkeley in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from University of California - Berkeley
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In WI
31
Nuclear Engineering Degrees Awarded
It's difficult to beat University of Wisconsin - Madison if you want to pursue a degree in nuclear engineering. Located in the large city of Madison, UW - Madison is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #40 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UW - Madison is a great university overall.
There were about 31 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at UW - Madison in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from University of Wisconsin - Madison
Located in the small city of Champaign, UIUC is a public university with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #41 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means UIUC is a great university overall.
There were approximately 45 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at UIUC in the most recent year we have data available. Those nuclear engineering students who get their degree from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign earn $4,901 more than the standard nuclear engineering grad.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In MI
56
Nuclear Engineering Degrees Awarded
U-M is a fairly large public university located in the midsize city of Ann Arbor. A Best Colleges rank of #22 out of 2,152 colleges nationwide means U-M is a great university overall.
There were roughly 56 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at U-M in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Located in the medium-sized city of Gainesville, UF is a public university with a fairly large student population. This university ranks 1st out of 70 schools for overall quality in the state of Florida.
There were roughly 22 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at UF in the most recent year we have data available.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from University of Florida
NC State is a very large public university located in the large city of Raleigh. This university ranks 4th out of 93 schools for overall quality in the state of North Carolina.
There were approximately 43 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at NC State in the most recent data year. Students who receive their degree from the nuclear engineering program make around $74,540 in their early career salary.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University
Doctor's Degree
Highest Degree Type
1st
Most Popular In GA
Located in the city of Atlanta, Georgia Tech is a public school with a very large student population. A Best Colleges rank of #19 out of 2,152 schools nationwide means Georgia Tech is a great school overall.
There were roughly 26 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at Georgia Tech in the most recent data year.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
RPI is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in the small city of Troy. This school ranks 6th out of 136 colleges for overall quality in the state of New York.
There were approximately 21 nuclear engineering students who graduated with this degree at RPI in the most recent year we have data available. Students who receive their degree from the nuclear engineering program earn an average of $77,014 for their early career.
More information about a degree in nuclear engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
