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2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k

17 Ranked Colleges
477 Degrees Awarded
$61,025 Avg Salary
Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor's For Those Making $48-$75k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Nuclear Engineering is the 233rd most popular major in the country with 948 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, nuclear engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $61,244 and had an average of $23,833 in loans still to pay off.

At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 477 nuclear engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $38,303 and $24,501 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking, we looked at 17 colleges that offer a degree in nuclear engineering. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality nuclear engineering programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the nuclear engineering program at the school and the cost of the school after aid is awarded among other things. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k” list to help you make the college decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 17 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Nuclear Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

#1

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, Massachusetts
#1 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. This fairly large school is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and it awarded 9 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

MIT also took the #1 spot in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $6,049 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Nuclear Engineering at MIT

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k. UIUC is a public institution located in Champaign, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The yearly cost to attend UIUC is $13,351 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.4%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UIUC Nuclear Engineering Report

#3

Purdue University - Main Campus

West Lafayette, Indiana

Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, Purdue University - Main Campus landed the #3 spot on the list. Purdue is a large school located in West Lafayette, Indiana that handed out 27 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Purdue did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #7 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Purdue is $9,654 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at Purdue

#4

University of Florida

Gainesville, Florida

Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Gainesville, Florida, this large public school handed out 21 diplomas to qualified bachelors’s nuclear engineering students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, UF has also earned the #12 rank in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $8,528 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UF.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. The student loan default rate at the school is 2.0%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full University of Florida Nuclear Engineering Report

#5 in overall quality

Out of the 17 schools in the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #5 spot on the list. University of California - Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 12 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees to qualified students.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #5. It costs about $13,081 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

The student loan default rate at the school is 1.7%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Full UC Berkeley Nuclear Engineering Report

University of Wisconsin - Madison did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #6. UW - Madison is a public institution located in Madison, Wisconsin. The school has a large population, and it awarded 15 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $13,227 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UW - Madison.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full UW - Madison Nuclear Engineering Report

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #7. This large school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 20 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

U-M also made our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $10,028 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend U-M.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The student loan default rate at the school is 1.2%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full U-M Nuclear Engineering Report

With a ranking of #8, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. This large school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

Georgia Tech also made our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #6. The estimated yearly cost for Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus is $15,213 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus

Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #9. Texas A&M College Station is a public institution located in College Station, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 69 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, Texas A&M College Station has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Texas A&M College Station is $18,810 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Read full report on Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M College Station

Missouri University of Science and Technology ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Located in Rolla, Missouri, this medium-sized public school handed out 25 degrees to qualified bachelors’s nuclear engineering students in 2019-2020.

Missouri University of Science and Technology also took the #13 spot in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Missouri University of Science and Technology is $13,058 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The student loan default rate at the school is 3.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 85%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology

#11

North Carolina State University

Raleigh, North Carolina

North Carolina State University ranked #11 on this year’s Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. North Carolina State University is a public institution located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 19 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

NC State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for NC State is $15,084 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.9%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full North Carolina State University Nuclear Engineering Report

The University of Tennessee - Knoxville ranked #12 on this year’s Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. UT Knoxville is a large public school situated in Knoxville, Tennessee. It awarded 43 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville also took the #11 spot in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for The University of Tennessee - Knoxville is $23,211 for Bachelor’s Degree Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The student loan default rate at the school is 4.3%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.

Full The University of Tennessee - Knoxville Nuclear Engineering Report

#13

Oregon State University

Corvallis, Oregon

Oregon State University landed the #13 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. Corvallis, Oregon is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees to 34 students in 2019-2020.

Oregon State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #14 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. The estimated yearly cost for Oregon State is $20,346 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low student loan default rate of 3.4% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 85%.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at Oregon State University

#14

University of New Mexico - Main Campus

Albuquerque, New Mexico
#17 in overall quality

University of New Mexico - Main Campus did quite well in the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking, coming in at #14. This large school is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and it awarded 11 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

UNM did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #17 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list. It costs about $16,557 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend UNM.

Read full report on Nuclear Engineering at UNM

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. This medium-sized school is located in Troy, New York, and it awarded 30 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k list, RPI has also earned the #3 rank in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for RPI is $26,797 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 0.5%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on Nuclear Engineering at RPI

#16

Idaho State University

Pocatello, Idaho
#16 in overall quality

Idaho State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k list. Idaho State University is a fairly large school located in Pocatello, Idaho that handed out 10 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2019-2020.

ISU also made our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #16. It costs about $18,001 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend Idaho State University.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at ISU

#17

South Carolina State University

Orangeburg, South Carolina

South Carolina State University landed the #17 spot on the 2022 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools for a Bachelor’s For Those Making $48-$75k ranking. South Carolina State University is located in Orangeburg, South Carolina and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 4 bachelors’s nuclear engineering degrees to qualified students.

South Carolina State University also took the #15 spot in our “Best Nuclear Engineering Bachelor’s Degree Schools” ranking. It costs about $22,690 for bachelor’s degree nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend South Carolina State University.

Read more about Nuclear Engineering at South Carolina State University

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Notes and References

References

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

  • *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
  • Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

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