2023 Best Value Colleges for Nuclear Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. 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 in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

Nuclear Engineering is the 253rd most popular major in the country with 864 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, nuclear engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $59,111 and had an average of $22,196 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Far Western US region, there were 128 nuclear engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $47,169 and $20,000 respectively.

This year’s “Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k” ranking analyzed 2 colleges that offered 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.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the nuclear engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Nuclear Engineering Schools

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 “Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k”.

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 in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k

The colleges and universities below are the best for far western us region nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

Top 2 Best Value Colleges for Nuclear Engineering (Income $48-$75k) in the Far Western US Region

1

University of California - Berkeley
Berkeley, California

#1 in overall quality

$13,423 Average Net Price

$60,587 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k list. UC Berkeley is a large school located in Berkeley, California that handed out 45 ’s nuclear engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

UC Berkeley also made our “Best Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region” list, coming in at #1. It costs about $13,423 for Far Western US Region Nuclear Engineering students whose families make $48-$75k per year to attend University of California - Berkeley.

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 school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only 1.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full University of California - Berkeley Nuclear Engineering Report

2

Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon

#2 in overall quality

$21,716 Average Net Price

$43,202 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Oregon State University. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region For Those Making $48-$75k. Located in Corvallis, Oregon, this large public school handed out 48 diplomas to qualified ’s nuclear engineering students in 2020-2021.

Oregon State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Nuclear Engineering Schools in the Far Western US Region” list. The estimated yearly cost for Oregon State is $21,716 for far western us region nuclear engineering students whose families make $48-$75k.

The low undergrad student loan default rate of 2.8% 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 85%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Oregon State Nuclear Engineering Report

• Best Value Colleges for Nuclear Engineering (Income $48-$75k)

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.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to Siemens Pressebild.