Nuclear engineering enrollments on rise at U.S. universities

THE NUMBER OF college students graduating with degrees in nuclear engineering continues to increase, according to a survey conducted by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). The survey collected replies from the 31 universities in the United States that offer nuclear engineering programs. ORISE published the results of the survey in June.

In 2006, 346 bachelor's degrees in nuclear engineering were awarded, the highest number reported in 10 years and an almost 30 percent increase from 2005 (Table I). The 2006 total, however, is still below the approximately 400 degrees per year granted during the early to mid-1990s. Nuclear engineering majors accounted for 94 percent of bachelor's degrees, with the remaining 6 percent in nuclear engineering option programs.



TABLE I. NUCLEAR ENGINEERING DEGREES 1998-2006

* Three programs were discontinued/out-of-scope after 2002 and not included in the 2003 survey. These three programs reported a total of 17 B.S. degrees in 2002.

The number of master's degrees awarded in 2006 was the highest since 1996 and reflected an increase for the fourth consecutive year. The number of doctorate degrees awarded, however, has decreased each year since 2003, from 78 in 2003 to 70 in 2006.

The overall increase in nuclear engineering degrees granted reflects the increase of students enrolled in nuclear engineering programs, ORISE noted. Undergraduate enrollment in 2006 was more than double the levels reported in 1999 and 2000, but it was still less than the reported enrollments in the early 1990s.

Graduate enrollment also continued to increase, according to the survey. Graduate student enrollment reported in 2006 was approximately 1050 (an increase of almost 5 percent over 2005). This is 40 percent greater than in 2000 and 2001, when the lowest enrollment numbers were reported since data collection for the annual surveys started in the mid-1970s, according to ORISE.

Comparing data on postgraduation employment and other activity in 2006 with 2004 (postgraduation data was not collected in 2005) indicates, in general, a roughly similar distribution in postgraduation plans for each of the degree levels (Table II). Continued study is by far the largest post-degree activity for both the bachelor's and master's degree levels. Nuclear utilities hired more at the bachelor's degree level in 2006 than in 2004, and especially at the master's level. DOE contractors hired fewer at the bachelor's degree level, but more at both the master's degree and doctorate levels. The federal government hired more at the master's degree level, but fewer at the doctorate level.



TABLE II. EMPLOYMENT OR OTHER POST-GRADUATION PLANS, 2006

In 2006, the employment type "Other Nuclear-Related Employment" was added to the survey. Graduates receiving employment in this category in earlier surveys most likely would have been reported in the "Other Business Employment" category. In 2006, it appears that the number of master's degree graduates accepting employment in the "Other Nuclear-Related Employment" category increased somewhat.

Pennsylvania State University and Texas A&M University tied for awarding the most bachelor degrees--31--for the 2005-2006 academic year (Table III).



TABLE III. NUCLEAR ENGINEERING DEGREES, 2006, BY ACADEMIC INSTITUTION (ALPHABETICAL BY STATE AND THEN UNIVERSITY)

The ORISE survey includes degrees granted between September 1, 2005, and August 31, 2006, and fall 2006 enrollments. The four-page survey is available online at <http://orise.orau.gov/sep/files/NE_E_D_Brief60_03-07.pdf>.