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2026 Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools in Illinois
If you want to know which schools deliver the best value for the nuclear engineering degrees they offer, see the list below.
Best Value Nuclear Engineering Schools
For return on investment in nuclear engineering, no school beat University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign this year. Set in the city of Champaign, University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign is a very large public institution. Expect in-state tuition and fees of around $18,267, compared with $40,096 for out-of-state students. Students borrow a median of $21,350 to complete the nuclear engineering program here. Soon after graduation, nuclear engineering degree recipients from University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign generally make around $81,134. Set against $21,350 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. University Of Illinois At Urbana Champaign admits about 42% of applicants.
Notes and References
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 1 school evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 1 ranked schools only.
- 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).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
ADBLOCK #116
[Nuclear Engineering](/majors/engineering/nuclear-engineering/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. A high-value program keeps cost low while graduates go on to earn well.
