Boom in nuclear qualifications

04 June 2009

The number of US students earning nuclear engineering degrees has increased for the fifth year in a row.

 

The data comes from the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, which said the number of similar degrees earned in the next few years is likely to remain around at the same level. It added that undergraduate enrolments into nuclear engineering courses had tripled between 2000 and 2008, but the numbers remained below those of the 1970s and early 1990s.

 

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Continued study was the aim of the largest group of 2008's graduates with Bachelor-level degrees, with work at nuclear power companies coming second, service in the US military third, and 'other nuclear-related' work fourth. The USA has a very significant fleet of over 100 nuclear-powered naval vessels using broadly similar technology to that also popular in power plants. This leads to great crossover of experienced staff whose military duties have ended.

 

For Masters-level graduates, continued study was also the most popular next step, with 'other nuclear-related' work second and work for Department of Energy contractors third.

 

The institute said that numbers planning to enter the nuclear power industry had tripled since 2000 and returned the the annual numbers hired in the period up to 1998. Among related trends in the figures, this increase "supports other information showing an increase in interest in nuclear energy in the economy and growing replacement needs for an aging workforce in nuclear-related fields."