Nuclear engineering deals with the application and utilization of nuclear processes and radiations. The use of nuclear energy for the production of electrical power is a mature industry. Nuclear engineers work on all aspects of the nuclear fuel cycle and for many different types of employers such as government and private labs, regulatory agencies, reactor vendors, utilities and architect engineers. In addition, nuclear energy for space applications is a rapidly expanding field. Radioisotope technology in industry and medicine requires a large number of well-trained radiological health engineers. To supply qualified engineers, the Department of Nuclear Engineering offers curricula leading to the Bachelor of Science degree in Nuclear Engineering and in Radiological Health Engineering. Both degrees are accredited by the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET).

The missions of the Nuclear Engineering Department are:

In fulfilling these missions, the objective of the undergraduate program is to prepare students for success in their professional endeavors following the baccalaureate degree. These endeavors may include direct employment in the private or public sectors, graduate studies in engineering or science, professional studies in medicine, business, law or public administration, service in the military, or entrepreneurial activities. To achieve this purpose, four principal educational objectives are identified. Graduates of our Bachelor of Science program in Nuclear Engineering:

1. will work on the challenges of maintenance, improvement, innovation, education, and research in nuclear power and industrial utilization of nuclear radiation and radioisotopes. In this work, they will fulfill independent assignments, engage in collaborations, and manage the work of others with effective communications characterizing all phases of their responsibilities;

2. will conduct their professional activities with full recognition of the choices and challenges implicit to their work, to its ethical dimensions, and to their implications for matters beyond their immediate tasks;

3. will take the local, global, historical, social, economic, and political settings into account in both their domestic and international endeavors; and

4. will recognize and utilize both the accumulated body of results from prior work and the continuing evolution of science and technology as essential resources for the effective conduct of their work.

The nuclear engineering baccalaureate degree programs stress engineering science fundamentals and mathematics. However, considerable numbers of elective hours are available in the curriculum to permit students to broaden their educations as desired.

Most of the facilities used in the M.S. and Ph.D. programs are also used in the undergraduate degree programs. These facilities make the Department of Nuclear Engineering one of the best equipped in the United States. Texas A&M is now the only University in the United States with two research reactors on its campus.