NRC’s 

Nuclear 

Education 

Program

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Washington, DC 20555-0001

NUREG/BR-0341

February 2008

NRC’s Nuclear 

Education Program

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) regulates the safe and secure use of 

nuclear material and protects people and the 

environment while ensuring the safe use of 

nuclear energy. 

The United States is experiencing an unprec-

edented demand for electricity, and the global 

demand will rise sharply over the next 20 years. 

Reliable energy needs to come from a variety of 

sources, including nuclear power. 

To meet expected workforce needs, the Nation 

must provide opportunities that encourage ca-

reers and research in nuclear, mechanical and 

electric engineering, physics, and related fields. 

NRC needs a workforce capable of design-

ing, constructing, operating, and regulating the 

next generation of nuclear facilities. Congress 

authorized NRC, through the Nuclear Education 

and Scholarship Program, to provide oppor-

tunities to qualified individuals and academic 

institutions through $15 million in funding for 

undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellow-

ships, trade school scholarships, and faculty 

development grants. This program benefits the 

entire country by supporting and encouraging 

nuclear education and nuclear-related careers.

Eligibility

The Nuclear Education Program provides— • Grants to support college faculty in science 

and engineering in the first 6 years of their 

academic careers. Funding will attract 

and retain highly qualified scientists and 

engineers in academic teaching careers like 

nuclear energy, health physics, and radio-

chemistry.

• Awards up to $300,000 for educational 

institutions. Grants may be awarded to 

tenure-track faculty in amounts of up to 

$150,000 for 1 year with matching funds of 
NRC’s Nuclear 

Education Program

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission 

(NRC) regulates the safe and secure use of 

nuclear material and protects people and the 

environment while ensuring the safe use of 

nuclear energy. 

The United States is experiencing an unprec-

edented demand for electricity, and the global 

demand will rise sharply over the next 20 years. 

Reliable energy needs to come from a variety of 

sources, including nuclear power. 

To meet expected workforce needs, the Nation 

must provide opportunities that encourage ca-

reers and research in nuclear, mechanical and 

electric engineering, health physics, physics, 

and related fields. 

NRC needs a workforce capable of designing, 

constructing, operating, and regulating the 

next generation of nuclear facilities. Congress 

authorized NRC, through the Nuclear Education 

Program, to provide opportunities to qualified 

individuals and academic institutions through 

$15 million in funding for undergraduate 

scholarships, graduate fellowships, trade school 

scholarships, and faculty development grants. 

This program benefits the entire country by 

supporting and encouraging nuclear education 

and nuclear-related careers. 

Eligibility

The Nuclear Education Program provides— • Grants to support college faculty in science 

and engineering in the first 6 years of their 

academic careers. Funding will attract 

and retain highly qualified scientists and 

engineers in academic teaching careers like 

nuclear energy, health physics, and radio-

chemistry.

• Awards up to $300,000 for educational 

institutions. Grants may be awarded to 

tenure-track faculty in amounts of up to 

$150,000 for 1 year with matching funds of 

up to $50,000 from the university.

• Scholarships for undergraduates in nuclear 

science and engineering and fellowships 

for graduate study in nuclear engineering, 

health physics, and radiochemistry. Schol-

arships may be given in amounts of up to 

$20,000 a year for up to 2 years. A limited 

number of $50,000 fellowship grants may be 

given to individuals for up to 4 years. NRC 

only awards grants directly to accredited 

U.S. institutions of higher education and 

does not award individual scholarships or 

fellowships.

1. Applicants must maintain a 3.6 GPA overall 

and within major.

2. Applicants must be full-time students 

enrolled in graduate degree programs in a 

nuclear-related area.

3. Recipients must serve 6 months in nuclearrelated employment with NRC, other Federal 

agencies, State agencies, U.S. Department 

of Energy labs, nuclear-related industry, or 

academia in the recipients’ sponsored fields 

of study.** Scholarships may be awarded 

to accredited trade schools in nuclear fields, 

such as welding and electrical disciplines, in 

amounts of up to $150,000. Trade schools 

may award scholarships in amounts of up to 

$10,000 for 1 year. 

Proposal Review

Each highly-competitive proposal undergoes a 

rigorous panel and peer review. Proposals are 

selected through criteria including— • capacity and ability of the institution to 

effectively conduct the program

• number and quality of faculty or students 

that will be served

• quality and feasibility of development 

strategies

• feasibility and completeness of an evalua-

tion plan to measure the effectiveness of 

the program

• support for the program and the extent to 

which the institution is committed to making 

the program an organizational focus

Proposal deadlines and project milestones may 

be found on the grants Web site. Full proposal 

packages are available and can be submitted 

through http://www.grants.gov. You may also 

view frequently asked questions at http://www.

nrc.gov/about-nrc/grants.html.

Questions regarding the Faculty 

Development Grant Program may be 

directed to edufaculty@nrc.gov.

Questions regarding the Scholarship and 

Fellowship Program may be directed to 

eduscholar@nrc.gov.

Questions regarding the Trade School 

Scholarship Program may be directed to 

edutrades@nrc.gov.

** NRC may waive this requirement in 

appropriate circumstances.