It incorporates several research organizations including the Nuclear Safety Research Center, the Pegasus Toroidal Experiment Program, the Fusion Technology Institute, and some portions of the Applied Superconductivity Center, Center for Plasma Theory and Computation, and Engineering Research Center for Plasma-Aided Manufacturing. The department places considerable emphasis on establishing research teams or group research, as well as traditional research activity by individual faculty members and their students. The groups frequently involve faculty, scientific staff, and graduate students from several departments, adding a strong interdisciplinary flavor to the research. Students sometimes perform thesis work at national laboratories such as at Argonne National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Ph.D. employment varies in relation to the career goals of the graduate.
Many graduates accept employment with the national laboratories or with federal agencies.
Some accept faculty or postdoctoral positions with universities. Financial Aid Fellowships, traineeships, research assistantships, and teaching assistantships are available to qualified students, department budgets permitting. These awards are granted on the basis of undergraduate records, professional recommendations, and other factors indicating probable success in graduate study. Students who receive financial support are required to carry a full program of graduate studies. Holders of research assistantships, fellowships, scholarships, and traineeships must carry 8 credits during a regular semester and a minimum of 2 graduate credits in the summer session.