University of California-Merced
Merced, California · Public
Graduate earnings
16of 16 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical California high-school graduate (about $36,976 a year).
16 of 28 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 12 have no earnings published. The 43 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$11,983 a year By family income
What it would cost
Net price is the yearly cost after grants and scholarships, as reported for students who received federal aid.
Average for all families
$11,983 a year
About $47,932 over 4 years, if price and aid stay the same.
This multiplies the reported yearly net price by the years you choose. It is not a quote or a prediction: it leaves out interest, price rises and the chance of taking longer to finish.
Net price for every income band
| Family income | Net price per year |
|---|---|
| Under $30k | $7,945 |
| $30k to $48k | $8,465 |
| $48k to $75k | $11,557 |
| $75k to $110k | $14,828 |
| $110k and up | $28,734 |
| All families (average) | $11,983 |
College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Bands with no figure were not reported by the school.
Program earnings
Median earnings of each program’s graduates against a typical California high-school graduate ($36,976 a year).
16 of 71 programs could be assessed 23% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $59,249 | +$22,273 | clears the bar | $18,000 | 0.8 yrs | 308 |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $102,575 | +$65,599 | clears the bar | $19,003 | 0.3 yrs | 217 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $95,040 | +$58,064 | clears the bar | $18,498 | 0.3 yrs | 150 |
| Public Health | Bachelor's Degree | $56,393 | +$19,417 | clears the bar | $15,250 | 0.8 yrs | 112 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $62,815 | +$25,839 | clears the bar | $17,132 | 0.7 yrs | 102 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $50,468 | +$13,492 | clears the bar | $17,500 | 1.3 yrs | 95 |
| Cognitive Science | Bachelor's Degree | $51,147 | +$14,171 | clears the bar | $20,105 | 1.4 yrs | 54 |
| Biomedical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $88,795 | +$51,819 | clears the bar | $20,816 | 0.4 yrs | 50 |
| Applied Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $82,156 | +$45,180 | clears the bar | $15,500 | 0.3 yrs | 38 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | $56,888 | +$19,912 | clears the bar | $14,500 | 0.7 yrs | 31 |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $67,692 | +$30,716 | clears the bar | $19,303 | 0.6 yrs | 27 |
| English | Bachelor's Degree | $58,623 | +$21,647 | clears the bar | $24,000 | 1.1 yrs | 24 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $83,007 | +$46,031 | clears the bar | $20,619 | 0.4 yrs | 19 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $44,144 | +$7,168 | clears the bar | $15,455 | 2.2 yrs | 14 |
| Business Administration | Bachelor's Degree | $68,277 | +$31,301 | clears the bar | $16,000 | 0.5 yrs | 1 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $53,143 | +$16,167 | clears the bar | $16,500 | 1.0 yrs | 0 |
| Research Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 365 |
| Management Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 187 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 21 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 19 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 19 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Chemistry | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Materials Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Physics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Physics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Materials Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Public Health | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Management Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Cognitive Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Cognitive Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Chemistry | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Research Psychology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Sociology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Computer Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Computer Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Research Psychology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Political Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Mechanical Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Sociology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Biological/Biosystems Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Liberal Arts and General Studies | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Applied Mathematics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Public Health | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Biological/Biosystems Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Applied Mathematics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Economics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Political Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Biomedical Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Biomedical Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Materials Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Behavioral Sciences | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Behavioral Sciences | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Physical Sciences, Other | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Physical Sciences, Other | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Psychology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Psychology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Social Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| History | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| History | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Doctoral Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
Sources and definitions
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, release 2026-06-10. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid. Debt is federal loans only.
- The high-school line is ED’s state benchmark, $36,976 a year.
- Earnings not published: ED reports the program but no earnings figure, usually because too few graduates were measured. Nothing reported: ED lists the program with no figures at all. Neither is a judgement of the program.
- Debt as years of gain is median federal debt divided by how much more graduates earn per year than a typical high-school graduate. It is not a repayment time.
Compare with another college · Report an error · Methodology