University of California-Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, California · Public
Graduate earnings
34of 36 assessed undergraduate programs
have graduates earning more than a typical California high-school graduate (about $36,976 a year). 2 fall short.
36 of 57 undergraduate programs could be assessed. The other 21: 20 with no earnings published and 1 with nothing reported. 2 verdicts use 1-year earnings, an earlier career stage. The 78 graduate programs are in the table.
Average net price, all families$17,890 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
$17,890 a year
About $71,560 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 | $8,717 |
| $30k to $48k | $10,613 |
| $48k to $75k | $14,418 |
| $75k to $110k | $18,986 |
| $110k and up | $33,323 |
| All families (average) | $17,890 |
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).
40 of 135 programs could be assessed 30% have an earnings verdict
| Program | Degree | Median earnings | vs a high-school grad | Verdict | Median debt | Debt as years of gain | Recent completers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | Bachelor's Degree | $123,422 | +$86,446 | clears the bar | $16,499 | 0.2 yrs | 658 |
| Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | $59,948 | +$22,972 | clears the bar | $18,902 | 0.8 yrs | 499 |
| Business/Managerial Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $82,064 | +$45,088 | clears the bar | $16,519 | 0.4 yrs | 280 |
| Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $65,036 | +$28,060 | clears the bar | $20,500 | 0.7 yrs | 215 |
| Sociology | Bachelor's Degree | $55,338 | +$18,362 | clears the bar | $15,679 | 0.9 yrs | 192 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | $69,849 | +$32,873 | clears the bar | $18,534 | 0.6 yrs | 178 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Bachelor's Degree | $49,763 | +$12,787 | clears the bar | $16,740 | 1.3 yrs | 175 |
| Film and Photography | Bachelor's Degree | $45,815 | +$8,839 | clears the bar | $15,692 | 1.8 yrs | 173 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Bachelor's Degree | $55,240 | +$18,264 | clears the bar | $18,487 | 1.0 yrs | 167 |
| Economics | Bachelor's Degree | $76,382 | +$39,406 | clears the bar | $18,017 | 0.5 yrs | 159 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $49,821 | +$12,845 | clears the bar | $17,589 | 1.4 yrs | 153 |
| Political Science | Bachelor's Degree | $65,890 | +$28,914 | clears the bar | $16,703 | 0.6 yrs | 141 |
| Design | Bachelor's Degree | $66,333 | +$29,357 | clears the bar | not published | not assessed | 132 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $66,244 | +$29,268 | clears the bar | $17,883 | 0.6 yrs | 126 |
| Computer Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $124,641 | +$87,665 | clears the bar | $23,434 | 0.3 yrs | 125 |
| Anthropology | Bachelor's Degree | $52,315 | +$15,339 | clears the bar | $16,035 | 1.0 yrs | 124 |
| Cognitive Science | Bachelor's Degree | $72,125 | +$35,149 | clears the bar | $18,981 | 0.5 yrs | 123 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Bachelor's Degree | $55,798 | +$18,822 | clears the bar | $19,500 | 1.0 yrs | 120 |
| Fine Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $40,156 | +$3,180 | clears the bar | $19,500 | 6.1 yrs | 115 |
| History | Bachelor's Degree | $60,519 | +$23,543 | clears the bar | $18,100 | 0.8 yrs | 104 |
| Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | $59,214 | +$22,238 | clears the bar | $19,050 | 0.9 yrs | 96 |
| IT Administration and Management | Bachelor's Degree | $94,589 | +$57,613 | clears the bar | $20,020 | 0.3 yrs | 92 |
| Biochemistry and Molecular Biology | Bachelor's Degree | $88,305 | +$51,329 | clears the bar | $18,959 | 0.4 yrs | 57 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Bachelor's Degree | $64,499 | +$27,523 | clears the bar | $20,833 | 0.8 yrs | 55 |
| Chemistry | Bachelor's Degree | $71,348 | +$34,372 | clears the bar | $15,000 | 0.4 yrs | 54 |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Master's Degree | $73,343 | +$36,367 | above HS line | $30,726 | 0.8 yrs | 52 |
| Philosophy | Bachelor's Degree | $51,398 | +$14,422 | clears the bar | $15,000 | 1.0 yrs | 51 |
| Neuroscience | Bachelor's Degree | $69,027 | +$32,051 | clears the bar | $19,000 | 0.6 yrs | 46 |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics | Bachelor's Degree | $35,1711-year earnings | -$1,805 | falls short (1-yr) | $20,400 | no earnings gain | 40 |
| Physics | Bachelor's Degree | $37,8591-year earnings | +$883 | clears the bar (1-yr) | $16,250 | 18.4 yrs | 36 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy | Bachelor's Degree | $56,620 | +$19,644 | clears the bar | $15,862 | 0.8 yrs | 31 |
| Electrical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $118,290 | +$81,314 | clears the bar | $16,796 | 0.2 yrs | 30 |
| Theatre | Bachelor's Degree | $30,524 | -$6,452 | falls short | $19,500 | no earnings gain | 24 |
| Economics | Master's Degree | $110,425 | +$73,449 | above HS line | not published | not assessed | 22 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | $51,519 | +$14,543 | clears the bar | $15,124 | 1.0 yrs | 16 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Doctoral Degree | $70,373 | +$33,397 | above HS line | not published | not assessed | 14 |
| Biomedical Engineering | Bachelor's Degree | $98,567 | +$61,591 | clears the bar | $23,000 | 0.4 yrs | 5 |
| Computer Engineering | Master's Degree | $120,7561-year earnings | +$83,780 | above HS line (1-yr) | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Graphic Communications | Bachelor's Degree | $58,163 | +$21,187 | clears the bar | $20,411 | 1.0 yrs | not published |
| Behavioral Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | $54,606 | +$17,630 | clears the bar | $17,000 | 1.0 yrs | not published |
| Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 70 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 58 |
| Physical Sciences, General | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 58 |
| Computer Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 57 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 30 |
| Electrical Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 30 |
| Applied Mathematics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 19 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 18 |
| Chemistry | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 16 |
| Computer and Information Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Music | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 15 |
| Agricultural Production Operations | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Plant Sciences | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 13 |
| Computer Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 12 |
| Human Computer Interaction | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Physics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 11 |
| Public Relations and Advertising | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Computer Engineering | Doctoral 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 |
| Film and Photography | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 10 |
| Environmental/Natural Resources Management and Policy | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Psychology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 9 |
| Applied Mathematics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Film and Photography | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| History | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 8 |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Architectural Engineering Technologies/Technicians | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Mathematics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Economics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 7 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Natural Resources and Conservation | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Biotechnology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 6 |
| Electrical Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Mathematics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Applied Mathematics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Astronomy and Astrophysics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Geology and Earth Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Sociology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Theatre | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Fine Arts | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Music | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 5 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Teacher Education (by subject) | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Chemistry | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Anthropology | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Political Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 4 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Psychology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 3 |
| Statistics | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Statistics | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Sociology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Music | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 2 |
| Interdisciplinary Studies | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Philosophy | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Philosophy | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Archeology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 1 |
| Area Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer and Information Science | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer and Information Science | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer Software and Media Applications | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Education | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Education | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Systems Engineering | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Systems Engineering | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other | Doctoral Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Cognitive Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Research Psychology | Bachelor's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Anthropology | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Political Science | Master's Degree | not published | not assessed | earnings not published | not published | not assessed | 0 |
| Social Sciences, Other | Master's 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 |
| Communications and Media | Graduate/Professional Certificate | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Radio, TV and Digital Media | Master's Degree | not reported | not reported | nothing reported | not reported | not reported | not reported |
| Natural Sciences | Bachelor's 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.
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