---
title: University of California-Berkeley — cost, debt & earnings (College Scorecard)
location: Berkeley, CA
control: Public
source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard (2026-06-10 release)
sourceUrl: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
---

# University of California-Berkeley

Berkeley, CA · Public · Bachelor-granting

> Federal College Scorecard institution **medians** — not a prediction of any one student's outcome, and not a figure for any single program. Earnings/debt cover federally-aided students.

## The bottom line

| Figure | Value | Status |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Typical earnings, 10 yrs after entry | $92,446 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $58,247 – $153,111 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,000 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $8,250 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 93% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $45,619 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 84% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.13× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $64,446 | derived |

**93% of students finish** — the loans are owed whether or not you graduate, so read every figure below next to this number.

Typical **federal** loan debt is $12,000 (≈ 13% of a year's typical earnings here). Note: this counts federal loans only — not private loans, Parent PLUS, or family savings — so true borrowing is usually higher; and because dropouts borrow less, low-completion schools can show a deceptively low debt figure.

## Earnings by major (the number that decides "worth it")

> **Different measure — read on its own terms.** These are median earnings **1 year after completing the program** (early career, graduates only) — NOT the 10-years-after-entry school-wide figure above. Do not compare a program figure to the school figure; compare majors to each other. The Dept. of Education omits programs with too few graduates.

By program, early-career pay ranges from $23,934 to $166,181 across 66 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | First Professional Degree | $166,181 | $68,085 |
| Law. | First Professional Degree | $160,390 | $155,891 |
| Information Science/Studies. | First Professional Degree | $128,592 | $48,822 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $126,367 | $13,674 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $125,250 | $13,750 |
| Chemistry. | Doctoral Degree | $107,442 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $95,600 | not reported |
| Mechanical Engineering. | First Professional Degree | $94,925 | $24,250 |
| Education, General. | Doctoral Degree | $85,849 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Doctoral Degree | $82,868 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | First Professional Degree | $79,992 | $43,000 |
| City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning. | First Professional Degree | $78,993 | not reported |
| Public Policy Analysis. | First Professional Degree | $77,523 | $55,475 |
| Physics. | Doctoral Degree | $75,527 | not reported |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Doctoral Degree | $74,879 | not reported |
| Optometry. | First Professional Degree | $74,750 | $151,667 |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $74,508 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $74,034 | $11,300 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $73,836 | $13,000 |
| Public Health. | First Professional Degree | $71,774 | $45,725 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,330 | $12,650 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,282 | $14,500 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,767 | $18,155 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,227 | $15,400 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $69,327 | $14,342 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Doctoral Degree | $64,496 | not reported |
| Social Work. | First Professional Degree | $64,287 | $55,825 |
| Architecture. | First Professional Degree | $62,966 | not reported |
| Cognitive Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,295 | $14,589 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $59,096 | not reported |
| Social Sciences, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,102 | $15,000 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,573 | $14,896 |
| Architecture. | Bachelor's Degree | $52,215 | $15,000 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs. | Bachelor's Degree | $50,338 | $15,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | First Professional Degree | $48,329 | $59,723 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,287 | $11,100 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,541 | $18,500 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,449 | $11,077 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $44,447 | $11,708 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $43,877 | $15,000 |
| Social Work. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,882 | $13,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,238 | $13,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,250 | $12,817 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,090 | $13,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,526 | $13,000 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,373 | $14,839 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,997 | $11,593 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,519 | $13,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,365 | not reported |
| Journalism. | Master's Degree | $39,356 | not reported |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,349 | $14,455 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,711 | $14,500 |
| Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,358 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,294 | $13,000 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,329 | $13,450 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,678 | $13,034 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,616 | $12,979 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,313 | $15,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,067 | $15,012 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,168 | $12,280 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,747 | $14,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,620 | $12,572 |
| Nutrition Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,612 | $14,177 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,475 | $12,464 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,348 | $15,076 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,934 | $13,345 |

## What this is — and is NOT

Institution-wide medians from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. **Not** a prediction of what you would earn or owe, **not** a figure for any single program (a CS and a fine-arts graduate of the same school diverge enormously), **not** proof the school caused the outcome (selection, not causation), and **not** a "best college" ranking. Explore University of California-Berkeley by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110635

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Structured data (JSON-LD), each figure labeled by epistemic status: `/education/university-of-california-berkeley-ca.jsonld` · all schools: `/education`