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

# University of California-Merced

Merced, 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 | $64,368 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $42,064 – $95,770 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $12,750 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $6,750 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 69% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $39,665 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | not reported | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.20× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $36,368 | derived |

**69% 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 $12,750 (≈ 20% 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 $23,722 to $55,936 across 16 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,936 | $18,498 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,675 | $19,003 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,245 | $16,000 |
| Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,917 | $20,619 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,306 | not reported |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,420 | $20,816 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,397 | $14,500 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,755 | $15,500 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,099 | $15,250 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,771 | $19,303 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,685 | $18,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,521 | $17,132 |
| Cognitive Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,909 | $20,105 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,866 | not reported |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,524 | $17,500 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,722 | $16,500 |

## 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-Merced by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?445188

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