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

# University of California-San Diego

La Jolla, 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 | $84,943 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $57,071 – $127,245 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,778 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $10,924 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 86% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $38,701 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 84% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.17× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $56,943 | derived |

**86% 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 $14,778 (≈ 17% 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 $18,064 to $127,768 across 67 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Science. | Master's Degree | $127,768 | $25,903 |
| Computer Engineering. | Master's Degree | $122,641 | not reported |
| Engineering, Other. | Master's Degree | $118,445 | not reported |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General. | Master's Degree | $116,086 | not reported |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations. | Master's Degree | $112,603 | $92,221 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Master's Degree | $97,196 | $34,311 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $87,738 | $16,166 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $87,102 | not reported |
| Civil Engineering. | Master's Degree | $81,591 | $20,500 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $79,476 | $18,414 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Master's Degree | $78,610 | $37,282 |
| Chemistry. | Doctoral Degree | $74,063 | not reported |
| Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies. | Master's Degree | $72,506 | not reported |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $71,127 | $20,000 |
| Mathematics and Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,863 | $18,887 |
| Biological/Biosystems Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $64,592 | $18,716 |
| International Relations and National Security Studies. | Master's Degree | $63,539 | $44,160 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $62,687 | $20,000 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,511 | $20,008 |
| Civil Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $60,478 | $16,400 |
| Medicine. | Doctoral Degree | $60,121 | not reported |
| Engineering, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $55,148 | $18,954 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,802 | $15,249 |
| Education, General. | Master's Degree | $54,702 | $31,045 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,711 | $18,500 |
| Biology, General. | Doctoral Degree | $50,910 | not reported |
| Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $48,470 | $18,000 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $47,472 | $15,127 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $45,324 | $20,000 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Master's Degree | $42,953 | not reported |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,370 | $14,667 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $42,080 | $18,583 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,542 | $15,500 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,524 | $18,000 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,393 | $15,499 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,222 | $16,250 |
| Cognitive Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $39,060 | $17,427 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Master's Degree | $38,919 | not reported |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,643 | $16,050 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,732 | $19,968 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,778 | $13,555 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,173 | $13,193 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,915 | $17,359 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,263 | $13,811 |
| Biology, General. | Master's Degree | $31,122 | $24,482 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,287 | $24,237 |
| Public Health. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,159 | $15,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,964 | $13,000 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,743 | $13,500 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,604 | $14,814 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,415 | $19,000 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,313 | $15,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,140 | $18,000 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,579 | $15,000 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,185 | $15,446 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,976 | $16,756 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,086 | $17,450 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,884 | $11,000 |
| Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,882 | $19,000 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,354 | $14,497 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Master's Degree | $24,410 | $34,436 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,033 | $18,367 |
| English Language and Literature/Letters, Other. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,736 | $18,000 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,536 | $19,500 |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,195 | $15,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,321 | $14,458 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $18,064 | $14,833 |

## 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-San Diego by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110680

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