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

# University of California-Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, 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 | $74,915 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $49,095 – $111,078 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $11,875 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $7,500 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 83% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $41,573 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 81% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.16× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $46,915 | derived |

**83% 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 $11,875 (≈ 16% 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 $19,866 to $104,226 across 42 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chemistry. | Doctoral Degree | $104,226 | not reported |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $86,276 | $13,500 |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $83,726 | $14,410 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $70,445 | $15,500 |
| Mechanical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $68,678 | $15,000 |
| Chemical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $61,540 | $14,937 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $59,465 | $13,440 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,194 | $11,128 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Master's Degree | $51,972 | $32,485 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,863 | $15,965 |
| Applied Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $49,765 | $17,000 |
| Statistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,652 | $17,167 |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,278 | $14,500 |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,219 | $17,000 |
| Communication and Media Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,054 | $13,000 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $40,310 | $15,805 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology. | Bachelor's Degree | $37,928 | $16,500 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,796 | $16,298 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,379 | $15,033 |
| International/Globalization Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $35,213 | $14,724 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,029 | $16,200 |
| Geography and Cartography. | Bachelor's Degree | $32,729 | $14,000 |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,350 | $14,500 |
| English Language and Literature, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,434 | $16,892 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,978 | $14,500 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,971 | $13,250 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,935 | $18,000 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,687 | $13,500 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,592 | $11,750 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,057 | $15,000 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,790 | $13,000 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,780 | $12,750 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,516 | $14,282 |
| Religion/Religious Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,438 | $16,500 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,487 | $15,000 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $25,193 | $19,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,656 | $16,667 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,510 | not reported |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,017 | $16,601 |
| Music. | Bachelor's Degree | $22,669 | not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $21,605 | $15,459 |
| Area Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $19,866 | $22,697 |

## 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-Santa Barbara by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110705

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