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

# University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, 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 | $68,396 | recorded |
| Earnings range (25th–75th pct) | $41,808 – $102,779 | recorded |
| Typical federal debt | $14,334 | recorded |
| Debt of students who withdrew | $9,166 | recorded |
| Completion rate | 75% | recorded |
| Average annual net cost | $41,179 | recorded |
| % earning above a $28k HS-grad wage | 75% | recorded |
| Debt ÷ a year's earnings | 0.21× | derived |
| Earnings premium vs $28k HS benchmark | $40,396 | derived |

**75% 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 $14,334 (≈ 21% 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 $20,333 to $75,207 across 35 program(s).

| Major | Credential | Pay (1 yr out) | Median debt |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Computer Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $75,207 | $23,434 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $66,378 | $16,796 |
| Computer Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $63,040 | $16,499 |
| Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management. | Bachelor's Degree | $54,725 | $20,020 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering. | Bachelor's Degree | $53,515 | $23,000 |
| Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research. | Master's Degree | $53,511 | $30,726 |
| Business/Managerial Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $46,826 | $16,519 |
| Economics. | Bachelor's Degree | $41,483 | $18,017 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,972 | $18,959 |
| Chemistry. | Bachelor's Degree | $38,243 | $15,000 |
| Non-Professional Legal Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,945 | $17,883 |
| Physics. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,552 | $16,250 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $36,107 | $20,833 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $34,270 | $18,534 |
| Cognitive Science. | Bachelor's Degree | $33,286 | $18,981 |
| Design and Applied Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $31,645 | not reported |
| Mathematics. | Bachelor's Degree | $30,252 | $19,050 |
| Community Organization and Advocacy. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,789 | $15,862 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,436 | $15,124 |
| Political Science and Government. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,390 | $16,703 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,282 | $19,500 |
| Plant Sciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,179 | not reported |
| Biology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $29,134 | $20,500 |
| Philosophy. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,735 | $15,000 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research. | Bachelor's Degree | $28,054 | $18,487 |
| Sociology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,765 | $15,679 |
| Psychology, General. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,446 | $18,902 |
| Anthropology. | Bachelor's Degree | $27,008 | $16,035 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology. | Bachelor's Degree | $26,448 | $17,589 |
| History. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,560 | $18,100 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $24,155 | $15,692 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,717 | $16,740 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,543 | $19,000 |
| Fine and Studio Arts. | Bachelor's Degree | $23,275 | $19,500 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft. | Bachelor's Degree | $20,333 | $19,500 |

## 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-Santa Cruz by field of study at the official Scorecard: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?110714

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