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College Ledger

Statement · Santa Cruz, CA

University of California-Santa Cruz

Public4-year · Bachelor's degreesCompare with other schools →

  1. Families earning under $30k paid $8,717 a year after grants and aid, against a published cost of $41,179.

  2. Students who received federal aid earned a median $68,396 ten years after entering, the 88th percentile among public 4-years.

  3. 75% of students finish within 150% of normal time.

Enrollment, 2023
21,109

What it costs

The published sticker cost is $41,179 a year; after grants, families who received aid paid between $8,717 and $33,323 a year depending on income at University of California-Santa Cruz.

Statement of cost · University of California-Santa Cruz

Family income (per year)
Sticker costPublished yearly cost of attendance, all students
$41,179
What families earning under $30k paidYearly net price after grants, for students receiving federal aid
$8,717
Average net price, all incomesAided students, all family incomes
$17,890
In-state tuition & feesLatest reported, 2024
$16,005

Each figure is reported separately; none is computed from another.

Net price by family income

Pick an income bracket above; the marked point follows. Dollars are what aided families paid each year after grants.

Yearly net price by family income, in dollars

under $30k: $8,717; $30–48k: $10,613; $48–75k: $14,418; $75–110k: $18,986; over $110k: $33,323. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years, from $8,778 to $16,425; dotted line at the median, $12,780.
  • Shaded: the middle half of public 4-years (all incomes), $8,778 to $16,425. Dotted line: the median, $12,780.
Table of the same numbers
Average yearly net price by family income bracket
Family incomePaid per year
Under $30k$8,717
$30k–$48k$10,613
$48k–$75k$14,418
$75k–$110k$18,986
Over $110k$33,323

College Scorecard, 2023–24 aid cohort (students who received federal aid)

What graduates earn and owe

Ten years after entry, the median federally aided student here earns $68,396; the median graduate who borrowed owes $16,666.

Statement, continued

Earnings, 6 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$49,716
Earnings, 8 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
$59,302
Median earnings 10 years after entryFederally aided (Title IV) students only. Median.
88th percentile among public 4-years
$68,396
Median debt, graduatesStudents who finished and borrowed federal loans.
34th percentile among public 4-years
$16,666
Median debt, all who borrowedEveryone who borrowed, whether or not they finished.
$14,334

Earnings and debt come from federal aid records, so students who never received federal aid are not counted.

Earnings after entry

The shaded band is the middle half of public 4-years at 10 years: $42,655 to $60,720.

6 yrs after entry: $49,716; 8 yrs after entry: $59,302; 10 yrs after entry: $68,396. Median graduate debt: $16,666. Shaded band: middle half of public 4-years at 10 years, from $42,655 to $60,720; dotted line at the median, $50,178.
  • Shaded: middle half of public 4-years, 10 years out ($42,655 to $60,720); dotted line is the median.
  • Dashed: median graduate debt, $16,666.

Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Hollow marks are rungs with no reported value, not zero.

Table of the same numbers
Earnings after entry and graduate debt
MeasureDollars
Median earnings, 6 yrs after entry$49,716
Median earnings, 8 yrs after entry$59,302
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry$68,396
Median graduate debt$16,666

College Scorecard, federal tax and aid records

What programs pay

Median earnings five years after completing, by field of study. Small programs are privacy-suppressed and shown as not reported, never zero.

What programs pay at University of California-Santa Cruz
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Computer ScienceBachelor's Degree658$120,928$16,666
Psychology, GeneralBachelor's Degree499$59,093$18,902
Business/Managerial EconomicsBachelor's Degree280$89,932$16,500
Biology, GeneralBachelor's Degree215$70,452$20,703
SociologyBachelor's Degree192$56,389$16,500
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical SciencesBachelor's Degree178$79,429$19,000
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and ServicesBachelor's Degree175$41,829$17,491
Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's Degree173$45,511$16,439
Natural Resources Conservation and ResearchBachelor's Degree167$60,229$18,500
EconomicsBachelor's Degree159$88,583$18,017
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population BiologyBachelor's Degree153$40,513$18,887
Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's Degree141$63,776$16,782
Show all 26 programs
Remaining programs
ProgramCredentialGraduatesEarnings, 5 yrsMedian debt
Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree132not reportednot reported
Non-Professional Legal StudiesBachelor's Degree126$62,817$18,416
Computer EngineeringBachelor's Degree125$137,877$23,392
AnthropologyBachelor's Degree124$47,407$17,875
Cognitive ScienceBachelor's Degree123$76,561$19,500
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group StudiesBachelor's Degree120$56,551$19,747
Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree115$35,979$19,500
HistoryBachelor's Degree104$48,101$18,279
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications EngineeringBachelor's Degree30$124,740$17,048
EconomicsMaster's Degree22$87,173not reported
Biomedical/Medical EngineeringBachelor's Degree5$98,115$22,500
Computer/Information Technology Administration and ManagementBachelor's Degree92$108,700$20,020
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular BiologyBachelor's Degree57$75,833$18,959
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and ResearchMaster's Degree52$66,992not reported

Source: College Scorecard field-of-study data.

Who goes here

University of California-Santa Cruz: 17,940 undergraduates; 32% of students receive Pell grants; 66% of applicants are admitted.

Admission rate

66%

23rd percentile among public 4-years

Undergraduates

17,940

85th percentile among public 4-years

Pell share

32%

of undergraduates receive Pell grants

48th percentile among public 4-years

Completion

75%

finish within 150% of normal time

92nd percentile among public 4-years

First-generation

37%

parents did not attend college

Median family income

$42,015

64th percentile among public 4-years

Students by family income

Share of students in each family-income bracket, for students who received federal aid.

  • Under $30k30%
  • $30k–$48k18%
  • $48k–$75knot reported
  • $75k–$110knot reported
  • Over $110knot reported
Show as a table
Students by family income
Family incomeShare of students
Under $30k30%
$30k–$48k18%
$48k–$75knot reported
$75k–$110knot reported
Over $110knot reported

Similar schools

These are the nearest neighbors in the same sector. The list is not an ordering.

Sources & caveats

Figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Built 2026-07-17.

not reported
Not reported: suppressed for privacy or never collected. It is not zero, and nothing has been filled in.
Percentiles
A percentile compares this school with others in its own sector (for example, public 4-year schools). It describes position, not quality.
Earnings
Earnings cover students who received federal (Title IV) aid, measured from the year they entered. Students who never received federal aid are not included.
Provenance notes
  • U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard, 2026-06 release. Earnings cover federally aided (Title IV) students only. Suppressed values are null, never imputed.
  • Annual Scorecard files 1996-2026. A null in early years usually means the measure was not yet collected, not zero.
  • Coordinates and locale describe the campus address, not where students live.