Back to Colleges

University of California, Santa Cruz

Basic Information

Type Public
Geographical Reach Regional
Location Santa Cruz, CA
Population 300,000
Website http://www.ucsc.edu/
Map of the United States

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 17,812
Men / Women 47% / 53%
White 33%
Hispanic 26%
Asian 23%
Mixed 8%
International 3%
Black 2%
Native American 1%
From State 92%
From Region 0%

Academics

Undergraduate Degrees
Humanities & Social Sciences 32%
Computer Science 19%
Life & Natural Sciences 19%
Business & Economics 9%
Arts 7%
Physical Sciences & Math 7%
Engineering 4%
Education 2%

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,005
Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $50,205
Est. In-State Cost $20,704
Est. Out-of-State Cost $64,945
10-Year ROI $206,000
ROI Percentile 84th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 88%
4-Year Graduation Rate 61%
6-Year Graduation Rate 75%
Transfer-Out Rate 10%

Weather

Comfortable Days 195 (99% 😎)
Sunshine Hours 3,120 (92% ☀️)
Days Without Precipitation 322 (96% 🏖️)

Admissions

Uses Common App No
Acceptance Rate 73%
Yield (Unbound) 9%
Regular Decision Jan 1

Research

Research Level R1
Expenditure
Engineering, Computing & Math $71M #89
Life & Natural Sciences $121M #103
Humanities & Social Sciences $10M #133
Graduate Degrees
Engineering, Computing & Math 41 #119
Life & Natural Sciences 82 #216
Humanities & Social Sciences 60 #231

Honors College

Standardized Tests

Test Scores

Test Policy blind

Earnings by Major Category

Each major category's degree-weighted estimated median 5-year earnings at this college, expressed as a z-score against the national degree-weighted distribution for that category. 0 is the national average. The shaded band between +1.28 and −1.28 marks the central 80% of the national distribution (10th–90th percentile).

Schools & Majors

⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Baskin School of Engineering 1,013 80% / 20% 7% $121,136 96%
Biomolecular Engineering 4 — 50% / 50% 25% $98,115 95 94%
Computer Engineering 154 — 84% / 16% 7% $137,877 100 96%
Computer Engineering — — — — $127,024 99 —
Electrical Engineering 49 +1 84% / 16% 2% $124,740 99 94%
Computer Science 653 +2 81% / 19% 7% $120,928 99 97%
Technology and Information Management 105 +2 72% / 28% 9% $108,700 98 96%
Applied Mathematics 30 — 70% / 30% 7% $100,245 96 —
Computational Mathematics 11 +4 64% / 36% 9% $97,643 95 —
Biotechnology 7 +1 29% / 71% 0% $73,294 77 —
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Humanities 418 36% / 64% 2% $47,895 89%
American/United States Studies/Civilization 1 — 100% / 0% 0% $55,781 38 —
Applied Linguistics 15 — 20% / 80% 0% $41,829 7 90%
Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism 36 +4 39% / 61% 3% $41,829 7 90%
Classical Languages 5 — 20% / 80% 0% $45,727 12 —
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies 34 +1 26% / 74% 3% $56,551 41 94%
Feminist Studies 26 +3 12% / 88% 0% $56,551 41 94%
History 93 +4 56% / 44% 2% $48,101 17 84%
Latin American and Latino Studies 44 +9 16% / 84% 0% $56,551 41 94%
Linguistics 6 +4 17% / 83% 17% $41,829 7 90%
Literature 113 +15 32% / 68% 1% $41,829 7 90%
Philosophy 39 +9 64% / 36% 3% $50,265 23 83%
Spanish 6 +11 0% / 100% 0% $51,675 26 100%
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Physical and Biological Sciences 1,049 44% / 56% 3% $65,485 92%
Astrophysics 34 +2 62% / 38% 6% $50,998 25 88%
Chemistry 38 — 55% / 45% 5% $66,290 65 91%
Earth Sciences 52 — 60% / 40% 6% $72,711 76 90%
Mathematics 55 +2 69% / 31% 11% $76,366 81 92%
Physical Sciences 65 +1 52% / 48% 2% $64,486 62 —
Physics & Applied Physics 37 +6 81% / 19% 11% $54,896 36 89%
Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture 26 — 35% / 65% 0% $60,338 52 —
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 43 — 47% / 53% 2% $75,833 80 91%
Bioinformatics 50 — 54% / 46% 4% $72,484 76 —
Biology 141 +1 38% / 62% 0% $70,452 73 93%
Biomedical Sciences 76 — 29% / 71% 1% $70,452 73 93%
Ecology 71 — 37% / 63% 1% $40,513 6 93%
Environmental Sciences 25 +1 24% / 76% 0% $60,229 51 95%
Marine Biology 92 +3 34% / 66% 3% $40,513 6 93%
Microbiology 1 — 0% / 100% 0% $68,950 70 —
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology 179 +5 41% / 59% 1% $79,429 84 92%
Neuroscience 35 +2 43% / 57% 0% $63,496 60 95%
Plant Sciences 10 — 20% / 80% 0% $61,102 54 100%
Global and Community Health 19 +1 26% / 74% 5% $66,621 66 —
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of Social Sciences 1,709 42% / 58% 4% $67,899 93%
Environmental Studies 134 +6 40% / 60% 1% $60,229 51 95%
Business Management Economics 103 +1 70% / 30% 19% $88,583 91 95%
Business/Managerial Economics 304 +2 69% / 31% 9% $89,932 91 95%
Economics 18 — 72% / 28% 39% $88,583 91 95%
International Economics 9 +1 56% / 44% 11% $88,583 91 95%
Anthropology 101 — 35% / 65% 0% $47,407 16 89%
Archeology 2 — 100% / 0% 0% $55,043 36 —
Cognitive Science 142 +1 36% / 64% 3% $76,561 81 85%
Community Organization and Advocacy 26 — 38% / 62% 4% $52,240 28 96%
Community Studies 121 +49 21% / 79% 0% $56,389 40 93%
Legal Studies 104 +10 25% / 75% 1% $62,817 58 96%
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies — — — — $55,923 39 —
Politics 121 +45 55% / 45% 1% $63,776 60 95%
Psychology 448 +59 30% / 70% 2% $59,093 48 92%
Education 73 +7 19% / 81% 1% $58,516 47 —
Science Education 3 — 0% / 100% 0% $56,155 40 —
⇅ Trends Degrees Male/Female Intl Earnings ROI Employment
Division of the Arts 469 52% / 48% 3% $48,348 91%
Games and Playable Media 147 +2 61% / 39% 4% $65,006 63 100%
Art 92 +3 35% / 65% 1% $35,979 3 86%
Film and Digital Media 158 +17 58% / 42% 4% $45,511 12 86%
History of Art and Visual Culture 38 +11 37% / 63% 0% $35,979 3 86%
Music 10 — 70% / 30% 0% $40,217 6 —
Theater Arts 24 +10 33% / 67% 0% $35,394 3 94%

Rankings

Politically Correct

Protest 101 Woke to the Bone
Progressive HQ

Computer Science

No, I Can't Fix Your Printer Computer Science (Eng)
10k-Student Server Crashers
Pixels, Psychology, and Post-its Human-Computer Interaction
Silicon Valley UX Factories

Physical Sciences & Math

Rocks and Whales Earth & Atmospheric Sciences
Core Samplers
The "I Understand Interstellar" Elite Physics & Astronomy
The Cosmic Voyeurs (Astrophysics & Astronomy)
No Words Allowed Pure Mathematics
Sigma Grindset

Life & Natural Sciences

Pre-Med Reject Waiting Room Biology
Cell Division
Photosynthesis Fan Club Ecology & Plant Biology
Petal Pushers
Doomsday Prepping with Data Environmental Science
Field Station
Puppies Over People Zoology & Veterinary Sciences
Overqualified Scuba Divers (Marine Biology)

Business & Economics

It's Basic Supply and Demand, Bro Economics
Comparative Advantage State Anchors

Humanities & Social Sciences

Much Ado About Nothing English, Literature & Writing
Page Turners
Saving the Planet, One Policy at a Time Environmental Policy & Sustainability
Compost Curriculum
Smashing the Patriarchy 101 Gender Studies
Activist Academics
I'll Figure Out the Career Later Liberal Arts & Interdisciplinary
Dabbler Deluxe
Decolonizing the Curriculum Regional & Ethnic Studies
Heritage Heroes
Everything is a Construct Sociology & Anthropology
Field Observers
Grammar Police Academy World Languages & Linguistics
Morpheme Masters

Arts

Trapped in the Render Queue Digital Arts & Photography
Silicon Valley Creatives