University of California, Santa Cruz — All Rankings Are Wrong

Back to Colleges

Basic Information

Type Public

Geographical Reach Regional

Location Santa Cruz, CA

Population 300,000

Website http://www.ucsc.edu/

Weather

Comfortable Days 195 (99% 😎)

Sunshine Hours 3,120 (92% ☀️)

Days Without Precipitation 322 (96% 🏖️)

Demographics

Total Undergraduates 18,101

Men / Women 47% / 53%

From State 92%

From Region 0%

Athletes 2.6%

Racial/Ethnic

White 30%

Hispanic 29%

Asian 24%

Mixed 9%

International 3%

Black 2%

Native American 0%

Men in the Entering Class

Men

Entering Class by Race & Ethnicity

Native Asian Black Hispanic White International

Share of the full-time first-time degree-seeking cohort. Groups IPEDS reports separately — two or more races, and race unknown — are left out, so the lines don't sum to 100%.

Enrolled Undergraduates by Race & Ethnicity

Native Asian Black Hispanic White International

Share of all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates, not just the entering class. Same excluded groups as above.

IPEDS Admissions (2011–2024), Graduation Rates (2011–2024) and 12-month Enrollment (2020–2025) surveys. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

Schools & Majors

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Baskin School of Engineering	1,104	75% / 25%	5%	$108,944	98	96%
Biomolecular Engineering	2 —	50% / 50%	0%	$88,037	89	94%
Computer Engineering	45 +2	80% / 20%	4%	$123,714	99	—
Computer Engineering	140 +1	84% / 16%	5%	$123,714	99	96%
Electrical Engineering	50 +1	74% / 26%	0%	$111,927	98	94%
Computer Science	684 +9	75% / 25%	5%	$108,506	98	97%
Technology and Information Management	118 —	72% / 28%	8%	$97,534	95	96%
Applied Mathematics	32 —	56% / 44%	6%	$99,189	95	—
Computational Mathematics	14 +5	64% / 36%	7%	$98,273	95	—
Biotechnology	19 —	58% / 42%	0%	$70,404	71	—

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Division of Humanities	389	35% / 65%	1%	$43,062	8	90%
American/United States Studies/Civilization	— —	—	—	$47,982	15	—
Applied Linguistics	12 —	33% / 67%	0%	$37,532	4	90%
Applied Linguistics and Multilingualism	49 +2	37% / 63%	0%	$37,532	4	90%
Classical Languages	3 —	0% / 100%	0%	$40,297	5	—
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies	36 +3	17% / 83%	0%	$50,742	21	94%
Feminist Studies	23 +2	0% / 100%	0%	$50,742	21	94%
History	76 +12	59% / 41%	1%	$43,160	8	84%
Jewish/Judaic Studies	2 —	50% / 50%	0%	—	—	—
Latin American and Latino Studies	36 +16	19% / 81%	0%	$50,742	21	94%
Linguistics	2 +1	0% / 100%	0%	$37,532	4	90%
Literature	93 +21	32% / 68%	0%	$37,532	4	90%
Philosophy	43 +6	53% / 47%	2%	$45,102	10	83%
Spanish	14 +14	29% / 71%	0%	$46,367	12	100%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Division of Physical and Biological Sciences	1,002	41% / 59%	2%	$60,341	49	92%
Astrophysics	40 +4	50% / 50%	18%	$45,759	11	88%
Chemistry	32 —	50% / 50%	6%	$59,481	47	91%
Earth Sciences	47 +1	57% / 43%	0%	$65,242	61	90%
Mathematics	33 +1	76% / 24%	6%	$68,522	68	92%
Physical Sciences	51 —	37% / 63%	0%	$58,422	44	—
Physics & Applied Physics	35 +4	71% / 29%	0%	$49,257	18	89%
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	56 —	61% / 39%	2%	$68,043	67	91%
Bioinformatics	61 +1	43% / 57%	3%	$67,560	66	—
Biology	139 +4	32% / 68%	1%	$63,215	57	93%
Biomedical Sciences	41 —	34% / 66%	2%	$63,215	57	93%
Ecology	— —	—	—	$36,351	3	93%
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	69 +1	39% / 61%	1%	—	—	—
Human Biology	81 +3	16% / 84%	0%	—	—	—
Microbiology	10 —	70% / 30%	0%	$67,287	66	—
Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology	137 +4	42% / 58%	1%	$71,270	73	92%
Neuroscience	41 +1	41% / 59%	0%	$56,974	39	95%
Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture	19 —	37% / 63%	0%	$53,520	29	—
Environmental Sciences	13 —	23% / 77%	0%	$54,042	30	95%
Marine Biology	81 +1	37% / 63%	1%	$36,351	3	93%
Natural Sciences	4 —	25% / 75%	0%	—	—	—
Plant Sciences	12 —	8% / 92%	0%	$54,826	33	100%
Global and Community Health	— —	—	—	$65,237	61	—

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Division of Social Sciences	1,728	36% / 64%	2%	$63,088	56	93%
Environmental Studies	165 +6	30% / 70%	0%	$54,042	30	95%
Business Management Economics	70 +1	69% / 31%	13%	$79,484	83	95%
Business/Managerial Economics	258 +4	65% / 35%	3%	$80,694	84	95%
Economics	18 —	83% / 17%	6%	$79,484	83	95%
International Economics	13 —	46% / 54%	8%	$79,484	83	95%
Anthropology	84 —	26% / 74%	0%	$42,537	7	89%
Archeology	— —	—	—	$48,602	16	—
Behavioral Sciences	464 +77	23% / 77%	2%	—	—	—
Cognitive Science	181 +1	39% / 61%	0%	$68,697	68	85%
Community Organization and Advocacy	22 —	18% / 82%	0%	$46,874	13	96%
Community Studies	133 +55	26% / 74%	2%	$50,597	21	93%
Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies	— —	—	—	$50,614	21	—
Politics	104 +48	43% / 57%	0%	$57,225	40	95%
Psychology	— —	—	—	$53,023	27	92%
Education	100 +18	19% / 81%	2%	$57,092	40	—
Educational Studies	2 —	50% / 50%	0%	—	—	—
Science Education	— —	—	—	$52,575	26	—
Legal Studies	114 +13	31% / 69%	2%	$56,364	38	96%

⇅	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Division of the Arts	432	46% / 54%	3%	$35,939	3	87%
Games and Playable Media	— —	—	—	$58,329	43	100%
Animation	140 +4	56% / 44%	5%	—	—	—
Art	105 +1	29% / 71%	0%	$32,283	2	86%
Film and Digital Media	120 +7	52% / 48%	3%	$40,836	6	86%
History of Art and Visual Culture	34 +15	21% / 79%	0%	$32,283	2	86%
Music	15 +2	60% / 40%	7%	$35,673	3	—
Theater Arts	18 +8	56% / 44%	0%	$31,758	2	94%

Financial

In-State Tuition & Fees $16,815

Out-of-State Tuition & Fees $53,411

Est. In-State Cost $21,752

Est. Out-of-State Cost $69,092

ROI Percentile 73th

Retention & Graduation

Full-Time Retention 88%

4-Year Graduation Rate 62%

6-Year Graduation Rate 75%

Transfer-Out Rate 10%

Six-Year Graduation Rate

Graduated

Students finishing within 150% of normal time. Each year labels the cohort that entered six years earlier — 2024 tracks the class that started in 2018.

Six-Year Graduation Rate by Gender

Men Women

IPEDS reports the cohort as men and women only.

Six-Year Graduation Rate by Race & Ethnicity

Asian Hispanic White International

Each group's completers over its own share of the entering cohort. Groups making up less than 2% of everyone this college graduated over the period are left off — their rates swing on a handful of students and read as noise.

IPEDS Graduation Rates survey, 2011–2024. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

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).

Academics

⇅	%	Degrees	Male/Female	Intl	Earnings	ROI	Employment
Humanities & Social Sciences	29.6%	1,377	31% / 69%	1%	$50,916	22	90%
Computer Science	17.2%	802	75% / 25%	5%	$106,892	98	96%
Life & Natural Sciences	14.0%	654	38% / 62%	1%	$66,311	64	93%
Arts	9.3%	432	46% / 54%	3%	$35,940	3	87%
Business & Economics	7.7%	359	66% / 34%	6%	$80,354	84	95%
Agriculture & Food Science	6.3%	294	31% / 69%	0%	$49,099	17	95%
Physical Sciences & Math	6.1%	284	56% / 44%	5%	$64,489	60	90%
Engineering	5.1%	237	81% / 19%	4%	$120,926	99	96%
Professional	2.4%	114	31% / 69%	2%	$56,364	38	96%
Education	2.2%	102	20% / 80%	2%	$57,092	40	—

Research R1

⇅	Research $	Rank	Federal	Industry $	PhDs	Rank	PhD students	Postdocs
Physical Sciences & Math	$81.8M	#42	49%	$0.5M	57	#54	386	74
Engineering	$54.2M	#97	79%	$0.7M	17	#141	64	13
Life & Natural Sciences	$37.5M	#95	59%	$0.1M	31	#77	243	63
Humanities & Social Sciences	$20.5M	#101	8%	$0	46	#110	203	7
Computer Science	$13.0M	#69	51%	$1.3M	14	#71	245	9
Agriculture & Food Science	$5.0M	#91	7%	$0	4	#81	37	10
Education	$1.2M	#218	55%	$0	3	#401	—	—
Business & Economics	$1.1M	#208	21%	$0	5	#188	48	—
Health Sciences	$0	#441	—	$0	—	—	—	—
Total	$214M	#119	53%	$2.6M	177	#123	1,226	176

Expenditure and funding source: NSF HERD, FY2024. Degrees: IPEDS completions, 2023–24. Students and postdocs: NSF Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates, fall 2024, which covers science, engineering and selected health fields only. An em dash means the source does not report the figure, which is not the same as zero.

Admissions

Uses Common App No

Acceptance Rate 82%

Yield (Unbound) 7%

Regular Decision Jan 1

Acceptance Rates

	In-State	Out-of-State	International
Regular Decision	82%	82%	82%

Acceptance & Yield

Acceptance Yield

Applicants, Admitted & Enrolled

Applicants Admitted Enrolled

IPEDS Admissions survey, 2011–2024. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line.

Standardized Tests

Test Policy blind

SAT Composite

25th 75th

SAT Math

25th 75th

SAT Reading & Writing

25th 75th

Submitting a Test Score

Submitted

IPEDS Admissions survey, 2011–2024. Years a college didn't file leave a gap in the line. Test-score submission adds SAT and ACT submitters, capped at 100% — a student can send both.