College Plain

Colleges › California › UC Davis › Majors and salaries

UC Davis majors and salaries

University of California, Davis · Davis, California · Public · 32,253 undergraduates

62
of 93 bachelor's programs with pay data
$86,999
median earnings 10 years after enrolling
$12,038
median federal debt at graduation
86%
graduate within six years

Graduates left with a median $12,038 in federal loans, less than the $21,609 typical across four-year colleges. Fine and Studio Arts graduates earned the least four years out, a median of $40,453; the top program pays 3.6 times as much. University of Washington, North Carolina State University at Raleigh, University of Georgia and San Diego State trail UC Davis on median earnings ten years after enrollment, while University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign and University of Maryland, College Park are ahead.

Highest-paying bachelor's programs

Computer Engineering: $145,422Computer Engineering$145,422Computer and Information Sciences, General: $138,673Computer and Information Sciences,…$138,673Engineering, General: $114,228Engineering, General$114,228Chemical Engineering: $102,649Chemical Engineering$102,649Mechanical Engineering: $102,161Mechanical Engineering$102,161Biomedical/Medical Engineering: $98,504Biomedical/Medical Engineering$98,504Civil Engineering: $95,939Civil Engineering$95,939Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering: $93,414Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astro…$93,414Materials Engineering: $89,983Materials Engineering$89,983Statistics: $88,033Statistics$88,033Business/Managerial Economics: $87,455Business/Managerial Economics$87,455Biotechnology: $87,406Biotechnology$87,406
Median earnings four years after graduation, graduates working and not enrolled.

Every program with earnings data

ProgramGraduates (2 yrs)Median debtPay after 1 yrPay after 4 yrs
Computer Engineering224$12,093$94,722$145,422
Computer and Information Sciences, General58$11,000$91,845$138,673
Engineering, General0–$79,111$114,228
Chemical Engineering115$12,224$80,469$102,649
Mechanical Engineering304$12,060$81,149$102,161
Biomedical/Medical Engineering170$8,854$78,047$98,504
Civil Engineering246$12,302$76,288$95,939
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering146$13,113$75,453$93,414
Materials Engineering40–$87,472$89,983
Statistics430$11,000$58,819$88,033
Business/Managerial Economics0––$87,455
Biotechnology145$14,899$50,718$87,406
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods985$11,838$61,462$86,155
Economics849$10,500$51,106$83,248
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering208$14,883$78,729–
Physics107$16,233$46,391$78,569
Genetics166$14,666$47,413$77,411
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology157$12,090$48,169$74,343
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration119$13,250$46,715$73,595
Chemistry164$11,000$51,548$73,365
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences29––$73,337
Communication and Media Studies589$11,000$45,174$72,778
Mathematics155$10,743$49,163$72,640
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering63$11,083$72,558–
Plant Sciences50–$45,345$72,335
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology332$11,036$46,241$70,754
Food Science and Technology143$7,000$53,279$70,571
Public Administration and Social Service Professions, Other72$12,018$48,985$69,702
Social Sciences, Other––$53,181$68,535
Cognitive Science378$15,000$43,678$68,463
Biology, General917$11,500$38,522$68,120
Political Science and Government633$12,680$43,173$67,759
International Relations and National Security Studies233$12,000$42,448$67,056
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences197$12,917$48,363$66,461
Natural Resources Conservation and Research499$12,653$44,789$65,983
Applied Mathematics179$11,000–$65,508
Nutrition Sciences212$13,000$33,659$64,519
Neurobiology and Neurosciences781$12,500$37,311$63,720
Pharmacology and Toxicology32–$53,953$63,567
Design and Applied Arts531$12,592$38,255$62,209
Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology74$15,245$43,806$62,011
East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics43–$33,051$60,939
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics164$11,363$38,187$60,797
Psychology, Other0$9,911$40,976$60,257
Religion/Religious Studies16––$59,448
Sociology543$11,000$40,934$59,171
English Language and Literature, General296$13,500$37,793$59,012
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies285$11,000$40,510$58,670
Philosophy124$15,400$32,373$58,633
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services81$12,000$32,260$58,443
Agricultural Production Operations64$10,265$47,880$58,236
Film/Video and Photographic Arts157$12,800$31,184$57,999
History239$11,083$34,893$57,734
Research and Experimental Psychology1,924$11,500$36,942$57,378
Anthropology170$11,730$34,545$56,836
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft32–$31,185$56,823
Animal Sciences628$12,860$37,118$48,441
Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management168$11,823$35,913$46,209
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences83$12,918$45,719–
Marine Sciences36–$43,512–
Fine and Studio Arts141$12,250$28,396$40,453
Area Studies41–$31,701–

Programs are grouped by four-digit CIP code, so one row can cover several related majors. "Graduates" counts bachelor's degrees awarded across the two years that make up each earnings cohort.

Outcomes

Six-year graduation rate
86% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
First-year students who return
93%
Students per faculty member
22
Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
$86,999 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
Median federal debt at graduation
$12,038 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)

Colleges similar to UC Davis

The six public four-year colleges closest to UC Davis in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.

CollegeAcceptance rateUndergraduatesAvg net priceEarnings after 10 yrs
University of Washington
Seattle, WA		39%31,942$13,663$83,105
University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign
Champaign, IL		42%36,258$13,042$87,599
University of Maryland, College Park
College Park, MD		45%30,760$14,296$89,228
North Carolina State University at Raleigh
Raleigh, NC		42%27,371$16,486$77,810
University of Georgia
Athens, GA		38%32,137$13,636$77,246
San Diego State
San Diego, CA		36%35,377$13,243$73,494

Program earnings and debt come from the College Scorecard field-of-study file: median pay of graduates who were working and not enrolled, one and four years after finishing, for two pooled graduating classes. Programs with too few graduates are suppressed by the Department of Education and do not appear. College Scorecard data updated November 2, 2026. How these figures are built · UC Davis on College Scorecard