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UC Santa Barbara majors and salaries
University of California, Santa Barbara · Santa Barbara, California · Public · 23,113 undergraduates
Music graduates earned the least four years out, a median of $33,825; the top program pays 4.4 times as much. Graduates left with a median $11,776 in federal loans, less than the $21,609 typical across four-year colleges. Economics awards the most degrees here (1,398 over two years), and it also pays above most other programs: $98,178 four years out.
Highest-paying bachelor's programs
Every program with earnings data
| Program | Graduates (2 yrs) | Median debt | Pay after 1 yr | Pay after 4 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Science | 336 | $10,000 | $121,223 | $149,190 |
| Computer Engineering | 139 | $10,000 | $101,093 | $144,703 |
| Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering | 116 | $12,436 | $87,938 | $117,215 |
| Chemical Engineering | 85 | $13,833 | $82,313 | $113,317 |
| Applied Mathematics | 362 | $11,567 | $62,507 | $109,360 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 169 | $12,583 | $80,791 | $104,336 |
| Pharmacology and Toxicology | 119 | $11,000 | $42,364 | $98,462 |
| Economics | 1,398 | $11,528 | $70,608 | $98,178 |
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods | 85 | – | $78,375 | $96,078 |
| Statistics | 730 | $13,800 | $67,908 | $90,778 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology | 153 | $5,765 | $61,491 | $90,694 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology | 80 | $14,607 | $51,399 | $90,061 |
| Mathematics | 232 | $13,000 | $54,285 | $85,391 |
| Physics | 321 | $12,804 | $64,520 | $85,219 |
| Chemistry | 189 | $14,499 | $56,258 | $74,713 |
| Communication and Media Studies | 1,269 | $11,108 | $51,428 | $72,976 |
| Philosophy | 201 | $11,349 | $38,395 | $71,796 |
| Political Science and Government | 641 | $11,927 | $43,555 | $70,384 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 116 | $12,291 | $34,041 | $68,496 |
| Geography and Cartography | 141 | $11,000 | $45,501 | $67,521 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences | 102 | $16,500 | $41,816 | $66,788 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology | 1,316 | $10,373 | $39,116 | $66,171 |
| International/Globalization Studies | 280 | $12,399 | $46,238 | $66,127 |
| Biology, General | 772 | $11,516 | $38,556 | $64,520 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research | 690 | $11,500 | $42,711 | $63,628 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services | 227 | $10,166 | $31,482 | $61,580 |
| Sociology | 1,342 | $10,000 | $40,249 | $60,013 |
| History | 330 | $11,833 | $35,364 | $59,342 |
| English Language and Literature, General | 311 | $11,601 | $35,102 | $59,334 |
| Area Studies | 43 | – | $35,749 | $59,042 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies | 155 | $11,010 | $39,589 | $59,004 |
| Anthropology | 238 | $10,388 | $37,165 | $56,238 |
| Zoology/Animal Biology | 54 | $11,000 | $30,872 | $53,727 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology | 168 | $12,000 | $38,535 | $50,694 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | 386 | $11,125 | $35,065 | $49,893 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences | 106 | – | $48,186 | – |
| Fine and Studio Arts | 237 | $10,239 | $33,711 | $46,428 |
| Dance | 43 | – | – | $44,858 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft | 64 | $12,734 | $30,366 | $44,106 |
| Religion/Religious Studies | 44 | – | $46,342 | $43,377 |
| Music | 57 | $9,816 | – | $33,825 |
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
- 84% (four-year colleges: 54% median)
- First-year students who return
- 93%
- Students per faculty member
- 17
- Median earnings 10 years after enrolling
- $82,568 (four-year colleges: $58,912 median)
- Median federal debt at graduation
- $11,776 (four-year colleges: $21,609 median)
Colleges similar to UC Santa Barbara
The six public four-year colleges closest to UC Santa Barbara in acceptance rate and undergraduate enrollment.
| College | Acceptance rate | Avg net price | Earnings after 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA | 31% | $18,832 | $96,304 |
| UC Irvine Irvine, CA | 29% | $13,866 | $83,432 |
| San Diego State San Diego, CA | 36% | $13,243 | $73,494 |
| Clemson Clemson, SC | 38% | $22,032 | $79,064 |
| University of California, San Diego La Jolla, CA | 27% | $14,794 | $96,197 |
| North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC | 42% | $16,486 | $77,810 |
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 Santa Barbara on College Scorecard