Santa Clara University

The published cost of attendance at Santa Clara University is $82,026. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported tuition of $64,956, required fees of $780, and on-campus food and housing of $21,234 for the 2026-27 academic year.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients is $50,062. That is $22,691 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Financial aid reduces the sticker price by $31,964 on average. Azimuth ranks the university #1,387 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The net price is the figure behind the ranking, and the sticker price alone tells a different story.

Santa Clara University carries a high published cost of attendance of $82,026, but aid recipients’ prices differ widely by family-income band. The average net price is $22,985 for the low-income family band, $19,154 for the lower-middle band, and $26,531 for the middle band.

It reaches $37,219 in the upper-middle family-income band and $60,678 for the high-income band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $37,693.

Azimuth ranks the university #1,387 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 39% of the published cost, a savings of $31,964 against the sticker price.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $50,062. That is $22,691 above the peer median net price of $27,371, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid reduces the published charge, yet the overall price remains above the comparable-institution midpoint. Among federal student loan borrowers who complete, median federal student debt is $19,162, and 88.0% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

The peer median federal debt is $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size), making Santa Clara’s figure $5,037 below that benchmark. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.

Among parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $56,271.

Santa Clara University pairs earnings above its peer median with a high return standing. Graduates earn about $23,083 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that earnings-beyond-expectations measure, the gap between graduate earnings and the model’s expectation for similar students, in the 97th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,946.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $11,137. Median earnings are $108,517 four years after completion, in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth puts the return pillar in the 99th percentile nationally. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, with earnings $40,267 above it. The model result and peer comparison point the same way.

Santa Clara University posts a schoolwide median of $108,517 four years after completion for federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth places those earnings in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, based on an earnings cohort of 1,151 completers.

The program-mix model’s typical scenario matches the schoolwide median, with a downside scenario of $56,467 and an upside scenario of $141,633; these are earnings scenarios, not observed graduate groups. An estimated 32.8% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix.

Graduates earn about $23,083 more than the model expects for similar students. The high earnings percentile and higher-than-expected earnings point in the same direction.

Santa Clara University has a high earnings picture: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled have median earnings of $108,517 four years after completion, in the 98th percentile. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $68,250, and the university’s figure is above it by $40,267.

Graduates earn about $23,083 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, are in the 97th percentile.

Azimuth places the return pillar in the 99th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $11,946.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $11,137. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,169.

Downside and upside earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix are $56,467 and $141,633. The earnings, peer comparison, and model measures point in the same direction.

Finance is the largest listed program, with 160 degrees awarded and median earnings of $118,737 four years after completion. Management Information Systems and Services had $153,926 in median earnings; Azimuth ranks it #1 nationally in its field.

Its earnings are 1.85x the national median for its field. Computer Engineering, the highest-earning listed program, awarded 83 degrees and posted median earnings of $163,765 four years after completion.

The figures show distinct earnings levels across the largest program, a highly ranked program, and the highest-earning program.

At Santa Clara University, the earnings picture changes sharply by field rather than following a single track. The model places the downside earnings scenario at $56,467 and the upside scenario at $141,633; both are scenarios derived from the program mix, not observed graduate groups.

Santa Clara University pairs lower borrower debt with a higher price for aid recipients than comparable institutions. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $19,162.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, and the university's figure is below it by $5,037. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $218 a month if repaid over ten years.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, add another part of the picture. Graduates earn about $23,083 more than the model expects for similar students.

The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $50,062, which is above the $27,371 peer median by $22,691. Lower debt and above-expected earnings sit alongside a higher net price, so debt and earnings point one way while upfront cost points another.

With an admission rate of 48.0%, Santa Clara University admitted fewer than half of its reported applicant pool. That rate is below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 20,032 first-year applicants, 9,592 admitted applicants, and 1,641 enrolled students. The rate summarizes an applicant pool and cannot forecast an individual decision.

Program choice separates higher-earning technical fields from more moderate-earning fields at Santa Clara University. Computer Engineering sits at the high end, with median earnings of $163,765 four years after completion and 83 degrees awarded.

Management Information Systems and Services recorded $153,926 with 31 degrees awarded. Azimuth ranks Mathematics and Computer Science #1 nationally in its field; median earnings were $147,013 four years after completion, alongside 107 degrees awarded.

Management Information Systems and Services ranks #1 nationally in its field, with $153,926 in median earnings and 31 degrees awarded. The contrast shows that earnings differ substantially by field within the university.

Business accounts for 24.6% of bachelor’s degrees awarded, and Santa Clara University has 13 ranked fields. Those rankings sit alongside a program mix that also includes larger fields in social science and engineering, so field-level outcomes matter more than a single campus-wide figure.

Management Information Systems and Services ranks #1 nationally in Azimuth among the same cohort, with 31 degrees awarded and median earnings of $153,926 four years after completion. The ranked fields show different earnings levels despite similarly strong national placements.

Santa Clara University awards bachelor's degrees across 15 programs with published four-year earnings, and 13 carry an Azimuth national rank. The program mix leans toward Business, which accounts for 24.6% of degrees awarded, followed by Social Sciences at 13.3% and Engineering at 12.0%.

The largest single programs are Finance at 160 degrees awarded, Communication and Media Studies at 137, and Psychology at 122. The strongest programs by national rank are Mathematics and Computer Science and Management Information Systems and Services.

Mathematics and Computer Science reports median earnings of $147,013 four years after completion and ranks #1 in California within its field. Management Information Systems and Services reports median earnings of $153,926 four years after completion and ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California within its field.

The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, where completers earn a median of $163,765 four years after completion from 83 degrees awarded. Management Information Systems and Services shows a benchmark ratio of 1.85x against the national median for its field.

The pattern is one of strength concentrated in programs that are both large and well-ranked. Finance, the largest program, reports earnings of $118,737 four years after completion, and Economics, the fourth-largest at 108 degrees, reports $121,307.

Mathematics and Computer Science, with 107 degrees awarded, reaches $147,013. 29.2% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields.

The highest earnings sit in engineering and technology programs, which are smaller than the business and social science majors that dominate the degree count.