Research brief & institution hub

University of California-Irvine

CALarge public institution · Overall rank #12 nationally

Data snapshot September 27, 2026Updated October 1, 2026

Azimuth ranks UC Irvine #12 nationally.

Who it’s a good fit for

UC Irvine is a public university in Irvine, California, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Engineering, and Business. Mobility is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The model attributes more of that to a remainder it does not explain than to the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market.

Pell recipients complete at a rate that is below the overall rate, and the gap is wider than a few points. Still, access is among the highest we track, and families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions. A student drawn to the social sciences should know that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones. Most graduates are estimated to go into work rather than further study.

UC Irvine at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate^[1]: 28.6%
Six-year completion^[2]: 86.9%
Four-year earnings^[3]: $74,438

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income^[6]: $11,642
Median student debt^[4]: $15,000
Median Parent PLUS debt^[7]: $22,665

UC Irvine rankings: how Azimuth assesses value^[5]

University of California-Irvine is a public university in Irvine, California, enrolling 30,197 undergraduates. Its composite standing sits near the very top of the Azimuth ranking among nonprofit four-year institutions (99th percentile).

The university admits 28.6% of applicants, a rate well below the 78.1% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among full-time first-year students, 94.0% return for a second year, compared with a median of 83.1% for similar schools.

The six-year graduation rate is 86.9%, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 29.0% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so a significant part of the student body did not start at UC Irvine.

The six-year rate counts only first-time, full-time students and therefore describes a narrower slice of the undergraduate experience here. The four that make up the composite are spread across the top of the ranking.

Mobility is the strongest, at the 99th percentile, and access is close behind at the 98th percentile. Return is the weakest of the four, at the 85th percentile, with affordability between them at the 88th percentile.

University of California-Irvine shows a profile where mobility and access are the strongest pillars, at the 99th and 98th percentiles respectively. Affordability sits at the 88th percentile, while return is the weakest of the four at the 85th percentile.

The shape is a selective public university where the access and mobility pillars sit well above the return pillar.

36.1% of undergraduates at University of California-Irvine receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 74.2%, 12.7 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks UC Irvine #37 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #18 for mobility.

Graduates earn about $18,996 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that coincides with the completion rates for Pell recipients.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

UC Irvine rankings in context
Geography	Rank
National	#12
California	#8
West	#8

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility: National percentile: 99

Access & reach: National percentile: 98

Affordability: National percentile: 88

Return on investment: National percentile: 85

Top-ranked majors

Materials Engineering#2
Education, General#4
Computer Software and Media Applications#5

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / UC Irvine briefing

UC Irvine cost & financial aid^[6]^[7]

The published cost of attendance at University of California-Irvine is $38,632. For California residents, tuition and fees are $15,722, with on-campus room and board adding $18,991.

Out-of-state students face tuition and fees of $49,922. At UC Irvine, the average recipient pays $14,251, a reduction of $24,381 from the sticker price.

That means aid covers about 63% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. This average net price is $1,383 below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Azimuth ranks the university #173 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at University of California-Irvine is $38,632, with in-state tuition at $15,722 and room and board at $18,991. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $8,123.

For those in the $48,001–$75,000 band, it is $11,642, and for families earning over $110,000, the is $30,546. Azimuth ranks UC Irvine #173 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Financial aid reduces the sticker price by an average of $24,381, bringing the average net price across all aid recipients to $14,251. That figure sits below the peer median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a gap of $1,383.

In-state tuition is $15,722, while out-of-state students face a published tuition of $49,922. The median federal student debt at completion is $15,000.

That median is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size), a difference of $5,076. About 69.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $22,665. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $170.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$11,642

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UC Irvine

Borrowers who complete at University of California-Irvine carry a median federal debt of $15,000. Federal loans reach 69.3% of federal aid recipients.

This median runs below the $20,076 figure for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $5,076. Parent borrowers represent a separate population; their median Parent PLUS borrowing is $22,665.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 33% of its 5,386 bachelor's graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $18,162 per borrower. Of those graduates, 31% held federal loans averaging $14,561, including 2% who also held private loans averaging $52,055.

Graduates of University of California-Irvine earn about $18,996 more than the model expects for similar students. That outcome places in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Median earnings four years after completion are $74,438, a figure in the 83rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix land at $74,438 in a typical case, $52,759 in a downside case, and $111,987 in an upside case, reflecting the spread of outcomes across fields.

Among completers who used federal loans, the median debt at completion is $15,000, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). The estimated monthly payment is $170.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $22,665. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $170.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt: $15,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt: $22,665

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly: $170/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly: $288/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS

Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / UC Irvine briefing

UC Irvine career outcomes & earnings^[3]^[8]^[9]

University of California-Irvine reports median earnings of $74,438 four years after completion. That institution-wide figure is a starting point; results for particular fields can differ.

Read earnings alongside retention and completion. Earnings among completers do not include every student who entered the institution, while the lower and higher planning estimates describe modeled mixes of program outcomes rather than observed salary percentiles.

What explains value-added earnings?

Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.: +$7,971
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.: +$11,025
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.: +$18,996

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

Read the full admissions brief

04 / UC Irvine briefing

What are the largest majors at UC Irvine?^[12]

The largest program records at University of California-Irvine, by reported degrees awarded, are: Computer Science (744 awards); Biology, General (668 awards); Business/Managerial Economics (648 awards); Research and Experimental Psychology (605 awards); Public Health (473 awards). These counts describe degree output in the source reporting period, not current enrollment or unique people.

Among those larger programs, reported median earnings four years after completion include Computer Science at $127,404; Biology, General at $56,273; Business/Managerial Economics at $77,807. Program size and earnings answer different questions; the largest program need not have the highest earnings.

Keep individual program records separate from broader degree categories and from records for other reporting periods. Those views can describe different parts of the university’s academic mix.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields

Computer Science 744 degrees awarded: $127,404
Biology, General 668 degrees awarded: $56,273
Business/Managerial Economics 648 degrees awarded: $77,807
Research and Experimental Psychology 605 degrees awarded: $54,323
Public Health 473 degrees awarded: $60,430
Economics 447 degrees awarded: $83,937

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / UC Irvine briefing

How does UC Irvine serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places University of California-Irvine in the 99th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 86.9%, while Pell recipients complete at 74.2% — below the overall rate by 12.7 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $18,996 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 95th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of California-Irvine in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 28.6% of applicants, well below the peer median of 78.1%, and enrolls 30,197 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 36.1% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 29.0% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UC Irvine briefing

What colleges are similar to UC Irvine?^[15]

The comparisons for University of California-Irvine cover higher reported admission rates, similar admissions profiles, higher reported earnings at similar cost, lower reported cost with similar earnings and options in the same state or region. The similar-schools brief keeps these questions in separate groups, with related institutional profiles shown as another comparison.

Each group has its own candidate list and ordering. A high position within one group is not a rank against all the schools in the other groups, and a school can appear more than once for different reasons. Check the source definition and earnings period for the comparison you choose.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with UC Irvine.

Admissions peerPitzer College25.2% admitted

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	Pitzer College
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$69,786-$4,652 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$34,191+$19,940 vs UC Irvine · higher cost
Admission rate	28.6%	25.2%

Higher-admission alternativeCalifornia State University-San Marcos95.1% admitted

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	California State University-San Marcos
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$67,891-$6,547 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$10,229-$4,022 vs UC Irvine · lower cost
Admission rate	28.6%	95.1%

Explore California State University-San Marcos →

Nearby alternativeUniversity of California-Los AngelesNearby option · CA

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	University of California-Los Angeles
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$77,677+$3,239 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$12,548-$1,703 vs UC Irvine · lower cost
Admission rate	28.6%	9.0%

Explore University of California-Los Angeles →

Higher-earnings alternativeUniversity of California-San Diego$83,130 earnings

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	University of California-San Diego
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$83,130+$8,692 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$12,470-$1,781 vs UC Irvine · lower cost
Admission rate	28.6%	26.7%

Explore University of California-San Diego →

Lower-cost alternativeCalifornia State University-San Marcos$10,229 average net price

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	California State University-San Marcos
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$67,891-$6,547 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$10,229-$4,022 vs UC Irvine · lower cost
Admission rate	28.6%	95.1%

Explore California State University-San Marcos →

Similar profileUniversity of California-DavisMatched across several measures

Comparison with UC Irvine
Measure	UC Irvine	University of California-Davis
Peer earnings · 4 years	$74,438	$73,086-$1,352 vs UC Irvine
Average annual net price	$14,251	$14,741+$490 vs UC Irvine · higher cost
Admission rate	28.6%	41.8%

Explore University of California-Davis →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated September 27, 2026Governed hub narrative September 28, 2026Governed spoke corpus September 28, 2026

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.
Source fields: ADM_RATE
Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.
Source fields: C150_4
Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.
Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.
Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN
National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.
Source fields: Azimuth rankings
College Azimuth · Ranking methodology
Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.
Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV
Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.
Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations
College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology
Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.
Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios
College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology
Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.
Source fields: Azimuth statistical model
College Azimuth · Value-added methodology
SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.
Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG
First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.
Source fields: RET_FT4
Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.
Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE
College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation
Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.
Source fields: PCTPELL
Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.
Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF
Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.
Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR
College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings