Career outcomes brief
University of California-Irvine Career Outcomes & Earnings
How much do UC Irvine graduates earn?
University of California-Irvine reports median earnings of $74,438 four years after completion. Its lower and higher planning estimates are $52,759 and $111,987.
The lower and higher estimates reflect different mixes of program earnings. They are not observed salary percentiles, the pay of the lowest- and highest-paid quarters of graduates, or probabilities for an individual student.
- Lower estimate
- $52,759
- Median · reported
- $74,438
- Higher estimate
- $111,987
Earnings sources and definitions
The lower estimate lets you examine a plan with less income than the school-wide median. Compare it with costs and with the fields you are considering, while keeping the modeled estimates separate from reported earnings.
The median earnings four years after completion at University of California-Irvine stand at $74,438. That is above the peer median of $65,610 by $8,828 among comparable institutions (same type and size).
Graduates earn about $18,996 more than expects for similar students, a level in the 95th percentile nationally. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $7,971.
The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $11,025. The STEM component within the measured factors adds $4,723.
Azimuth ranks the return for UC Irvine at the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The median earnings figure sits in the 83rd percentile nationally.
The earnings range across earnings scenarios spans from a downside of $52,759 to an upside of $111,987, reflecting the variation in outcomes tied to the university's mix of programs. The largest program, Computer Science, shows median earnings of $127,404 four years after completion, while Biology graduates earn a median of $56,273.
Among programs with published earnings, Computer Engineering completers reach a median of $132,357, and Computer Science graduates earn $127,404.
An estimated 34.4% of graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the university's program mix rather than observed enrollment. Because four-year earnings figures capture only those working and not enrolled, this estimate indicates that a sizable portion of completers may be building additional human capital outside the earnings snapshot.
Earnings by field
Among University of California-Irvine programs with a reported four-year earnings value, the highest medians are: Computer Engineering ($132,357); Computer Science ($127,404); Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing ($119,502); Management Information Systems and Services ($108,038); Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering ($106,871). These are earnings after completion for the covered cohort.
A program median describes the middle reported outcome in that group. It is not a starting-salary offer or a prediction for every graduate, and an earnings comparison does not by itself explain why fields differ.
Compare these results with the subjects you want to study and the program’s reported award count. Awards measure degree output, not the number of people in the earnings sample.
University of California-Irvine fields that lead in earnings four years after completion are concentrated in computing and engineering. Computer Engineering tops the list at $132,357, with 246 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #17.
Computer Science, the largest program on campus at 744 degrees awarded, follows at $127,404 and ranks #38 nationally. The spread across the largest programs shows the contrast between technical and other fields.
Business/Managerial Economics reaches $77,807 on 648 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national rank of #8. Further down the earnings scale, Biology reports a median of $56,273 with 668 degrees awarded and a national rank of #128, while Research and Experimental Psychology reaches $54,323 on 605 degrees awarded and ranks #26 nationally.
University of California-Irvine has 42 bachelor's programs with an Azimuth national rank. The largest by degrees awarded is Computer Science, with 744 degrees awarded and a national rank of #38, where completers earn a median of $127,404 four years after completion.
Biology follows with 668 degrees awarded, a national rank of #128, and a median of $56,273. Among the university's highest-earning programs, Computer Engineering leads at $132,357 with 246 degrees awarded and a national rank of #17.
Nursing and Management Information Systems and Services also exceed six figures, at $119,502 and $108,038 respectively. The best nationally ranked program is Materials Engineering, with 37 degrees awarded, a rank of #2 in its field, and completers earning $106,547 four years after completion.
Do UC Irvine graduates earn more than expected?
University of California-Irvine reports median earnings of $74,438 four years after completion. The reported value is $18,996 above Azimuth’s statistical expectation for the institution.
The difference compares the reported outcome with a model estimate. It does not compare matched students who attended different colleges, and it does not establish how much the institution caused earnings to change.
Read this measure alongside completion and individual program outcomes. It describes an institution-level result; it does not predict what a particular student will earn.
Read the original article: A value-added approach to college outcomes
- 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.
Further analysis
Earnings scenarios grounded in the university's program mix show how earnings vary by field: a downside of $52,759, a typical outcome of $74,438, and an upside reaching $111,987. Anchoring the range in named programs, Computer Engineering reaches $132,357 at the high end, while Research and Experimental Psychology sits at $54,323 at the lower end.
Four years after completing their degrees, graduates of University of California-Irvine earn a median of $74,438. That figure is drawn from a cohort of 6,243 completers and places the university above the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $8,828.
Graduates earn about $18,996 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that ranks in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $74,438, with a downside scenario of $52,759 and an upside scenario reaching $111,987.
An estimated 34.4% continue to graduate study, a share derived from program mix rather than observed enrollment.
Data & methodology
Sources and reporting periods: methodology.
Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.
Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.
Figure notes link to sources and limitations. About College Azimuth.
Four-year earnings are measured after completion for the covered federally aided cohort of people working and not enrolled. Measures taken six, eight or ten years after entry use a different starting point and should not be treated as one graduating class followed over time.
Program award counts describe credentials awarded, not current enrollment, unique graduates or earnings-sample size. Reporting periods differ across measures; the shared field definitions do not establish the exact vintage of every school-level value.
College Scorecard data and documentation · Model methodology