College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of California-Riverside

CALarge public institution · Overall rank #31 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of California-Riverside #31 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of California-Riverside is a public university in Riverside, California, where the degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Business. Most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study, and 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.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Families at the bottom of the income scale pay well below the published cost, while those at the top pay closer to it.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and the strongest programs by national rank are not the largest ones. A student drawn to the social sciences should go in knowing that the best-paid programs are in engineering and computer science.

UC Riverside at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
76.4%
Six-year completion[2]
76.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$64,926

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$13,111
Median student debt[4]
$17,500
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$18,275

UC Riverside rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of California-Riverside enrolls 22,593 undergraduates in Riverside, California, as a public university. Azimuth places it near the top of the nonprofit four-year field (98th percentile).

University of California-Riverside admits 76.4% of those who apply, against a peer median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). Among full-time first-year students, 87.6% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 76.0%, against a peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 19.3% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so that cohort measure captures only a portion of the people who study here.

Mobility is the strongest (98th percentile) and return is the weakest (64th percentile). Access (95th percentile) and affordability (86th percentile) sit between them.

The four pillars are spread across a wide range, with a large gap separating the top from the bottom.

Mobility is the strongest pillar for University of California-Riverside, landing in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Its composite rank of #31 across 1,467 institutions reflects that strength.

The access pillar sits in the 95th percentile, and affordability follows at the 86th percentile. Return is the weakest pillar, in the 64th percentile, though all four pillars remain above the median for nonprofit four-year institutions.

46.9% of undergraduates at University of California-Riverside receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of California-Riverside #77 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 63.3%, which sits 12.7 percentage points below the rate for the cohort as a whole. Azimuth ranks the university #27 for mobility. Graduates earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

UC Riverside rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#31
California#15
West#17

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 98
Access & reach
National percentile: 95
Affordability
National percentile: 86
Return on investment
National percentile: 64

Top-ranked majors

  1. Sustainability Studies#6
  2. Microbiological Sciences and Immunology#7
  3. Social Sciences, Other#8

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 Riverside briefing

UC Riverside cost & financial aid[6][7]

For California residents, the University of California-Riverside publishes in-state tuition of $15,606 and room and board of $20,691, within a total cost of attendance of $38,942. Out-of-state students face tuition of $49,806.

Financial aid reshapes that sticker price considerably. The average net price across aid recipients is $14,304, an offset of $24,638 from the published total.

That figure sits below the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size), by $1,330. Azimuth ranks the university #205 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at University of California-Riverside is $38,942. Azimuth ranks the university #205 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $8,852, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $13,111, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $30,393. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $21,541.

Aid covers about 63% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. The across all aid recipients is $14,304, which is $1,330 below the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median of $17,500 in federal student loans. That is $2,576 below the peer median of $20,076, and 70.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.

Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $18,275. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $199 a month.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$13,111

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UC Riverside

Among undergraduates at University of California-Riverside, 70.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. For those who complete a degree, the median federal student debt is $17,500.

That median runs below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,576. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $18,275.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 43% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $18,621 per borrower. Federal loans accounted for most of that borrowing: 42% of graduates held federal debt, averaging $17,570, while 2% held private loans, averaging $32,079.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, University of California-Riverside is in the 88th percentile for earnings beyond expectations; graduates earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students. Four years after completion, median earnings are $64,926, ranking in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

That earnings level is below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $684. Earnings scenarios, anchored on the university's program mix, span from $48,845 on the downside to $85,923 on the upside, with $64,926 as the typical outcome.

The median federal student debt at completion is $17,500, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,576. If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $199.

Parent PLUS borrowers, a separate federal population, carry a median of $18,275. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $199.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$17,500
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$18,275

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$199/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$232/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 Riverside briefing

UC Riverside career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates of University of California-Riverside who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $64,926, in the 65th percentile nationally. That figure is $684 below the $65,610 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Graduates earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students, placing that earnings-beyond-expectations gap in the 88th 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 $5,960.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,618. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,546. Azimuth places the university in the 64th percentile for return.

University of California-Riverside graduates earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students. That level of earnings beyond expectations corresponds to the 88th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The university's median earnings four years after completion are $64,926, which sits in the 65th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure is below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), $65,610, by $684.

That median reflects 4,322 federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled. Azimuth models earnings scenarios from the program mix that range from a downside of $48,845 to an upside of $85,923; the typical scenario lands at $64,926.

The model estimates that 39.8% of graduates continue on to graduate study, a share derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment.

Among nonprofit four-year institutions, University of California-Riverside sits in the 88th percentile for earnings beyond expectations, as its completers earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students. The median earnings four years after completion are $64,926, a figure in the 65th percentile nationally.

The comparable-institution median is $65,610, and the university's median is below it by $684. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $5,960.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,618. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,546.

Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix range from $48,845 to $85,923. For return on investment, Azimuth ranks the university #528 among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The highest-earning bachelor's program is Computer Science, with 212 degrees awarded and median earnings of $117,705 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #67 nationally in its field. The largest program, Business Administration and Management, awarded 795 degrees and shows median earnings of $72,027 four years after completion; Azimuth ranks it #77 nationally at 1.05x the field median.

Film/Video and Photographic Arts is the high-return standout: completers earn $52,699, which is 1.20x the national median for the field, and Azimuth ranks it #8 nationally.

Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, show a wide spread: a downside of $48,845 and an upside of $85,923, with $64,926 as the typical scenario. These are estimates, not observed groups of graduates.

The range reflects the mix of programs on campus. At the upper end, Computer Science graduates earn $117,705 four years after completion, while Computer Engineering and Electrical Engineering graduates earn $107,193 and $102,630, respectively.

The median federal student debt at University of California-Riverside is $17,500, which is below the peer median of $20,076 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, that debt yields an estimated monthly payment of $199.

Graduates earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students. The university's average net price of $14,304 sits below the peer median of $15,634.

For families earning under $30,000, the average net price drops to $8,852, and the spread between the lowest and highest income bands is $21,541. Parent PLUS borrowers carry a separate median debt of $18,275.

These earnings and debt figures coincide with a six-year graduation rate of 76.0% and a first-year retention rate of 87.6%. Pell recipients, who make up 46.9% of undergraduates, complete at a rate of 63.3%, which is 12.7 percentage points below the overall rate.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$5,960
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$6,618
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$12,578

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

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / UC Riverside briefing

UC Riverside acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 59,781 applicants and 51,424 admitted students. University of California-Riverside admits 76.4% of applicants, which means most who apply receive an offer.

That rate sits slightly below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Admissions
Admission rate
76.4%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / UC Riverside briefing

What are the largest majors at UC Riverside?[12]

University of California-Riverside fields 38 ranked bachelor's programs, and the highest-earning fields cluster in engineering and computing. Computer Science tops the list at $117,705 four years after completion, with 212 degrees awarded and an Azimuth national rank of #67 in its field.

Computer Engineering follows at $107,193 (48 degrees awarded), and Electrical Engineering reaches $102,630 with 65 degrees awarded. Among the largest programs by degrees, earnings spread across a wide range.

Business Administration and Management awarded 795 degrees and shows a median of $72,027, ranking #77 nationally. Biology, with 639 degrees awarded, reports $58,339 and an Azimuth rank of #110.

Research and Experimental Psychology sits at $49,947 (578 degrees awarded, rank #31), while Economics reaches $66,682 on 331 degrees awarded.

The university's strongest national rankings come from programs in sustainability, the sciences, and the arts. Sustainability Studies holds the #6 spot in its field and #1 in California, with 33 degrees awarded and median earnings of $58,463 four years after completion.

Microbiological Sciences and Immunology ranks #7 nationally and #5 in California in its field, awarding 48 degrees. Among the largest programs, Business Administration and Management awarded 795 degrees and ranks #77 nationally, with median earnings of $72,027.

Research and Experimental Psychology ranks #31 and #7 in California, awarding 578 degrees. Sociology ranks #50 nationally and shows median earnings of $55,682 on 340 degrees awarded. Across 38 ranked bachelor's programs, earnings data is available for 42 fields.

The degree mix at University of California-Riverside leans toward the social and biological sciences. Social Sciences accounts for 20.4% of bachelor's degrees awarded, with Biological Sciences next at 18.1% and Business at 13.5%.

The university has 38 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 42 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Business Administration and Management, at 795 degrees awarded a year.

Azimuth ranks it #77 nationally within its field and #17 in California. Biology follows with 639 degrees awarded, and Research and Experimental Psychology with 578.

Sustainability Studies awards 33 degrees a year and ranks #1 in California within its field. Graduates earn a median of $58,463 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.01x against the national median for its field.

Microbiological Sciences and Immunology ranks #7 nationally and #5 in California, with 48 degrees awarded and graduates earning $72,295. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, where graduates earn $117,705 four years out.

It awards 212 degrees a year and ranks #67 nationally and #16 in California within its field. Engineering fields fill out the top earners: Computer Engineering at $107,193 with 48 degrees awarded and Electrical Engineering at $102,630 with 65 degrees awarded.

Strength is spread across several fields rather than concentrated in one. The best-ranked programs sit in sustainability and the sciences, while the highest earnings come from computing and engineering. Across all fields, 37.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Business Administration, Management and Operations 795 degrees awarded
$72,027
Biology, General 639 degrees awarded
$58,339
Research and Experimental Psychology 578 degrees awarded
$49,947
Sociology 340 degrees awarded
$55,682
Economics 331 degrees awarded
$66,682
Political Science and Government 291 degrees awarded
$56,740

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 Riverside briefing

How does UC Riverside serve students from different backgrounds?

The university holds a mobility rank of #27 among nonprofit four-year institutions. The mobility pillar sits in the 98th percentile of nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the first-time full-time cohort, the six-year graduation rate reaches 76.0%; Pell recipients complete at 63.3%, a rate below the overall figure by 12.7 percentage points. Four years after completion, those who finish a degree earn about $12,578 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 88th percentile.

University of California-Riverside enrolls 22,593 undergraduates. It admits 76.4% of those who apply, a share that sits slightly below the peer median of 78.1%.

Pell Grant recipients account for 46.9% of the undergraduate population, and an estimated 19.3% of the student body enters as transfers or part-time students. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, the access pillar is in the 95th percentile.

06 / UC Riverside briefing

What colleges are similar to UC Riverside?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with UC Riverside.

Admissions peerMount Saint Mary's University73.1% admitted
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideMount Saint Mary's University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$79,546+$14,620 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$21,413+$7,109 vs UC Riverside · higher cost
Admission rate76.4%73.1%
Explore Mount Saint Mary's University →
Higher-admission alternativeCalifornia State University-San Marcos95.1% admitted
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideCalifornia State University-San Marcos
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$67,891+$2,965 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$10,229-$4,075 vs UC Riverside · lower cost
Admission rate76.4%95.1%
Explore California State University-San Marcos →
Nearby alternativeCalifornia State University-San MarcosNearby option · CA
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideCalifornia State University-San Marcos
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$67,891+$2,965 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$10,229-$4,075 vs UC Riverside · lower cost
Admission rate76.4%95.1%
Explore California State University-San Marcos →
Higher-earnings alternativeSan Jose State University$89,614 earnings
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideSan Jose State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$89,614+$24,688 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$13,760-$544 vs UC Riverside · lower cost
Admission rate76.4%84.6%
Explore San Jose State University →
Lower-cost alternativeCalifornia State University-Los Angeles$3,967 average net price
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideCalifornia State University-Los Angeles
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$59,756-$5,170 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$3,967-$10,337 vs UC Riverside · lower cost
Admission rate76.4%91.3%
Explore California State University-Los Angeles →
Similar profileCalifornia State University-FresnoMatched across several measures
Comparison with UC Riverside
MeasureUC RiversideCalifornia State University-Fresno
Peer earnings · 4 years$64,926$59,992-$4,934 vs UC Riverside
Average annual net price$14,304$7,000-$7,304 vs UC Riverside · lower cost
Admission rate76.4%95.3%
Explore California State University-Fresno →

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 Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

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.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 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

  5. 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

  6. 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

  7. 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

  8. 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

  9. 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

  10. 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

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. 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

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. 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

  15. 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