College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of California-Santa Barbara

CALarge public institution · Overall rank #66 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks University of California-Santa Barbara #66 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of California-Santa Barbara is a public university in Santa Barbara, California, whose degree mix is led by the Social Sciences and Biological Sciences. The fit is clearest for a student who expects to work after the degree: most graduates are estimated to go into jobs rather than on to further study.

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

Return is well above average. Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole, and mobility is among the highest we track.

The lowest income band pays well below the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. The admission rate is below the median for comparable institutions, and the degree mix is led by the social sciences.

A student drawn to the largest departments should go in knowing they are not the best-paid ones.

UCSB at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
33.0%
Six-year completion[2]
83.0%
Four-year earnings[3]
$70,323

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$12,588
Median student debt[4]
$13,993
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$26,465

UCSB rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Enrolling 23,113 undergraduates, University of California-Santa Barbara is a public university in Santa Barbara, California. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, it sits near the top of the field (96th percentile).

Applicants to University of California-Santa Barbara face selective odds: the university admits 33.0%, against a median of 78.1% for comparable institutions of the same type and size. Among those who enter full time, 93.0% return after the first year and the six-year graduation rate is 83.0%.

Both figures sit above their peer medians of 83.1% and 65.0%. An estimated 29.9% of entrants arrive as transfers or part-time students, so the six-year rate describes the first-time, full-time cohort rather than the entire student body.

At University of California-Santa Barbara, return is the weakest of the four , while mobility is the strongest, and access and affordability sit between the two. The four are grouped within a narrow band in the upper part of the distribution, with return the lowest and mobility the highest of the set.

Azimuth evaluates the University of California-Santa Barbara across four pillars among nonprofit four-year institutions. The university's strongest pillar is mobility, in the 96th percentile, reflecting how well it moves students into higher earnings tiers.

Access follows closely at the 94th percentile, and affordability sits at the 85th percentile. The return pillar, at the 84th percentile, is the weakest of the four.

That still places the university well above the national median, but the gap between mobility and return is the defining shape of this profile.

27.9% of undergraduates at University of California-Santa Barbara receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at a rate of 63.9%, which is 19.1 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate (83.0%).

Azimuth ranks the university #94 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #66 for mobility. Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

UCSB rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#66
California#22
West#24

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 96
Access & reach
National percentile: 94
Affordability
National percentile: 85
Return on investment
National percentile: 84

Top-ranked majors

  1. Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology#1
  2. Pharmacology and Toxicology#1
  3. Microbiological Sciences and Immunology#2

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 / UCSB briefing

UCSB cost & financial aid[6][7]

University of California-Santa Barbara lists a published cost of attendance of $41,573. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $14,202 and required fees of $3,441 for the 2026-27 academic year, with on-campus food and housing at $23,974.

Nonresidents face a published tuition of $53,472. The average net price for aid recipients is $16,109, with financial aid reducing the published cost by $25,464 on average.

That figure sits $475 above the $15,634 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Azimuth ranks the university #211 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The published cost of attendance at University of California-Santa Barbara is $41,573. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $9,231, and for those in the $48,001–$75,000 band it is $12,588.

Families earning over $110,000 see an of $31,863, creating a spread of $22,632 between the lowest and highest bands. Azimuth ranks the university #211 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 61% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $25,464. The average net price for first-time, full-time Title IV aid recipients is $16,109, which is above the median of $15,634 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $475.

The median federal student loan debt at completion is $13,993. About 74.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

That median is below the peer median of $20,076 by $6,083. Median Parent PLUS borrowing stands at $26,465.

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment on the median federal debt is $159.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$12,588

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UCSB

Federal borrowing at the University of California-Santa Barbara is concentrated: 74.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Yet the median federal debt at completion is $13,993.

That median sits below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $6,083. Parent borrowers, a separate population, carry a median Parent PLUS loan of $26,465.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 29% of 4,410 bachelor's graduates who started as first-time students borrowed from any source. The average cumulative amount per borrower was $20,043.

Of those graduates, 27% held federal loans averaging $14,056, and 3% held private loans averaging $57,326.

Graduates of the University of California-Santa Barbara earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students, an outcome in the 91st percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Four years after completion, the median earnings reach $70,323, which falls in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios derived from the university's program mix show a typical earnings level of $70,323, with a downside scenario of $55,948 and an upside scenario of $106,493. Borrowers who complete a degree carry a median federal debt of $13,993, which is below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that debt yields an estimated monthly payment of $159.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $26,465. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $159.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$13,993
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$26,465

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$159/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$336/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 / UCSB briefing

UCSB career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Azimuth places the return pillar for University of California-Santa Barbara at the 84th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students, a level in the 91st percentile nationally.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,103. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,456.

The STEM component within the measured factors adds $3,575. Four years after completion, the median earnings for the university's completers stand at $70,323, in the 77th percentile.

That figure runs above the peer median of $65,610 by $4,713 among comparable institutions (same type and size).

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $70,323 at University of California-Santa Barbara. The four-year earnings cohort includes 3,580 completers, and Azimuth places the figure in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios estimated from the program mix show a typical figure of $70,323, with a downside scenario of $55,948 and an upside of $106,493.

An estimated 39.7% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the program mix, so the four-year earnings picture captures most but not all completers.

Four years after completion, graduates of University of California-Santa Barbara earn a median of $70,323, which lands in the 77th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. That figure runs above the median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $4,713.

Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students, a result in the 91st percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,103.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain adds $6,456. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $3,575.

Azimuth ranks the university #234 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings scenarios grounded in the program mix show a downside of $55,948 and an upside of $106,493.

The largest bachelor's program, Sociology, awarded 672 degrees and posts a median of $60,013 four years after completion, ranking #16 nationally in its field. Economics follows with 656 degrees awarded and a median of $98,178, while Research and Experimental Psychology awarded 616 degrees and earns a median of $66,171, ranking #10 nationally and #1 in California.

Computer Science reaches a median of $149,190 with 161 degrees awarded. The university also fields a high-return program in Microbiological Sciences and Immunology, which ranks #2 nationally and earns $90,061, or 1.44x the national median for the field.

The range between the downside and upside scenarios spans from $55,948 to $106,493, reflecting the variation in earnings potential across the university's program clusters. Computer Science completers earn a median of $149,190, while Computer Engineering completers earn $144,703.

Among the largest programs, Economics graduates see a median of $98,178, and Sociology graduates earn $60,013.

At University of California-Santa Barbara, the published cost of attendance is $41,573, but aid covers about 61% of that for the average aid recipient. The average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $16,109.

Net prices are higher for families with higher incomes. The lowest income band averages $9,231, while the highest band averages $31,863, a spread of $22,632 between the two ends.

These are averages within each income band, not what any individual family pays. Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $13,993 in federal student loans, which is below the $20,076 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $159 a month if repaid over ten years.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,103
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
+$6,456
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$14,559

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 / UCSB briefing

UCSB acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

The University of California-Santa Barbara admitted 33.0% of applicants, well below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 110,187 applicants, 42,093 admitted, and 5,081 enrolled first-year students.

Admissions
Admission rate
33.0%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / UCSB briefing

What are the largest majors at UCSB?[12]

The highest-earning program at University of California-Santa Barbara is Computer Science, where completers earn a median of $149,190 four years after completion, with 161 degrees awarded. Computer Engineering follows at $144,703 on 72 degrees awarded.

Among the largest programs, Economics shows a median of $98,178 and an Azimuth national rank of #42 on 656 degrees awarded. Communication and Media Studies reaches $72,976 and ranks #13 nationally on 582 degrees awarded.

The largest program, Sociology, awarded 672 degrees and reports a median of $60,013, ranking #16 nationally.

Azimuth ranks 37 programs at University of California-Santa Barbara, and 40 programs have published four-year earnings. The university's highest nationally ranked programs include Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, which ranks #1 in its field and #1 in California.

Pharmacology and Toxicology ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California, with 54 degrees awarded and median earnings of $98,462. The largest program, Sociology, awards 672 degrees and ranks #16 nationally, with median earnings of $60,013.

The University of California-Santa Barbara awards the largest share of its bachelor's degrees in the Social Sciences, at 26.7%. The next largest shares are in the Biological Sciences at 10.3% and Mathematics & Statistics at 9.3%.

Azimuth ranks 37 of its programs nationally, with published four-year earnings data for 40 fields. The three largest programs by degrees awarded are Sociology at 672, Economics at 656, and Research and Experimental Psychology at 616.

The highest-ranked program is Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, which Azimuth ranks #1 in California, with 74 degrees awarded and a benchmark ratio of 1.39x against the national median for its field. Pharmacology and Toxicology ranks #1 nationally and #1 in California, with 54 degrees awarded.

Microbiological Sciences and Immunology holds a national rank of #2 and a state rank of #2 in California, from 38 degrees awarded. The highest-earning program is Computer Science, from 161 degrees awarded.

Graduates earn a median of $149,190 four years after completion, a benchmark ratio of 1.39x against the national median for its field. The highest-ranked programs are concentrated in the biological sciences.

The largest programs are not the highest-earning ones, and the highest-ranked programs are often smaller departments. 31.6% of degrees awarded are in STEM fields, and the strongest earnings come from engineering and computer science programs that graduate fewer students.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Sociology 672 degrees awarded
$60,013
Economics 656 degrees awarded
$98,178
Research and Experimental Psychology 616 degrees awarded
$66,171
Communication and Media Studies 582 degrees awarded
$72,976
Biology, General 384 degrees awarded
$64,520
Natural Resources Conservation and Research 318 degrees awarded
$63,628

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 / UCSB briefing

How does UCSB serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places University of California-Santa Barbara in the 96th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 83.0%, while Pell recipients complete at a rate of 63.9% — below the overall rate by 19.1 percentage points.

Graduates earn about $14,559 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 91st percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of University of California-Santa Barbara in the 94th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The public university admits 33.0% of applicants, well below the peer median of 78.1%, and enrolls 23,113 undergraduates.

Pell Grant recipients make up 27.9% of the undergraduate body, and an estimated 29.9% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / UCSB briefing

What colleges are similar to UCSB?[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 UCSB.

Admissions peerCalifornia Institute of the Arts32.3% admitted
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBCalifornia Institute of the Arts
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$35,256-$35,067 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$46,080+$29,971 vs UCSB · higher cost
Admission rate33.0%32.3%
Higher-admission alternativeOccidental College44.2% admitted
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBOccidental College
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$68,467-$1,856 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$38,263+$22,154 vs UCSB · higher cost
Admission rate33.0%44.2%
Nearby alternativeUniversity of California-Los AngelesNearby option · CA
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBUniversity of California-Los Angeles
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$77,677+$7,354 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$12,548-$3,561 vs UCSB · lower cost
Admission rate33.0%9.0%
Explore University of California-Los Angeles →
Higher-earnings alternativeCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$90,662 earnings
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBCalifornia Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$90,662+$20,339 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$16,665+$556 vs UCSB · higher cost
Admission rate33.0%31.3%
Explore California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo →
Lower-cost alternativeUniversity of California-Los Angeles$12,548 average net price
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBUniversity of California-Los Angeles
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$77,677+$7,354 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$12,548-$3,561 vs UCSB · lower cost
Admission rate33.0%9.0%
Explore University of California-Los Angeles →
Similar profileCalifornia State Polytechnic University-PomonaMatched across several measures
Comparison with UCSB
MeasureUCSBCalifornia State Polytechnic University-Pomona
Peer earnings · 4 years$70,323$71,138+$815 vs UCSB
Average annual net price$16,109$11,531-$4,578 vs UCSB · lower cost
Admission rate33.0%75.2%
Explore California State Polytechnic University-Pomona →

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