College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

University of California-Santa Cruz

CALarge public institution · Overall rank #109 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth places University of California-Santa Cruz in the 93rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

University of California-Santa Cruz is a public university in Santa Cruz, California, where the degree mix is led by Computer & Information Sciences, Biological Sciences, and Social Sciences. Mobility is among the highest we track, and 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 part of that to the factors it measures—field of study, enrollment and the local labor market—which add, and part to what it cannot explain, which subtracts.

Students who arrive with Pell Grants finish below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole. Access is well above average.

The admission rate is below the median for comparable schools. A student drawn to the social sciences should go in knowing that the largest departments in that family are not the best-paid ones.

UC Santa Cruz at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
65.8%
Six-year completion[2]
75.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$67,085

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$14,418
Median student debt[4]
$16,666
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$28,682

UC Santa Cruz rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

University of California-Santa Cruz is a public university in Santa Cruz, California, enrolling 17,940 undergraduates. Its composite standing in the Azimuth ranking sits in the top tenth among nonprofit four-year institutions (93rd percentile).

The university admits 65.8% 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, 87.9% return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.1%.

The six-year graduation rate is 75.1%, which also runs above the peer median of 65.0%. An estimated 22.7% of undergraduates arrive as transfers or part-time students.

The four are spread out. Mobility and access sit near the top of the field, while affordability lands in the middle.

Return is the weakest of the four. The shape is a selective public university that graduates its Pell students at a rate close to the overall cohort, with return lagging behind the other pillars.

Mobility is the clearest strength at University of California-Santa Cruz, with access and affordability also placing well in Azimuth’s national comparison. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, mobility sits in the 95th percentile, access in the 89th percentile, and affordability in the 74th percentile.

Return is the weakest pillar, at the 64th percentile. The strong mobility and access results sit alongside a more moderate return reading.

31.6% of undergraduates at University of California-Santa Cruz receive Pell Grants. Azimuth ranks University of California-Santa Cruz #168 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Pell recipients complete at a rate of 67.9%, which sits 7.2 percentage points below the overall six-year graduation rate. Azimuth ranks the university #76 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

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

UC Santa Cruz rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#109
California#29
West#35

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 95
Access & reach
National percentile: 89
Affordability
National percentile: 74
Return on investment
National percentile: 64

Top-ranked majors

  1. Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology#3
  2. Community Organization and Advocacy#3
  3. Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences#6

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 Santa Cruz briefing

UC Santa Cruz cost & financial aid[6][7]

For aid recipients, the published cost at University of California-Santa Cruz is substantially reduced after grants and scholarships are applied. The university lists $41,179 as its published cost of attendance.

Its average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,890, an average savings of $23,289 from that published cost. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported in-state tuition of $14,202, required fees of $3,037, and on-campus food and housing of $21,591 for the 2026-27 academic year.

It reported out-of-state tuition of $53,472 for the same year. These are sticker charges, rather than an estimate of what an aid recipient pays.

The is above the $15,634 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $2,256. Azimuth places the affordability pillar in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The above-peer average net price sits alongside a solid affordability standing.

The published cost of attendance is $41,179, with costs after grants and scholarships differing across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $8,717 in the lowest family-income band; $10,613 in the lower-middle band; $14,418 in the middle band; $18,986 in the upper-middle band; and $33,323 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $24,606, and Azimuth ranks University of California-Santa Cruz #372 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 57% of the published cost and offsets $23,289 against the sticker price.

For first-time full-time aid recipients, the average net price is $17,890. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $15,634, placing the university's average net price $2,256 above that benchmark.

Aid offsets much of the published cost, though the overall price remains above the comparable-institution midpoint. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $16,666, and 81.7% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have median federal debt of $20,076, so the university's figure is $3,410 below the peer figure. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $28,682.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$14,418

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at UC Santa Cruz

At University of California-Santa Cruz, completing federal borrowers have a median debt figure below that of comparable institutions, even though 81.7% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $16,666.

At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $20,076; the university's median is $3,410 below it. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $28,682.

At University of California-Santa Cruz, four-year earnings sit above the model's expectation and borrowing is lower than the peer benchmark. Median earnings four years after completion are $67,085, which Azimuth places in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, also rate well among nonprofit four-year institutions at the 69th percentile. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

Program-mix earnings scenarios set a downside at $49,865 and an upside at $110,656, with the typical scenario matching the reported median. Median federal debt at completion is $16,666, $3,410 below the $20,076 peer median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years. Above-expected earnings and lower peer debt point in the same direction.

For the separate parent-borrower population using Parent PLUS, median borrowing is $28,682. The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years.

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

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$16,666
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$28,682

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

Estimated student payment · monthly
$189/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$364/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 Santa Cruz briefing

UC Santa Cruz career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

For federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, University of California-Santa Cruz has earnings modestly above its comparable-institution median. Four years after completion, median earnings are $67,085, which Azimuth places in the 70th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth places the university’s return pillar in the 64th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

Azimuth places that measure in the 69th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,537.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,206. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $65,610; the university sits $1,475 above it.

At $67,085, University of California-Santa Cruz graduates have median earnings four years after completion that fall in the 70th percentile. Azimuth places that measure among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The earnings cohort includes 3,730 completers in the four-year earnings cohort. The median is $1,475 above the peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), of $65,610.

For earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students. Downside and upside earnings scenarios based on the program mix are $49,865 and $110,656.

An estimated 38.1% continue to graduate study, a figure estimated from the program mix. Above-peer median earnings and higher-than-expected earnings point the same way.

Graduates of University of California-Santa Cruz who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $67,085 four years after completing a degree, a level in the 70th percentile. Against a peer median of $65,610 for comparable institutions (same type and size), these earnings sit $1,475 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks the university #522 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions on a frozen snapshot. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

That outcome falls at the 69th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations measure the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students with the same observable characteristics.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $8,537. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $4,206.

Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $5,371, alongside contributions from engineering, computer science, biological sciences and broad social sciences programs, all within the measured share. Estimated earnings scenarios from the program mix span $49,865 on the downside to $110,656 on the upside.

An estimated 38.1% of graduates continue to graduate study, based on the current program mix.

Program choice makes a wide difference in the modeled earnings picture at University of California-Santa Cruz. The downside scenario is $49,865, while the upside scenario is $110,656; both are earnings scenarios based on the program mix rather than observed groups.

The range makes the field selected central to interpreting the schoolwide figure.

Borrowing at University of California-Santa Cruz is lower than the benchmark for comparable institutions. Borrowers who complete have median federal student loan debt of $16,666, which is below the $20,076 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $189 a month if repaid over ten years. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students.

Parent PLUS borrowers are a separate population, with median borrowing of $28,682. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,890; aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

The debt comparison and the model-based earnings result point in the same direction.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$8,537
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$4,206
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$4,331

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 Santa Cruz briefing

UC Santa Cruz acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Admission to University of California-Santa Cruz was reported at 65.8%, meaning that rate describes the share of applicants admitted in the reported entering class. That sits below the median of 78.1% for comparable institutions (same type and size), so applicants should plan an application that presents their academic record and preparation clearly.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 66,374 first-year applicants, 48,274 admitted, and 4,596 enrolled.

Admissions
Admission rate
65.8%
Read the full admissions brief

04 / UC Santa Cruz briefing

What are the largest majors at UC Santa Cruz?[12]

Computer Science pairs the largest degree output with high earnings, making field choice especially consequential at University of California-Santa Cruz. Its completers have median earnings of $123,422 four years after completion across 607 degrees awarded, and Azimuth places the field at #45 nationally within its field.

Business/Managerial Economics posts $82,064 from 287 degrees awarded, with an Azimuth national field rank of #10. At more moderate earnings levels, Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences records $69,849 and 237 degrees awarded; Azimuth ranks the field #6 nationally.

Sociology has median earnings of $55,338 across 223 degrees awarded and holds an Azimuth national field rank of #63. The contrast between these fields shows that four-year earnings differ substantially across the university's larger programs.

National program rankings are distributed across several fields at University of California-Santa Cruz, rather than concentrated in a single large major. The university has 29 ranked programs, and earnings data for 32 programs.

Azimuth ranks Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology #3 nationally among nonprofit four-year institutions in its field; it awarded 49 degrees and its completers earned $88,305 four years after completion. Community Organization and Advocacy ranks #3 nationally, with 31 degrees awarded and $56,620 in earnings.

Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences ranks #6 nationally, awarded 237 degrees, and shows $69,849 four years after completion.

The degree mix at University of California-Santa Cruz is balanced across three large families: Computer & Information Sciences accounts for 14.9% of bachelor's degrees awarded, Biological Sciences for 14.8%, and Social Sciences for 14.1%. Across the university, 29 programs carry an Azimuth national rank and 32 have published four-year earnings data.

The largest single program is Computer Science, at 607 degrees awarded, followed by Psychology at 431 and Business/Managerial Economics at 287. The highest-ranked program is Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, with 49 degrees awarded and median earnings of $88,305 four years after completion.

Community Organization and Advocacy awards 31 degrees, ranks #3 nationally within its field and #1 in California, with earnings of $56,620. The highest-earning program is Computer Engineering, at $124,641 from 132 degrees awarded.

Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology stands out for its return: a benchmark ratio of 1.35x against the national median for its field, with earnings of $88,305. Strength is spread rather than concentrated in one corner of the catalog.

The largest program, Computer Science, is also the second-highest-earning, at $123,422, and ranks #45 nationally and #12 in California. The social sciences and humanities programs that round out the top five by size — Psychology, Sociology — post earnings in the mid-to-upper $59,948 to $55,338 range.

Those figures sit below the engineering and computing programs but above the national medians for their fields. 42.5% of degrees awarded are in STEM, and the highest-ranked programs include Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology, Community Organization and Advocacy, and Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Computer Science 607 degrees awarded
$123,422
Psychology, General 431 degrees awarded
$59,948
Business/Managerial Economics 287 degrees awarded
$82,064
Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences 237 degrees awarded
$69,849
Sociology 223 degrees awarded
$55,338
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services 192 degrees awarded
$49,763

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 Santa Cruz briefing

How does UC Santa Cruz serve students from different backgrounds?

Completion and modeled earnings make mobility a clear strength here. Azimuth places University of California-Santa Cruz's mobility pillar in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 75.1%, while Pell recipients complete at 67.9%, below the overall rate by 7.2 percentage points. Graduates earn about $4,331 more than the model expects for similar students, an earnings beyond expectations measure: the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students.

That measure sits in the 69th percentile. The above-expected earnings and completion figures point in the same direction, though Pell completion remains lower than the overall rate.

At University of California-Santa Cruz, the admission rate is 65.8%, offering a clear entry point to a public university with 17,940 undergraduates. Pell Grant recipients make up 31.6% of undergraduates, and an estimated 22.7% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

Azimuth places the access pillar in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The Pell share and transfer estimate describe access through more than one route.

06 / UC Santa Cruz briefing

What colleges are similar to UC Santa Cruz?[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 Santa Cruz.

Admissions peerMenlo College68.5% admitted
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzMenlo College
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$79,903+$12,818 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$31,100+$13,210 vs UC Santa Cruz · higher cost
Admission rate65.8%68.5%
Higher-admission alternativeSan Francisco State University96.4% admitted
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzSan Francisco State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$67,804+$719 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$12,278-$5,612 vs UC Santa Cruz · lower cost
Admission rate65.8%96.4%
Explore San Francisco State University →
Nearby alternativeSan Francisco State UniversityNearby option · CA
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzSan Francisco State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$67,804+$719 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$12,278-$5,612 vs UC Santa Cruz · lower cost
Admission rate65.8%96.4%
Explore San Francisco State University →
Higher-earnings alternativeMissouri University of Science and Technology$93,514 earnings
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzMissouri University of Science and Technology
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$93,514+$26,429 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$16,298-$1,592 vs UC Santa Cruz · lower cost
Admission rate65.8%72.6%
Explore Missouri University of Science and Technology →
Lower-cost alternativeCalifornia State University-Stanislaus$6,067 average net price
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzCalifornia State University-Stanislaus
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$58,952-$8,133 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$6,067-$11,823 vs UC Santa Cruz · lower cost
Admission rate65.8%98.1%
Explore California State University-Stanislaus →
Similar profileSan Francisco State UniversityMatched across several measures
Comparison with UC Santa Cruz
MeasureUC Santa CruzSan Francisco State University
Peer earnings · 4 years$67,085$67,804+$719 vs UC Santa Cruz
Average annual net price$17,890$12,278-$5,612 vs UC Santa Cruz · lower cost
Admission rate65.8%96.4%
Explore San Francisco State University →

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