University of California-Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California · Also known as UCSB UC Santa Barbara · Website
$74,915
median earnings, 10 years after starting
$74,915
median earnings, 10 years after starting
University of California-Santa Barbara is a public 4-year college in Santa Barbara, California with 23,113 undergraduates and 2,952 graduate students. Its average net price after grants is $16,109 a year (tuition and fees $16,414 in-state, $50,614 out-of-state). It admits 33% of applicants and 83% of students finish within 6 years. Former students earn a median $74,915 a year 10 years after they started, and graduates leave with a median $13,993 in federal student loans.
Updated Oct 10, 2026 · June 2026 data
Net price
$16,109
US median $17,138
Tuition in-state
$16,414
Out-of-state $50,614
Admission rate
33%
US median 78%
Completion rate
83%
Within 6 years, US 58%
Median debt
$13,993
About $148 a month
Earnings at 10 years
$74,915
Rank 270 of 5,094 in the US
Cost
What a year costs: posted prices and the average after grants
Net price by family income
Average yearly cost after grants, for students who get aid
- Net price
- $16,109
- Tuition in-state
- $16,414
- Tuition out-of-state
- $50,614
- Cost of attendance
- $41,573
- Students with a need-based grant
- 28%
- Students with federal loans
- 18%
- Net price, family income under $30K
- $9,231
- Net price, family income $30K to $48K
- $9,992
- Net price, family income $48K to $75K
- $12,588
- Net price, family income $75K to $110K
- $17,136
- Net price, family income over $110K
- $31,863
Net price is what students who get aid pay on average after grants.
Tuition and net price by year
School years 2015-16 to 2024-25. The year on the chart is the year the school year starts.
Yearly cost
Tuition and fees went from $13,968 in 2015-16 to $16,414 in 2024-25.
Admission, completion and retention
Share of applicants admitted, of students who finish and of first-year students who come back
Admission and students
- Admission rate
- 33%
- Undergraduates
- 23,113
- Graduate students
- 2,952
- Part-time students
- 1.9%
- Women
- 58%
- Students per teacher
- 17
- Completion rate
- 83%
- Retention rate
- 93%
- Highest degree
- Graduate degree
- Programs
- 147
- Endowment
- $444.0M
- Other
- Hispanic-serving
Earnings and debt
Compared with the medians of the colleges of its state, of colleges of the same kind and of all US colleges
Median earnings 10 years after starting rank 270 of 5,094 US colleges and 52 of 494 in California (1 = highest).
| Measure | College | CA median | Same kind | US median |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net price | $16,109 | $20,161 | $12,792 | $17,138 |
| Tuition in-state | $16,414 | $8,086 | $8,626 | $11,837 |
| Admission rate | 33% | 76% | 83% | 78% |
| Completion rate | 83% | 64% | 46% | 58% |
| Retention rate | 93% | 80% | 76% | 75% |
| Median debt | $13,993 | $11,537 | $19,500 | $13,271 |
| Earnings after 6 years | $56,852 | $36,048 | $43,105 | $35,656 |
| Earnings after 10 years | $74,915 | $41,472 | $50,314 | $40,813 |
Best-paid programs
Median earnings 1 year after graduation
Same kind: US public 4-year colleges. Earnings and debt are medians of former students who received federal student aid. 75% of borrowers lowered their balance within 3 years. 79% earn more than a typical high school graduate 6 years after starting.
Programs
147 fields of study and credentials, with graduates, debt and earnings
| Field of study | Graduates | Median debt | Earnings 1 yr | Earnings 4 yr | US median 4 yr | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EconomicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 696 | $13,440 | $66,334 | $98,178 | $82,686 |
| SociologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 692 | $13,500 | $34,372 | $60,013 | $52,657 |
| Research and Experimental PsychologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 650 | $14,500 | $34,431 | $66,171 | $55,695 |
| Communication and Media StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 620 | $13,000 | $46,598 | $72,976 | $56,359 |
| Biology, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 391 | $14,500 | $33,486 | $64,520 | $57,214 |
| StatisticsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 355 | $17,167 | $55,110 | $90,778 | $92,425 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and ResearchBachelor's | Bachelor's | 338 | $16,200 | $33,759 | $63,628 | $55,012 |
| Political Science and GovernmentBachelor's | Bachelor's | 322 | $15,033 | $39,404 | $70,384 | $63,293 |
| English Language and Literature, GeneralBachelor's | Bachelor's | 184 | $16,892 | $24,099 | $59,334 | $48,590 |
| Applied MathematicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 184 | $17,000 | $59,638 | $109,360 | $91,532 |
| PhysicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 183 | $15,965 | $53,597 | $85,219 | $76,786 |
| Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 174 | $15,000 | $28,608 | $49,893 | $43,765 |
| Computer ScienceBachelor's | Bachelor's | 162 | $13,500 | $107,776 | $149,190 | $107,009 |
| HistoryBachelor's | Bachelor's | 159 | $14,282 | $29,749 | $59,342 | $50,680 |
| International/Globalization StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 143 | $14,724 | $33,553 | $66,127 | $59,972 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and ServicesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 125 | $13,000 | $27,629 | $61,580 | $49,984 |
| MathematicsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 123 | $17,000 | $46,447 | $85,391 | $69,562 |
| Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's | Bachelor's | 122 | $15,459 | Withheld | $46,428 | $41,367 |
| AnthropologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 121 | $18,000 | $31,420 | $56,238 | $46,676 |
| ChemistryBachelor's | Bachelor's | 114 | $15,805 | $47,197 | $74,713 | $65,120 |
| PhilosophyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 108 | $15,000 | $25,303 | $71,796 | $54,455 |
| Education, GeneralMaster's | Master's | 96 | Withheld | $63,765 | $75,874 | $65,824 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group StudiesBachelor's | Bachelor's | 95 | $13,250 | $32,341 | $59,004 | $51,710 |
| Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population BiologyBachelor's | Bachelor's | 83 | $12,750 | $29,258 | $50,694 | $48,842 |
| Mechanical EngineeringBachelor's | Bachelor's | 82 | $15,000 | $81,108 | $104,336 | $92,135 |
In the area
- Jobs, pay and new homes: California on Local Economy
- More colleges: All colleges in California
- Homes: Homes for sale in California
Questions and answers
How much does University of California-Santa Barbara cost?
$16,109 a year is the average net price at University of California-Santa Barbara after grants and scholarships. Tuition and fees are $16,414 for in-state students and $50,614 for out-of-state students, and the full cost of attendance with housing, food and books is $41,573. Families earning under $30,000 pay $9,231 on average.
What is the acceptance rate at University of California-Santa Barbara?
33% of applicants are admitted to University of California-Santa Barbara. The median admission rate of colleges in California is 76%.
How much do University of California-Santa Barbara graduates earn?
$74,915 a year is the median pay of former University of California-Santa Barbara students who work, 10 years after they started ($56,852 after 6 years). That ranks 270 of 5,094 US colleges and 52 of 494 in California. Its best-paid program one year after graduation is Computer Science (Bachelor's) at $107,776.
How much student debt do University of California-Santa Barbara graduates have?
$13,993 is the median federal student loan debt of University of California-Santa Barbara graduates, about $148 a month over 10 years. The median across US colleges is $13,271. 18% of undergraduates take out federal loans.
What is the graduation rate at University of California-Santa Barbara?
83% of first-time, full-time students at University of California-Santa Barbara finish within 6 years. 93% of first-year students come back for a second year. The median of public 4-year colleges is 46%.
What are the most popular majors at University of California-Santa Barbara?
Economics (696 bachelor's graduates), Sociology (692 bachelor's graduates), Research and Experimental Psychology (650 bachelor's graduates) had the most graduates in the newest year, out of 147 programs.
Official public data, June 2026 release. Net price is for first-time, full-time students who get aid. Completion counts first-time, full-time students who finish within 150% of the normal time. Debt and earnings are medians of students who received federal student aid, measured a few years after they left, in the dollars of the year measured; earnings count former students who work and are not enrolled, including those who did not finish.