University of California-Santa Barbara majors, earnings & debt

University of California-Santa Barbara offers 53 bachelor's majors across 9 areas. Graduates in Computer Science earn the most: a median $149,190 four years after graduating. Earnings below are for this school's own graduates in each major, not national averages.

All University of California-Santa Barbara majors by area

Humanities & Languages · 16 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Philosophy$25,303$71,796$15,000
Spanish / French / Romance Languages$35,635$68,496$16,261
International / Global Studies$33,553$66,127$14,792
Linguistics$27,629$61,580$14,100
History$29,749$59,342$14,500
English$24,099$59,334$17,550
Area Studies—$59,042$22,697
Ethnic / Gender Studies$32,341$59,004$13,500
Religious Studies$19,911$43,377$15,873
Classics———
East Asian Languages (Chinese / Japanese / Korean)———
German———
Liberal Arts / General Studies———
Medieval and Renaissance Studies———
Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other———
Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics———
Science & Math · 15 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Applied Mathematics$59,638$109,360$17,000
Pharmacology and Toxicology$39,421$98,462$14,500
Statistics$55,110$90,778$17,500
Biochemistry$49,100$90,694$9,500
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology$42,634$90,061$16,500
Mathematics$46,447$85,391$17,000
Physics$53,597$85,219$15,982
Chemistry$47,197$74,713$15,805
Geology / Earth Science$30,759$66,788$21,800
Biology$33,486$64,520$14,586
Environmental Science / Conservation$33,759$63,628$16,533
Zoology / Animal Biology$37,633$53,727—
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology$29,258$50,694$12,500
Cell / Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences$38,333—$19,000
Physiology———
Social Sciences & Public Service · 7 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Political Science$39,404$70,384$16,485
Geography$37,398$67,521$13,750
Psychology (Research)$34,431$66,171$15,000
Sociology$34,372$60,013$13,500
Anthropology$31,420$56,238$19,500
Legal Studies / Paralegal———
Psychology———
Arts & Design · 5 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Film and Photography$28,608$49,893$15,000
Studio Art—$46,428$16,978
Dance—$44,858—
Theatre$20,503$44,106$16,852
Music—$33,825—
Engineering · 4 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Computer Engineering$91,387$144,703$14,410
Electrical Engineering—$117,215$15,571
Chemical Engineering$79,737$113,317$14,937
Mechanical Engineering$81,108$104,336$15,908
Business & Finance · 3 majors
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Economics$66,334$98,178$13,516
Management Science / Analytics$66,099$96,078$11,128
Business Economics———
Communications & Media · 1 major
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Communications$46,598$72,976$13,018
Health & Medicine · 1 major
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders———
Technology & Computing · 1 major
MajorEarnings, 1 yrEarnings, 4 yrsMedian debt
Computer Science$107,776$149,190$11,000

College Scorecard field of study, latest release: median earnings of graduates who received federal aid, 1 and 4 years after graduating; median federal loan debt. — means too few graduates to report.

From major to career

Communications → Public relations specialist

$78,450
Santa Maria
$85,030
California
$74,750
U.S.

Median annual wage for all workers in this job. U.S. jobs projected to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry education: bachelor's degree.

BLS OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35

Environmental Science / Conservation → Environmental scientist

$105,230
Santa Maria
$106,510
California
$82,220
U.S.

Median annual wage for all workers in this job. U.S. jobs projected to grow 6.1% from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry education: bachelor's degree.

BLS OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35

Across all majors, former University of California-Santa Barbara students earn a median $74,915 ten years after starting college, more than 74% of California colleges we cover. 83% graduate within six years.

University of California-Santa Barbara majors questions

How many majors does University of California-Santa Barbara offer?

University of California-Santa Barbara offers 53 bachelor's majors across 9 areas; the most majors are in Humanities & Languages and Science & Math.

What is the highest-paying major at University of California-Santa Barbara?

Computer Science graduates from University of California-Santa Barbara earn a median $149,190 four years after graduating, the highest of the 40 majors with reported earnings. Their median debt is $11,000.

Which University of California-Santa Barbara majors earn the least?

Among majors with reported earnings, Music graduates earn the least: a median $33,825 four years after graduating.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (field of study); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections). Back to University of California-Santa Barbara overview