University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology: Salary, Debt & Careers

Earnings, 4 years after graduating

$59,948

U.S. median for this major: $49,968.

College Scorecard field of study

Earnings, 1 year after

$30,730

Median for graduates who received federal aid.

College Scorecard field of study

Median debt at graduation

$18,902

About 32% of median earnings 4 years out. U.S. median $25,490.

College Scorecard field of study (federal loans)

What your family pays

$17,890 /yr

Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.

Sticker price $41,179. College Scorecard.

Psychology at California colleges

Every California college we cover that reports Psychology graduate earnings, highest first. Net price is the school-wide average after grants.

Rank	College	Earnings, 4 yrs	Median debt	Avg. net price	Graduation
1	Santa Clara University	$75,742	$17,667	$50,062	88%
2	University of San Diego	$74,178	$24,293	$30,365	84%
3	University of Southern California	$70,461	$14,000	$32,740	92%
4	Saint Mary's College of California	$70,123	$26,998	$30,378	70%
5	National University	$66,849	$31,250	$22,878	43%
6	University of San Francisco	$65,071	$24,315	$41,431	70%
7	Azusa Pacific University	$63,963	$23,406	$22,212	62%
8	Chapman University	$63,617	$21,500	$46,555	82%
9	University of California-Berkeley	$62,835	—	$13,481	93%
10	Pepperdine University	$61,353	$22,580	$58,098	83%
11	Dominican University of California	$61,339	$27,000	$35,333	78%
12	California Baptist University	$61,103	$27,000	$26,285	62%
13	University of California-Los Angeles	$61,050	$14,500	$12,548	93%
14	Loyola Marymount University	$60,958	$20,500	$48,381	79%
15	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	$60,466	$20,000	$16,665	86%
16	University of California-Santa Cruz	$59,948	$18,902	$17,890	75%
17	California Lutheran University	$59,153	$25,000	$30,109	70%
18	University of Massachusetts Global	$58,836	$26,703	$32,654	43%
19	Whittier College	$58,397	$25,000	$25,757	60%
20	Sonoma State University	$57,335	$16,500	$12,885	58%
21	University of La Verne	$56,925	$24,003	$20,161	63%
22	Simpson University	$56,902	$22,250	$27,817	49%
23	Occidental College	$56,800	$19,764	$38,263	81%
24	University of California-Irvine	$56,380	$14,883	$14,251	87%
25	San Francisco State University	$55,902	$15,000	$12,278	50%
26	University of Redlands	$55,739	$25,827	$30,031	67%
27	California State University-San Marcos	$55,196	$18,312	$10,229	55%
28	California State University-East Bay	$54,436	$15,000	$9,320	48%
29	California State University-Monterey Bay	$54,074	$12,366	$13,663	59%
30	The Chicago School at Los Angeles	$53,952	$40,645	—	0%
31	California State University-Sacramento	$53,237	$15,500	$9,338	56%
32	University of California-Merced	$53,143	$16,500	$11,983	69%
33	Menlo College	$52,942	$22,750	$31,100	54%
34	California State University-Dominguez Hills	$52,742	$13,625	$8,615	43%
35	Fresno Pacific University	$52,695	$23,187	$13,630	50%
36	California State University-Chico	$52,621	$15,000	$14,480	63%
37	University of the Pacific	$52,612	$24,000	$25,447	69%
38	University of California-San Diego	$51,679	$16,124	$12,470	86%
39	California State University-Fullerton	$51,661	$12,998	$6,555	70%
40	California State University-Fresno	$51,526	$13,889	$7,000	57%
41	San Diego State University	$51,021	$14,301	$15,364	76%
42	William Jessup University	$50,354	$21,500	$28,062	56%
43	California State University-Stanislaus	$50,348	$13,920	$6,067	53%
44	California State University-Northridge	$49,792	$13,000	$7,021	57%
45	California State Polytechnic University-Pomona	$49,747	$13,000	$11,531	68%
46	Concordia University-Irvine	$49,593	$25,000	$28,115	58%
47	Biola University	$49,450	$23,250	$31,495	68%
48	La Sierra University	$49,265	$30,764	$45,566	60%
49	California State University-Bakersfield	$49,207	—	$5,652	50%
50	California State University-Long Beach	$48,926	$12,000	$10,440	69%
51	California State University-Channel Islands	$48,789	$15,000	$9,849	51%
52	California State University-San Bernardino	$48,326	$12,500	$4,564	55%
53	Vanguard University of Southern California	$47,582	$16,000	$21,241	57%
54	Hope International University	$47,206	$26,000	$29,310	49%
55	Point Loma Nazarene University	$46,437	$22,411	$38,729	77%
56	Touro University Worldwide	$46,340	$25,611	$19,058	29%
57	California State Polytechnic University-Humboldt	$45,889	$16,200	$13,171	49%
58	Westmont College	$45,455	$25,500	$29,053	70%

15 more California colleges offer Psychology but have too few graduates to report earnings.

Careers for Psychology graduates

Social Science Research Assistants

California$60,250

U.S.$61,990

Median annual wage, all workers. U.S. jobs +5.0% by 2035. Typical entry: bachelor's degree.

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35. Careers from the federal major-to-occupation crosswalk.

What families pay at University of California-Santa Cruz, by income

School-wide average after grants for students receiving federal aid. Tap your band.

College Scorecard

About University of California-Santa Cruz

Acceptance rate: 66% · admissions
Graduation rate: 75% within 6 years
Median earnings, all majors, 10 years after starting: $68,396
Full cost breakdown · all 57 majors · overview

Related majors at University of California-Santa Cruz

Psychology (Research)—
Sociology$55,338

University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology questions

How much do University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology graduates earn?

Psychology graduates of University of California-Santa Cruz earn a median $59,948 four years after graduating and $30,730 one year after. The U.S. median for Psychology graduates across 998 colleges is $49,968.

How much debt do University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology graduates have?

The median federal loan debt for Psychology graduates of University of California-Santa Cruz is $18,902, about 32% of their median earnings four years out. Nationally the median is $25,490.

Where does University of California-Santa Cruz rank for Psychology in California?

Of 58 California colleges reporting Psychology graduate earnings, University of California-Santa Cruz ranks 16th. The highest is Santa Clara University at $75,742.

What jobs do Psychology graduates get?

A common career is social science research assistants, with a median wage of $60,250 in California and $61,990 nationally.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (field of study: median earnings and federal loan debt of graduates who received federal aid); BLS. How we score
Data: JSON · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology: earnings, debt and careers,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/university-of-california-santa-cruz/majors/psychology (College Scorecard and BLS data).

University of California-Santa Cruz Psychology: earnings, debt & careers