+18%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at University of California-Santa Barbara rose 18% between 2007 and 2010 ($11.0k → $13.0k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
UC Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California. 23,205 undergraduate students. 144 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
Earnings, completion, debt, and enrollment anomalies at UC Santa Barbara
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at University of California-Santa Barbara fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.5% → 0.0%).
+15%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at University of California-Santa Barbara rose 15% between 2021 and 2024 ($44.2k → $50.6k).
+14%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at University of California-Santa Barbara rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 ($14.4k → $16.4k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
UC Santa Barbara earnings, debt, and completion vs. the California median
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$74,915+32% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$56,852
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry85.3%+15% · '97→'24
California median 61.3%$11,875+33% · '97→'10
At program completion23,205+18% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS91.9%+2% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time27.8%-34% · '01→'24
latest cohort$14,965+328% · '00→'24
out-of-state $45,742SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How UC Santa Barbara earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings at UC Santa Barbara
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.1%Median federal debt $11,875 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $74,915 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
UC Santa Barbara enrollment, completion, and debt over time
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+66%
UC Santa Barbara · completion · 100% rose
42.2% → 70.0%
+328%
UC Santa Barbara · in-state tuition rose
$3,832 → $16,414
+250%
UC Santa Barbara · out-of-state tuition rose
$14,446 → $50,614
+33%
UC Santa Barbara · median debt rose
$9,760 → $13,000
-100%
UC Santa Barbara · cohort default rate fell
2.6% → 0.0%
+35%
UC Santa Barbara · earnings_median_8yr rose
$50,400 → $68,092
+36%
UC Santa Barbara · earnings_median_6yr rose
$41,900 → $56,852
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
UC Santa Barbara programs ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Computer Science$145,485Computer Engineering$139,942Statistics$110,783Applied Mathematics$109,292Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering$108,865Economics$107,948Physics$104,149Chemical Engineering$104,039Education, General$103,332Mechanical Engineering$100,669Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$98,845Pharmacology and Toxicology$97,773Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$90,796Natural Resources Conservation and Research$90,082Chemistry$79,458Education, General$77,489Biology, General$76,068Education, General$75,838Mathematics$75,626Communication and Media Studies$73,857Political Science and Government$73,638Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences$71,720Natural Resources Conservation and Research$66,752Research and Experimental Psychology$66,321
Showing top 24 of 39 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
39 UC Santa Barbara programs with earnings, grouped by field
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PHILOSOPHY & RELIGIOUS STUDIES · CIP 38
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
HISTORY · CIP 54
NATURAL RESOURCES & CONSERVATION · CIP 03
AREA, ETHNIC & CULTURAL STUDIES · CIP 05
COMMUNICATION & JOURNALISM · CIP 09
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Institutions similar to UC Santa Barbara in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“UC Santa Barbara graduates earn $X” — not “UC Santa Barbara makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending UC Santa Barbara caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.