How much money do University of California Irvine graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $41,800 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $61,800 on average.
In terms of specific areas of study, the following is a ranking of degree programs by the median first-year starting salaries for UCI graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing with a median starting salary of $76,400 followed by Computer Science paying $71,600 and Computer Engineering graduates who have a median starting income of $67,400 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $175,300 followed by Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) at $98,800 and Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) who earn $88,100 .
Note about salary data: First year earnings data are aggregated by the US Department of Education and analyzes IRS reported income for University of California Irvine graduates who received federal financial aid in the form of grants or loans. Not all graduates or fields of study are represented as data for some degree programs are omitted for privacy purposes.
| Major | Earnings |
|---|---|
| Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degree) | $175,300 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) | $98,800 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $88,100 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degree) | $81,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $76,400 |
| Computer Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $71,600 |
| Law (First Professional Degree) | $68,700 |
| Computer Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $67,400 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $65,300 |
| Chemistry (Doctoral Degree) | $64,000 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $63,700 |
| Criminology (Master's Degree) | $62,300 |
| Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $60,000 |
| Accounting and Related Services (Master's Degree) | $59,700 |
| Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $58,900 |
| Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $57,200 |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods (Master's Degree) | $56,000 |
| Medicine (First Professional Degree) | $55,800 |
| Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $53,000 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $52,100 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $49,800 |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) | $48,800 |
| Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $42,300 |
| Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,100 |
| Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $40,700 |
| International/Global Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,600 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,600 |
| Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,700 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,300 |
| Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,200 |
| Urban Studies/Affairs (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,200 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,100 |
| Criminology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,700 |
| Public Health (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,500 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,200 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,600 |
| Journalism (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,500 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,500 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,400 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,900 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,300 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,300 |
| Education (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,600 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,500 |
| Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,500 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,400 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,700 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,400 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $22,100 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) | $17,800 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110653 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for University of California Irvine.