How much money do University of California Los Angeles graduates make and which majors earn the most upon graduating? Six years after enrolling, alumni who are working have average earnings of $49,600 per year. After ten years, graduates earn $70,700 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 UCLA graduates.
The undergraduate degree which initially pays the highest is Computer and Information Sciences with a median starting salary of $102,100 followed by Computer Engineering paying $87,600 and Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing graduates who have a median starting income of $82,300 .
Looking at post-graduate and doctorate students, those completing the Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) program rank first with a median initial income of $135,200 followed by Computer and Information Sciences (Master's Degree) at $122,100 and Engineering (Master's Degree) who earn $108,200 .
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 Los Angeles 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 |
|---|---|
| Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degree) | $135,200 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Master's Degree) | $122,100 |
| Engineering (Master's Degree) | $108,200 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Doctoral Degree) | $104,200 |
| Computer and Information Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $102,100 |
| Law (First Professional Degree) | $96,600 |
| Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degree) | $96,400 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degree) | $91,500 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Master's Degree) | $90,700 |
| Computer Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $87,600 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Master's Degree) | $86,000 |
| Public Health (Doctoral Degree) | $82,500 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor’s Degree) | $82,300 |
| Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $74,700 |
| Public Health (Master's Degree) | $71,500 |
| Education (Doctoral Degree) | $67,800 |
| Civil Engineering (Master's Degree) | $67,200 |
| Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $65,900 |
| Dentistry (First Professional Degree) | $65,200 |
| Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $64,400 |
| Civil Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $63,600 |
| Public Policy Analysis (Master's Degree) | $59,300 |
| City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning (Master's Degree) | $57,500 |
| Chemistry (Doctoral Degree) | $56,800 |
| Medicine (First Professional Degree) | $56,400 |
| Social Work (Master's Degree) | $55,800 |
| History (Doctoral Degree) | $55,400 |
| Education (Master's Degree) | $54,600 |
| Architecture (Master's Degree) | $53,800 |
| Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $53,100 |
| Psychology (Doctoral Degree) | $53,100 |
| Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $51,000 |
| Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) | $50,800 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Doctoral Degree) | $49,800 |
| Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $48,800 |
| Statistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $48,100 |
| Library Science, Other (Master's Degree) | $44,400 |
| Cognitive Science (Bachelor’s Degree) | $44,400 |
| Applied Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $43,900 |
| Legal Support Services (Graduate/Professional Certificate) | $43,500 |
| Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) | $41,100 |
| Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) | $38,300 |
| Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,900 |
| International/Global Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $37,000 |
| Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) | $36,200 |
| Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $35,600 |
| Human Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,500 |
| Microbiological Sciences and Immunology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,200 |
| Physics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,000 |
| Geography and Cartography (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,000 |
| Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $33,000 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degree) | $31,300 |
| Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $31,100 |
| Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $30,000 |
| Philosophy (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,900 |
| Cell/Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,300 |
| Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,100 |
| Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $29,000 |
| Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,900 |
| Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,900 |
| History (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,500 |
| Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) | $28,400 |
| East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,900 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $27,100 |
| English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,900 |
| Research and Experimental Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $26,900 |
| Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,100 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) | $25,000 |
| Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences (Bachelor’s Degree) | $24,000 |
| Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,300 |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) | $23,100 |
| Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degree) | $22,800 |
| Music (Bachelor’s Degree) | $21,100 |
| Music (Master's Degree) | $20,600 |
Primary data source, U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110662 IPEDS survey and College Scorecard data for University of California Los Angeles.