+28%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at University of California-San Diego rose 28% between 2007 and 2010 ($11.7k → $15.0k).
California · Public · Predominantly bachelor's
UC San Diego
La Jolla, California. 33,787 undergraduate students. 190 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at UC San Diego
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-San Diego fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (0.6% → 0.0%).
+15%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at University of California-San Diego rose 15% between 2021 and 2024 ($44.5k → $51.0k).
+14%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at University of California-San Diego rose 14% between 2021 and 2024 ($14.7k → $16.8k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
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.
$84,943+29% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$65,669
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry87.6%+9% · '97→'24
California median 61.3%$14,778+36% · '97→'10
At program completion33,787+62% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS93.9%+1% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time24.5%-38% · '01→'24
latest cohort$15,265
out-of-state $46,042SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How 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
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
2.3%Median federal debt $14,778 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $84,943 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
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.
+77%
UC San Diego · completion · 100% rose
41.6% → 73.7%
+62%
UC San Diego · undergrad enrollment rose
14,595 → 23,641
+1676%
UC San Diego · in-state tuition rose
$0 → $16,758
+252%
UC San Diego · out-of-state tuition rose
$14,462 → $50,958
+36%
UC San Diego · median debt rose
$11,000 → $15,000
-100%
UC San Diego · cohort default rate fell
3.0% → 0.0%
+47%
UC San Diego · earnings_median_8yr rose
$52,900 → $77,893
+55%
UC San Diego · earnings_median_6yr rose
$42,500 → $65,669
SECTION 05 · 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.$301,159Computer Engineering.$206,109Economics.$162,229Computer Science.$160,463Business Administration, Management and Operations.$156,032Computer Engineering.$154,498Physics.$153,107Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$141,614Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$141,515Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology.$138,331Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$135,080Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies.$132,434Medicine.$129,999Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$120,436Education, General.$120,409Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$118,528Biology, General.$110,617Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.$107,359Civil Engineering.$100,777Mechanical Engineering.$99,554Chemical Engineering.$97,911International Relations and National Security Studies.$97,237Chemistry.$97,018Engineering, Other.$94,292
Showing top 24 of 62 ranked programs.
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
62 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCES · CIP 11
EDUCATION · CIP 13
ENGINEERING · CIP 14
Mechanical Engineering.$99,554Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$141,515Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering.$120,436Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$141,614Computer Engineering.$154,498Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering.$107,359Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$118,528Civil Engineering.$91,984Chemical Engineering.$97,911Computer Engineering.$206,109Civil Engineering.$100,777Engineering, Other.$94,292Biomedical/Medical Engineering.$135,080
FOREIGN LANGUAGES · CIP 16
FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES · CIP 19
ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE · CIP 23
BIOLOGICAL & BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES · CIP 26
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology.$76,922Biology, General.$69,381Neurobiology and Neurosciences.$69,515Biology, General.$70,882Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology.$55,518Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology.$138,331Biology, General.$110,617Ecology, Evolution, Systematics, and Population Biology.$67,025
MATHEMATICS & STATISTICS · CIP 27
MULTI/INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDIES · CIP 30
PHYSICAL SCIENCES · CIP 40
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
SOCIAL SCIENCES · CIP 45
VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS · CIP 50
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
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
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“UC San Diego graduates earn $X” — not “UC San Diego makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending UC San Diego 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.