Mechanical Engineering at University of California-Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara, CA · Bachelor's Degree · about 82 graduates a year

$81,108
Median pay 1 year after graduating
$104,336
Median pay 4 years after graduating
$92,135
National median for this major (4 yrs)
#22 of 318
Rank by pay
#117 of 318
Rank, wage-adjusted
$15,000
Median federal debt

University of California-Santa Barbara graduates in mechanical engineering earn 13% more than the national median for the same major four years after graduating. Their median federal debt equals about 14% of one year’s pay at that point.

How University of California-Santa Barbara Compares for Mechanical Engineering

All 318 colleges reporting mechanical engineering earnings at this degree level, ranked by median pay four years after graduation. “Wage-adjusted” divides pay by the square root of the state’s wage index so colleges in low-wage states aren’t penalized for local pay.

#College4 yrs afterWage-adjustedAdj. rank1 yr after
1Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA$131,967$116,211#3$83,957
2California State University Maritime Academy Vallejo, CA$126,395$115,011#5$92,315
3Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA$122,111$111,113#10$81,865
4Duke University Durham, NC$120,991$129,841#1$89,938
5University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA$119,371$108,620#16$88,497
6Stanford University Stanford, CA$117,072$106,528#28—
7Princeton University Princeton, NJ$115,927$101,747#53$85,328
8University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA$114,492$116,439#2$66,876
9Cornell University Ithaca, NY$112,212$106,803#27$85,440
10Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY$111,491$106,116#32$72,036
…
19University of Detroit Mercy Detroit, MI$104,683$110,376#13$78,552
20University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA$104,649$95,224#115$83,356
21The University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX$104,523$106,269#31$82,227
22University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA$104,336$94,939#117$81,108
23University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA$104,229$94,842#118$69,555
24Northeastern University Boston, MA$103,384$91,040#181$80,255
25Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology Flushing, NY$103,254$98,276#82$74,472

Other Majors at University of California-Santa Barbara by Graduate Pay

Major4 yrs after1 yr afterRank in major
Computer Science$149,190$107,776#33 of 349
Computer Engineering$144,703$91,387#17 of 189
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering$117,215—#18 of 258
Chemical Engineering$113,317$79,737#10 of 158
Applied Mathematics$109,360$59,638#9 of 45
Pharmacology and Toxicology$98,462$39,421#1 of 5
Economics$98,178$66,334#73 of 368
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods$96,078$66,099#37 of 126
Statistics$90,778$55,110#23 of 50
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology$90,694$49,100#1 of 110
Microbiological Sciences and Immunology$90,061$42,634#2 of 49
Mathematics$85,391$46,447#61 of 309
Physics$85,219$53,597#38 of 107
Chemistry$74,713$47,197#40 of 209
Communication and Media Studies$72,976$46,598#31 of 660
Philosophy$71,796$25,303#7 of 86
Political Science and Government$70,384$39,404#119 of 565
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics$68,496$35,635#27 of 225
Geography and Cartography$67,521$37,398#19 of 117
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences$66,788$30,759#42 of 138
Research and Experimental Psychology$66,171$34,431#18 of 82
International/Globalization Studies$66,127$33,553#22 of 87
Biology$64,520$33,486#204 of 841
Natural Resources Conservation and Research$63,628$33,759#42 of 265
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services$61,580$27,629#14 of 90
Sociology$60,013$34,372#80 of 462
History$59,342$29,749#69 of 459
English Language and Literature$59,334$24,099#64 of 576
Area Studies$59,042—#32 of 70
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies$59,004$32,341#17 of 103

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do University of California-Santa Barbara mechanical engineering graduates make?

Graduates earn a median $81,108 one year after graduating and $104,336 four years after graduating. Figures are from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

How does University of California-Santa Barbara rank for mechanical engineering?

Among 318 colleges reporting earnings for mechanical engineering graduates, University of California-Santa Barbara ranks #22 by median pay four years after graduation, and #117 after adjusting for state wage levels.

Is mechanical engineering at University of California-Santa Barbara worth it?

Its graduates earn 13% more than the national median for mechanical engineering ($92,135), and the median federal debt at graduation is $15,000.

← All data for University of California-Santa Barbara · Methodology

Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, field-of-study data. Earnings are medians for graduates who received federal aid and were working and not enrolled; programs with few graduates are not reported. Wage adjustment uses Census ACS state median household income.