UC Berkeley Biomedical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Biomedical/Medical Engineering
- Public university
- Berkeley, CA
- About 113 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UC Berkeley biomedical engineering graduates earn more than graduates of most biomedical engineering programs nationally, $73,348 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $14,896 in federal loans, less than at 94% of biomedical engineering programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying biomedical engineering degrees in California.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The California and national columns are the medians across all biomedical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UC Berkeley graduates earn less than the national figure and about $18,093 less than the California median. Several California programs with higher debt show higher pay by the five-year mark.
Debt and first-year pay at every California biomedical engineering program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the California medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 22% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $158 a month, or 2.6% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
87% of graduates (34 of 39) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the San Francisco area are about 16% above the national average, so a $73,348 salary here buys what about $63,443 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to biomedical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
$210,280Median pay in California. 29,630 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.
Bioengineers and Biomedical Engineers
$128,310Median pay in California. 2,750 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About UC Berkeley
Biomedical Engineering ranks 11th of 48 bachelor's programs at UC Berkeley by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Science ($149,866), Electrical Engineering ($137,295), and Business Administration ($90,008).
Other biomedical engineering bachelor's programs near Berkeley
Common questions
The median graduate earns $73,348 one year after graduating and $89,225 five years after. The median across biomedical engineering bachelor's programs in California is $67,170.
The median federal loan balance is $14,896, which ranks 2nd lowest of 14 biomedical engineering bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $158 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 20% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 36%. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 87% (34 of 39) were working in California one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the biomedical engineering program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024