UC Davis Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Research and Experimental Psychology
- Public university
- Davis, CA
- About 958 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UC Davis experimental psychology graduates earn about what experimental psychology graduates earn nationally, $32,301 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $13,219 in federal loans, less than at 94% of experimental psychology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying experimental psychology 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 experimental psychology bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UC Davis graduates earn more than the national figure and about the same as the California median.
Debt and first-year pay at every California experimental psychology 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 93% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $1,920 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $140 a month, or 5.2% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 142 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $27,168.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
93% of graduates (580 of 623) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Sacramento area are about 7% above the national average, so a $32,301 salary here buys what about $30,281 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 experimental psychology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Child, Family, and School Social Workers
$65,200Median pay in California. 60,310 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 33,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists
$136,990Median pay in California. 29,830 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 13% from 2025 to 2035, with about 10,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Clinical and Counseling Psychologists
$116,000Median pay in California. 12,840 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 12% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: doctoral or professional degree.
Social Science Research Assistants
$60,250Median pay in California. 5,300 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About UC Davis
Experimental Psychology ranks 40th of 57 bachelor's programs at UC Davis by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($96,418), Computer and Information Science ($84,343), and Engineering ($82,956).
Other experimental psychology bachelor's programs near Davis
Common questions
The median graduate earns $32,301 one year after graduating and $62,401 five years after. The median across experimental psychology bachelor's programs in California is $28,789.
The median federal loan balance is $13,219, which ranks 3rd lowest of 8 experimental psychology bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $140 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 41% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 63%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 2% or less.
Most do. 93% (580 of 623) 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 experimental psychology 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