Which UC Merced major has the lowest debt?

Chemistry graduates leave with a median of $15,000 in federal loans, the lowest among 16 UC Merced bachelor's programs that report debt.

How much does UC Merced cost?

In-state tuition and fees are $15,623 a year, and $49,823 for out-of-state students. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $11,983 a year.

How many UC Merced programs report graduate pay?

16 bachelor's programs at UC Merced report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

UC Merced Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

University of California-Merced
Public university
Merced, CA
8,372 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

16 UC Merced bachelor's programs report what graduates earn. Mechanical Engineering pays the most in the first year ($67,096), and History the least ($26,103). The median program pays $38,115.

In-state tuition and fees$15,623Per year. Out-of-state $49,823

Average net price after aid$11,983Per year

Graduation rate69%Within 6 years

Admission rate91%Of applicants

All 16 bachelor's programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's bachelor's programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Mechanical EngineeringAbout 150 graduates a year	$67,096	$85,156	$18,500	19th of 26
2	Computer EngineeringAbout 217 graduates a year	$58,835	$102,036	$19,086	16th of 19
3	Biomedical EngineeringAbout 50 graduates a year	$57,223	$89,244	$21,234	13th of 15
4	EconomicsAbout 27 graduates a year	$51,212	$71,331	$19,303	18th of 35
5	ChemistryAbout 31 graduates a year	$50,944	$64,086	$15,000	2nd of 23
6	Environmental EngineeringAbout 19 graduates a year	$47,028	$83,194	$21,665	5th of 5
7	Business AdministrationAbout 1 graduates a year	$46,378	$61,387	$16,000	38th of 57
8	Applied MathematicsAbout 38 graduates a year	$39,138	$79,461	$16,497	8th of 8
9	SociologyAbout 95 graduates a year	$37,092	$49,395	$17,515	10th of 42
10	Public HealthAbout 112 graduates a year	$36,555	Not reported	$15,502	10th of 16
11	BiologyAbout 308 graduates a year	$36,140	$67,342	$18,325	13th of 47
12	Cognitive ScienceAbout 54 graduates a year	$32,419	$57,358	$21,000	8th of 8
13	Political ScienceAbout 102 graduates a year	$29,153	$59,111	$17,500	39th of 44
14	EnglishAbout 24 graduates a year	$29,152	Not reported	$24,000	10th of 35
15	PsychologyGraduates a year not reported	$28,669	$52,632	$16,500	36th of 54
16	HistoryAbout 14 graduates a year	$26,103	Not reported	$15,455	20th of 30

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

Quick picks

Highest first-year pay

Lowest median debt

Largest programs

BiologyAbout 308 graduates a year
Computer EngineeringAbout 217 graduates a year
Mechanical EngineeringAbout 150 graduates a year
Public HealthAbout 112 graduates a year
Political ScienceAbout 102 graduates a year

Common questions

Mechanical Engineering graduates earn a median of $67,096 in their first year, the most of 16 UC Merced bachelor's programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
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 rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels