UC Santa Cruz Political Science (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Political Science and Government
- Public university
- Santa Cruz, CA
- About 141 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
UC Santa Cruz political science graduates earn about what political science graduates earn nationally, $31,882 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $16,782 in federal loans, less than at 90% of political science programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying political science 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 political science bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, UC Santa Cruz graduates earn more than the national figure but about $4,031 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 political science 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 100% 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 slightly more in their first year than other graduates, but borrowed more: a median of $18,500 against $15,000.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $178 a month, or 6.7% 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, 53 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $26,394.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (154 of 184) were working in California one year after graduating. Prices in the Santa Cruz area are about 10% above the national average, so a $31,882 salary here buys what about $29,011 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 political science, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education
$101,370Median pay in California. 99,230 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 63,500 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's 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.
Economists
$119,410Median pay in California. 860 people work in this job in California. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 5% from 2025 to 2035, with about 1,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
Political Scientists
$142,080Median pay nationwide. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 2% from 2025 to 2035, with about 400 openings a year. Typical education to start: master's degree.
About UC Santa Cruz
Political Science ranks 20th of 35 bachelor's programs at UC Santa Cruz by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($79,969), Electrical Engineering ($78,842), and Computer Science ($75,150).
Other political science bachelor's programs near Santa Cruz
Common questions
The median graduate earns $31,882 one year after graduating and $63,776 five years after. The median across political science bachelor's programs in California is $35,211.
The median federal loan balance is $16,782, which ranks 19th lowest of 42 political science bachelor's programs in California. That works out to about $178 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 53% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 65%, and the share of borrowers in default two years into repayment is 10% or less. If the highest possible early salary is the main goal, several California programs report higher pay, usually with more debt.
Most do. 84% (154 of 184) 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 political science 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