Bachelor's · Santa Clara, California
Is Mechanical Engineering at Santa Clara University worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 3 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $90,544
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $131,162
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $16,304
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $153k (likely $153k – $153k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $91k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 3 years (likely 2.6–3.6)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $514k (likely $372k – $674k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.57M (likely $1.24M – $1.97M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 87%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Mechanical Engineering at other schools
Other majors at Santa Clara University
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$231,929
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$196,786
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$195,995
- Mechanical Engineering (Master's)$170,120
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$163,765
- Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's)$153,926
- Law (First professional)$148,599
- Mathematics and Computer Science (Bachelor's)$147,013
- Accounting and Related Services (Bachelor's)$130,087
- Engineering-Related Fields (Master's)$124,939
- Economics (Bachelor's)$121,307
- Finance and Financial Management Services (Bachelor's)$118,737
Mechanical Engineering at other schools in California
- Cal Poly Maritime Academy$126,395
- University of California-Berkeley$119,371
- Stanford University$117,072
- University of California-Los Angeles$108,875
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$106,750
- California Baptist University$105,046
- University of Southern California$104,649
- University of California-Santa Barbara$104,336
- University of California-San Diego$104,229
- University of California-Davis$102,161