Bachelor's · La Jolla, California
Is Physics at University of California-San Diego 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 2.1 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $65,870
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $102,061
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $11,407
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $63k (likely $63k – $67k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $62k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 2.1 years (likely 1.7–2.7)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $343k (likely $227k – $470k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.07M (likely $813k – $1.38M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 86%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Change income, residency or loans Compare Physics at other schools
Other majors at University of California-San Diego
- Computer Science (Master's)$231,397
- Computer and Information Sciences, General (Master's)$201,287
- Computer Engineering (Master's)$173,180
- Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering (Master's)$169,987
- Physics (Doctoral)$166,997
- Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration (Doctoral)$165,543
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$159,487
- Engineering, Other (Master's)$158,915
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$149,271
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$149,139
- Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Doctoral)$148,833
- Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's)$145,693
Physics at other schools in California
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$96,805
- University of California-Irvine$96,215
- University of California-Berkeley$96,043
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$87,856
- California State University-Fullerton$86,504
- University of California-Los Angeles$85,708
- University of California-Santa Barbara$85,219
- University of California-Davis$78,569
- University of California-Riverside$74,410
- University of California-Santa Cruz$72,553