University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA

Public
Four-year
Degree-granting
Currently operating

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University of California-Santa Cruz: Programs, Admissions, Cost & Aid | DegreePilot

Decision snapshot

Five things to know

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At a Glance

Institution type: Public four-year institution
Location: Santa Cruz, California
Reported undergraduate enrollment: 17,940
Campus setting: City
Degrees and certificates reported: Bachelor's • Master's • Doctoral

What stands out

100 fields of study were recently reported.
65.8% recent institutional admission rate. Not considered. This is not a personal admission probability.
Resident and nonresident published cost evidence is available.
4 verified funding programs are available to investigate.

Upcoming application date

No current exact application date has been verified here.

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Program fit

100 recently reported fields of study, with bachelor's, master's, and doctoral options.

Life Sciences is one broad area with recently reported completed awards.

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Afford

Published yearly budget

Resident and nonresident budgets are available.

Why this matters: Choose a home state on the Cost & Aid page to find the likely planning category. This is the published planning total for the reported tuition and living arrangement, before grants and scholarships. It is not a personal net price.

Review the full cost plan

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Recently reported undergraduate outcomes

Student success

These institution-wide measures describe specific reported undergraduate cohorts. They are not a personal chance of graduating or a program outcome.

First-year retention: 88%; Of the reported first-time, full-time undergraduate cohort from Fall 2023, this share returned the following year.
Completion within 6 years: 75%; Of the reported 2018 first-time, full-time bachelor's-seeking students cohort, this share received a degree or certificate from this institution.

View outcome details and cohort definitions

Part-time first-year retention: 31% of the reported first-time, part-time cohort returned the following year.
Bachelor’s completion within 4 years: 61% of the same reported cohort.
Transfer-out: 10% of the same reported cohort transferred to another eligible institution without first completing here. Transfer reporting may be incomplete when tracking is not required.
Source and reporting period: NCES IPEDS EF2024D and GR2024 provisional releases. Retention: Fall 2024. Completion: Status through August 31, 2024.

Broader entering-student cohorts

IPEDS Outcome Measures follows first-time and transfer-in students who began in 2016–17. These rates stay separate from the traditional graduation cohort above.

About this college

University of California-Santa Cruz is a public four-year institution in Santa Cruz, California, with undergraduate and graduate programs.

Overview data sources

Institution directory: U.S. Department of Education IPEDS, 2024
Reported undergraduate enrollment: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 10, 2026 release. Most recent available IPEDS Fall Enrollment count for degree/certificate-seeking undergraduates.
Campus setting: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, June 10, 2026 release. Small city (official locale code 13).
Overview facts last imported: 2026-08-24
Programs preview: C2024_A, 2023-24
Admissions preview: ADM2024, Fall 2024
Cost preview: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, 2026
Financial-aid preview: SFA2324, 2023-24

Detailed source fields and limitations are scoped to Programs, Admissions, and Cost & Aid. Missing values remain not reported and are never converted to zero.