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UC Riverside Salaries

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  • 4 Year
  • Riverside, CA
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#9 Best Public Universities in California
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Salaries by Major

Salaries by Major at University of California Riverside

This page shows median first-year earnings for UC Riverside graduates by major, based on federal College Scorecard data. Six years after enrolling, former students who are working and no longer in school report average earnings of $35,000 per year; after ten years, average earnings are $52,200. See post-graduation earnings for full trends over time.

Below, majors are ranked by median first-year earnings.

The highest-paying undergraduate degree is Computer Engineering, with median first-year earnings of $65,000 , followed by Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering at $59,200 , and Mechanical Engineering at $53,100 .

Among graduate and professional degree programs, the highest-paying program is Education (Master's Degree), with median first-year earnings of $57,300 , followed by Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degree) at $40,300 .

First-year earnings data come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and reflect IRS-reported income for University of California Riverside graduates who received federal grants or loans. Some programs are omitted for privacy.

Median first-year earnings for University of California Riverside graduates ranked by degree type and major
Major Earnings
Computer Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $65,000
Electrical, Electronics and Communications Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $59,200
Education (Master's Degree) $57,300
Mechanical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $53,100
Chemical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $44,200
Biomedical/Medical Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $43,900
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degree) $40,300
Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,700
Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) $35,000
Social Sciences, Other (Bachelor’s Degree) $34,100
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering (Bachelor’s Degree) $33,200
Chemistry (Bachelor’s Degree) $32,400
Business/Managerial Economics (Bachelor’s Degree) $30,700
International Relations and National Security Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,300
Public Policy Analysis (Bachelor’s Degree) $27,100
International/Global Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,400
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics (Bachelor’s Degree) $26,200
Political Science and Government (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,900
Philosophy (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,600
Sociology (Bachelor’s Degree) $25,400
Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,400
Neurobiology and Neurosciences (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,400
Natural Resources Conservation and Research (Bachelor’s Degree) $24,100
Mathematics (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,700
Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,300
Liberal Arts and Sciences Studies and Humanities (Bachelor’s Degree) $23,200
Psychology (Bachelor’s Degree) $22,400
Area Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,900
Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,800
Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,200
Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,100
English Language and Literature (Bachelor’s Degree) $21,000
Anthropology (Bachelor’s Degree) $20,100
History (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,600
Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,500
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services (Bachelor’s Degree) $19,100
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor’s Degree) $17,800

Other Colleges to Consider

Students considering University of California Riverside often consider these colleges

Data source: NCES / IPEDS https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/?id=110671.

First-year earnings by major: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard.

Last updated: August 2026