University of California-Davis — College Profile

About

The University of California, Davis is globally renowned for its leadership in agricultural and environmental sciences, biological sciences, and veterinary medicine, while also housing top-ranked programs in engineering and viticulture. Located in a welcoming college town near Sacramento and the Bay Area, the campus culture is notably collaborative, unpretentious, and deeply committed to sustainability and community engagement. UC Davis is uniquely characterized by its massive, bike-centric infrastructure—with tens of thousands of cyclists commuting daily on dedicated paths—as well as an expansive 5,300-acre campus featuring on-site working farms, horse barns, and a 100-acre public arboretum.

Wikipedia:The University of California, Davis is a public land-grant research university in the Davis, California area, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institution was first founded as an agricultural branch of the system in 1905 and became the sixth campus of the University of California in 1959.

Location

Davis, CA, 95616-8678 · Suburb campus

✈

Nearest airport from college

SMF · Sacramento

14 mi away

Open in Google Maps View official campus map

Cost & aid

Cost of attendance

In-stateOut-of-state

Tuition & fees$16,774$50,974

Housing & food (on campus)$19,426$19,426

Books & supplies$1,386$1,386

Cost of attendance$41,238$88,279

Average net price$14,741Not published

Out-of-state prices

Tuition & fees$50,974

In-state: $16,774

Housing & food (on campus)$19,426

Books & supplies$1,386

Cost of attendance$88,279

In-state: $41,238

Average net priceNot published

In-state: $14,741

Source: U.S. College Scorecard · published total: ucdavis.edu

How it’s made up · out-of-state, 2026-27

University of California-Davis’s own figures for 2026-27, newer than the 2024-25 federal figures above, so the amounts differ.

Books & supplies$1,205

Personal expenses$2,656

Transportation$672

Total published by the school$88,279

Source: ucdavis.edu · checked Sep 13, 2026

Net price by family income · in-state students, 2023-24

$0–30k

$9,211

$30–48k

$9,966

$48–75k

$11,951

$75–110k

$16,294

$110k+

$31,272

Your family's actual price → University of California-Davis net price calculator

Source: U.S. College Scorecard

Merit aid · 2024-25

Awarded without financial need. Students with financial need can get merit awards too; they're counted as need-based aid.

Average award$8,659

First-years who got one222

Source: University of California-Davis's Common Data Set — the school's own yearly report of its admissions and aid figures.

Outcomes

Completion

Within 6 yrs

85%

Entered 2017–18

Within 4 yrs

71%

Back for yr 2

93%

Transferred

8 yrs after starting · first-time, full-time students

88% graduated · 6% transferred · 6% left or unknown · none still enrolled

Earnings · measured 2020 & 2021

6 yrs after entry$58,461

10 yrs after entry$80,838

Debt

Median at graduation$13,000

Monthly payment$138

Middle 50% owe$5.5k–$20.4k

90th percentile$26,500

Green marks a figure above the typical Doctoral University: 70% graduate within 6 yrs, $63,395 earned 10 yrs after entry.

Admissions

Getting in · applied for fall 2024

Admit rate

42%

Test policy

Not required

Per College Scorecard

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Essay prompts

How much essays count at University of California-Davis: Important (one of four levels: very important · important · considered · not considered)

Source: University of California-Davis's Common Data Set for 2024-25 — the school's own yearly report of its admissions and aid figures.

If University of California-Davis asks for supplemental essays, the prompts are in the school's application.

Student Body

Gender

Men 41%Women 59%

Who enrolls

Faculty ratio

22 : 1

Pell grant

31%

First-gen

41%

Family income

$33,783

Independent

15%

Veterans

Age at entry

21.0

Part-time

Race & ethnicity

White

20%

Hispanic

25%

Black

Asian

31%

Two or more

Non-resident

13%

Unknown

Varsity sports

NCAA Division I-FCS · EADA 2024-25

Baseball
Men's
Basketball
Men's · Women's
Beach Volleyball
Women's
Equestrian
Women's
Field Hockey
Women's
Football
Men's
Golf
Men's · Women's
Gymnastics
Women's
Lacrosse
Women's
Soccer
Men's · Women's
Softball
Women's
Swimming and Diving (combined)
Women's
Tennis
Men's · Women's
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
Men's · Women's
Volleyball
Women's
Water Polo
Men's · Women's

Programs & Earnings

Bachelor's degrees by annual completions · 4yr national median earnings

Median earnings, all programs · measured 2020 & 2021

After 6 yrs

$58,461

After 10 yrs

$80,838

Research and Experimental Psychology958

Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods502

Biology, General430

Economics417

Computer Science411

Neurobiology and Neurosciences394

Political Science and Government336

Human Development, Family Studies, and Related Services335

Animal Sciences304

Communication and Media Studies288

Sociology287

Natural Resources Conservation and Research241

Design and Applied Arts240

Statistics196

Cognitive Science190

Ethnic, Cultural Minority, Gender, and Group Studies160

Type your major above to highlight and detail relevant programs.

Institutional

Resources

Endowment

$773M

Full-time faculty

88%

Faculty salary

$18,357/mo

Teaching spend

$34,097

per student

Federal loans

20%

Classification

Carnegie type

Doctoral University

Research activity

R1 — very high research

$1.0B research spending · 647 research doctorates a year

Undergraduate profile