Universal Technical Institute-Southern California is a private for-profit institution offering associate degrees based in Long Beach, California. It enrolls 1,701 students (a mid-sized student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorAccrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
Academic CalendarContinuous
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (2-Year), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Good
68/100
UCD Score · 2-Year
Outcomes76
Value26
Affordability47
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
As a two-year college, Universal Technical Institute-Southern California admits essentially everyone who qualifies, so plan around cost and completion instead of your odds of getting in.
Acceptance Rate
Open
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $27,506 a year on average, it sits in line with what private for-profit colleges charge nationally. Plan for the gap between that and what you can pay without borrowing. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$26,301
$30,001 – $48,000
$26,624
$48,001 – $75,000
$28,160
$75,001 – $110,000
$32,469
Over $110,000
$32,461
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$3,45010%percentile
$8,50025%percentile
$13,124Medianpercentile
$20,00075%percentile
$24,57890%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $11,389
↓ $1,735
No Pell $11,166
↓ $1,958
Dependent students $11,254
↓ $1,870
Independent students $10,500
↓ $2,624
Female students $10,876
↓ $2,248
Male students $11,172
↓ $1,952
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $4,750, less than completers ($13,124), but still a meaningful obligation without a degree in hand.
Graduation Rate & Retention
63% of students who start here finish within six years, and 77% come back after first year. Roughly half finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
63%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
77%
Returning for their second year
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $52,873 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$52,873
Earning > $25K
78%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$33,500
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$48,400
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
By Family Income at Entry
Family income (lowest third)
$44,400
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (middle third)
$49,200
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Family income (highest third)
$50,400
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
The gender gap:
Male graduates earn $14,900, about 31% more than female graduates ten years out. The gap reflects industry mix, role choice, and structural pay differences that exist across most US colleges.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Climbing: graduates increasingly paying down debt ↑
11.2 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Moderate. Only 65% of graduates are paying down principal seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 1,701 students, a mid-sized community. Worth knowing: 55% are the first in their family to go to college.
Total Enrolled
1,701
Part-Time
0%
First-Generation
55%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
Hispanic 65.7%1,118
White 11.6%197
Other 10.3%176
Asian 4.6%79
Black 4.0%68
International 0.1%1
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Universal Technical Institute-Southern California. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Universal Technical Institute-Southern California offers
a focused set of programs:
3 distinct programs across
2 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 39 students for every instructor here: high, so expect big lectures and to work harder for one-to-one time.
Student : Faculty
39:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Avg Faculty Salary
$59,087
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Pros & Cons of Universal Technical Institute-Southern California
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Universal Technical Institute-Southern California is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
For-profit institution, verify accreditation and outcomes carefully
Best for:
Based on the data, Universal Technical Institute-Southern California is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier.
Frequently Asked Questions about Universal Technical Institute-Southern California
The questions families ask most about Universal Technical Institute-Southern California, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California hard to get into?
Not especially. Universal Technical Institute-Southern California admits most qualified applicants, and reports no competitive acceptance rate. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Universal Technical Institute-Southern California?
No acceptance rate is reported, which for a college like this normally means admission is open to anyone meeting the basic requirements. Confirm with the admissions office rather than assuming it.
How much does Universal Technical Institute-Southern California cost?
Budget around $27,506 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $52,873 a year against a net price of $27,506, about 1.9 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California known for?
Mostly Vehicle Maintenance, Vehicle Maintenance, Precision Metal Working. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Universal Technical Institute-Southern California graduates earn?
About $52,873 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California accredited?
Yes. Universal Technical Institute-Southern California is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges.
How many students attend Universal Technical Institute-Southern California?
1,701 students. Small enough that you will recognize faces across campus, and small enough that course choice can be limited. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Universal Technical Institute-Southern California?
63% finish within six years. That leaves a meaningful share who do not finish on that timeline, so budget for the possibility of a longer run. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California a public or private college?
It is Private For-Profit. Private for-profit, so compare completion and earnings carefully against a public alternative.
Where is Universal Technical Institute-Southern California located?
Universal Technical Institute-Southern California is located in Long Beach, California.
What programs does Universal Technical Institute-Southern California offer?
3 different programs, most commonly Vehicle Maintenance, Vehicle Maintenance, Precision Metal Working. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Universal Technical Institute-Southern California?
39 students per instructor. On the high side, so expect big classes and to seek out contact time yourself. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in California
Other colleges in California share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
