A public R1 research university in Davis, CA, admitting 41.83% of applicants with the top-ranked veterinary medicine school and 40.83% first-generation students.
Davis, California
The University of California Davis is a public R1 research university in Davis, California, founded in 1905 as the University Farm of the University of California. It enrolls 32,253 undergraduates and 7,792 graduate students across nine colleges and schools, including the College of Biological Sciences, the College of Engineering, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, the College of Letters and Science, the Graduate School of Management, and the School of Veterinary Medicine. Biological sciences, engineering, agricultural sciences, and social sciences account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees.
UC Davis holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC). UC Davis is test-free; the University of California system eliminated SAT and ACT requirements in 2021, and scores are neither required nor considered in admissions. UC Davis is designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI). California residents from families earning up to $80,000 may qualify for the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan, which covers systemwide fees with no loan requirement.
Official website: ucdavis.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), UC Davis scores 89.96 overall, rated Strong. Value scores 93.07, driven by ten-year earnings of $80,838 relative to an average net price of $14,741. Outcomes (92.59) reflects an 85.67% six-year graduation rate and an 88.79% rate of graduates earning above the high school median at ten years. Affordability scores 60.78, the highest among UC campuses in this peer group. All scores use verified federal data only.
UC Davis admits 41.83% of applicants. UC Davis is test-free; SAT and ACT scores are neither required nor considered for University of California applicants. UC Davis uses the UC Application (not Common App) with required personal insight questions. The University of California application deadline is November 30 for fall admission. Applicants select a major at the time of application; biological sciences, engineering, and computer science are among the most competitive majors. UC Davis's 41.83% admit rate makes it somewhat more accessible than UCSD (26.71%) and UCLA (8.6%) within the UC system, though still competitive.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether University of California-Davis is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
For California residents, UC Davis charges $16,774 in tuition plus an estimated $19,426 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $41,238 before aid. For out-of-state students, tuition is $50,974, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $72,000 before aid. The average net price across all enrolled students is $14,741. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $9,211. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $9,966.
For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $16,294. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $31,272. The Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan covers systemwide fees for California residents from families earning up to $80,000 with no loan requirement for qualifying students. The federal loan rate of 19.70% and median debt of $13,000 reflect the mix of in-state and out-of-state students; the $13,000 median debt is among the lowest in this peer group.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $80 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
UC Davis completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 85.67% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 76.21%, and first-year retention stands at 93.09%. The federal loan rate of 19.70% and median debt of $13,000 are among the lower figures in this peer group, reflecting California's strong need-based aid programs for lower-income in-state students.
UC Davis graduates earn above the national median for public research universities. Median earnings are $58,461 six years after first enrolling and $80,838 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 88.79% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The strong ten-year figure reflects the career trajectories of UC Davis's biological sciences, engineering, and agricultural sciences graduates, who enter life sciences research, technology, and agribusiness with competitive starting salaries.
The gap between six-year ($58,461) and ten-year ($80,838) earnings is notably large for this peer group, partly reflecting UC Davis's strong pre-medicine and pre-veterinary pipelines: graduates in these fields often complete professional school during the six-to-ten-year window, boosting the ten-year figure. UC Davis graduates are heavily recruited by California's agricultural industry, Sacramento's government and healthcare sectors, and Bay Area technology and life science companies.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
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.
UC Davis enrolls 32,253 undergraduates in Davis, California, a college town of approximately 70,000 people located 15 miles west of Sacramento and 70 miles northeast of San Francisco. Asian students account for 31.42% of undergraduates; Hispanic 25.10%, white 19.87%, and Black 1.69%. UCSD is designated a Hispanic-Serving Institution, with Hispanic students exceeding 25% of enrollment. Thirty-one percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 40.83% are first-generation college students, the highest first-generation rate among UC campuses in this peer group.
Davis is a bicycle-friendly college town with a unique flat, agricultural campus environment; the surrounding Central Valley is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world. Sacramento, the California state capital, is a 20-minute drive and a growing employer in state government, healthcare, and technology.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at University of California-Davis. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
University of California-Davis offers an extensive catalog of programs: 201 distinct programs across 25 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.
UC Davis operates at a student-to-faculty ratio consistent with large public research universities. 87.59% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty, one of the higher rates among the UC campuses in this peer group. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $34,097 per year, among the highest in this peer group and reflecting the resource-intensive nature of UC Davis's veterinary, agricultural, and biological sciences programs.
The endowment stands at $773 million, modest relative to UC Davis's research output; the UC system's endowment is held collectively and distributed differently than at private universities. UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine is the top-ranked veterinary school in the United States and among the top in the world. UC Davis is among the top recipients of USDA agricultural research funding in the country.
2,779 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,271 | 46% | $203,668 |
| Associate Professors | 635 | 23% | $141,021 |
| Assistant Professors | 572 | 21% | $120,612 |
| Instructors | 16 | 1% | $56,100 |
| Lecturers | 285 | 10% | $99,868 |
UC Davis's defining strengths are its 89.96 Strong UCD score, the #1-ranked veterinary school in the country, the highest first-generation rate (40.83%) among this peer group, test-free admissions, strong Value (93.07), and a $13,000 median debt (among the lowest in this batch). UCD 89.96 Strong.
The trade-offs: the campus is in Davis (a college town, not a metropolitan area); the endowment of $773 million is extremely small relative to peers; the six-year earnings of $58,461 are below the peer group median, reflecting pre-medicine and pre-vet pipelines that depress early earnings; and UC Davis is less well-known among national technology employers than Berkeley or UCSD. Best fit for California residents targeting veterinary medicine, biological sciences, agricultural sciences, environmental science, or pre-medicine who want strong research access, high value, and an exceptionally diverse and first-generation-friendly student body at public tuition.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about UC Davis: how the vet school admissions work, how the campus compares to other UC schools, what it's like to attend in Davis, and what graduates earn.
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