Bachelor's · Irvine, California
Is Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at University of California-Irvine worth it?
Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.
The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans
Pays back fast: graduates typically recover the cost in about 1.9 years.
- Earnings 1 year after graduating
- $70,238
- Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Earnings 4 years after graduating
- $107,989
- Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Typical federal debt at graduation
- $10,947
- NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
- Net cost to graduate, all families
- $59k (likely $59k – $69k)
- AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Earnings bump, year 4
- $68k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in CA
- 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Payback
- 1.9 years (likely 1.6–2.3)
- Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
- 10-year net return
- $410k (likely $303k – $517k)
- Today's dollars
- 20-year net return
- $1.21M (likely $961k – $1.48M)
- Today's dollars
- Odds of finishing (school-wide)
- 87%
- Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
- Borrowers making progress / in default, 2 years in
- not reported / ≤ 20%
- NSLDS AY2016-17, AY2017-18 pooled cohorts measured in 2018-19, 2019-20
Change income, residency or loans Compare Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at other schools
🏗️ Getting ready in high school
Students heading toward engineering & architecture majors like this one often take these classes. Every school offers a different mix, so check with your counselor.
AP classes
- AP Calculus AB or BC
- AP Physics 1
- AP Physics C: Mechanics
- AP Chemistry
IB Higher Level
- Mathematics: Analysis and Approaches HL
- Physics HL
Build my roadmap 🗺️ Middle school to career, plus high schools near you that offer these classes.
Other majors at University of California-Irvine
- Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's)$215,277
- Computer Science (Master's)$175,922
- Human Computer Interaction (Master's)$175,307
- Law (First professional)$153,307
- Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's)$148,411
- Medicine (First professional)$143,530
- Computer Engineering (Bachelor's)$132,357
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's)$128,924
- Computer Science (Bachelor's)$127,404
- Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Bachelor's)$119,502
- Chemistry (Doctoral)$117,395
- Management Information Systems and Services (Bachelor's)$108,038
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering at other schools in California
- University of Southern California$125,514
- University of California-Los Angeles$115,706
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo$107,498
- California State Polytechnic University-Pomona$106,171
- California State University-Long Beach$101,797
- University of California-San Diego$100,173
- San Diego State University$100,139
- University of California-Davis$93,414