Chemistry & biochem at UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara graduates about 188 chemistry & biochemistry majors a year, 3% of its graduating class. That puts it 85th of 689 schools we score for chemistry & biochemistry, a strong program at 79 out of 100. Its current catalog lists 42 undergraduate courses in the field, more than 57% of the schools we've counted. Graduates in the major earn a median $81,000 four years out, 1.24× what the same major pays nationally. Research spending in the field runs about $38 million a year, a rough guide to how many labs and projects undergraduates can join.
Around UC Santa Barbara




Where chemistry & biochemistry happens
Buildings on campus that fit the field: Military Science, Engineering Science, Marine Science Institute, Social Sciences and Media Studies, Physical Sciences North, Chemistry, Physical Sciences South, Materials Research Laboratory, BioScience Annex, Life Sciences, Ocean Science Education, Marine Science Research Building.
Named buildings on the campus map: Academic 125 · Student housing 31 · Dorm 25 · Athletics 10 · Arts 7 · Dining 5.
Nearby in the chemistry & biochemistry ranking
Other strong majors at UC Santa Barbara
- Communications & media 87 · #34
- Sociology & anthropology 86 · #49
- Environmental science 85 · #41
- Economics 84 · #69
- English & writing 83 · #59
- Political science & IR 82 · #83
How the score works
The score is out of 100 and compares UC Santa Barbara with every school we score in chemistry & biochemistry. It weighs the school's overall strength; how many students graduate in the major and what share of the class they are; research spending in the field (NSF); early pay against the same major nationally; how many courses the catalog lists; and test scores. 80+ is a standout program, 65+ strong, 45+ solid. Sources: US Department of Education (College Scorecard, IPEDS), NSF HERD, each school's current course catalog, OpenStreetMap and Wikimedia Commons.
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