Legal Studies at University of California-Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz, CA · Public · Bachelor's Degree · Non-Professional General Legal Studies (Undergraduate)

DegreeOutlook Score (Base Case) — assumes in-state tuition

Optimistic

Base Case

Pessimistic

Earnings $36,941/yr (-7% vs median)

AI Risk Moderate (26% exposed)

Job Market Large (44,000 openings/yr)

ROI 10.4x earnings multiple (3.3x out-of-state)

How AI Changes the Outlook

Three scenarios based on how aggressively AI disrupts the career paths available to Legal Studies graduates.

	Optimistic No Disruption	Base Case Gradual AI	Pessimistic Aggressive AI
10-Year Earnings	$613K	$606K	$568K
Earnings Multiple (In-State)	10.5x	10.4x	9.8x
Earnings Multiple (Out-of-State)	3.4x	3.3x	3.1x
Probability of Field Employment	52%	50%	44%
DegreeOutlook Score	42	42	46

*Year 1 uses actual reported earnings. Scenarios diverge as AI impact compounds over time.

4-Year Tuition, In-State (Sticker)

$58,240

Out-of-state: $181,348 (3.3x ROI)

4-Year Net Price (After Aid)

$66,428

-14% less than sticker · See by income

Median Debt at Graduation

$17,883

5.8 months of Year 1 earnings

Reported Earnings (5 Year)

$62,817

70% growth from Year 1

University of California-Santa Cruz accepts 63% of applicants, balancing access with selectivity, enrolling 17,812 students in Santa Cruz, CA.

Legal support workers, all other $68,760/yr

Paralegals and legal assistants $61,010/yr

Trade programs often mean less time in school, lower student debt, and hands-on career paths that tend to be more resilient to AI disruption.

What is the DegreeOutlook Score for Legal Studies at University of California-Santa Cruz?

A score of 42/100 indicates below-average financial outcomes for Legal Studies. Earnings, ROI, or AI risk factors are pulling the score down.

Scores use College Scorecard earnings, BLS employment projections, and AI task-exposure research. See full methodology →