Computer Science and Engineering Still Hard to Get In, But They Are Not The Most Competitive Discipline across the University of California system
By Data Team | Published April 26, 2026 | Updated June 23, 2026
University of California admissions data reveals significant disparities in acceptance rates based on academic discipline across all nine undergraduate campuses. Highly sought-after programs such as Computer Science and Engineering continue to record single-digit admission rates at the most competitive campuses, but they are not even the most competitive discipline across UCs. While other disciplines—and other campuses—offer substantially higher acceptance probabilities.
High school applicants must strategically evaluate their intended majors, as applying to heavily competitive disciplines at Top 25 National Universities drastically alters their baseline admission chances compared to the overall campus admission rate.
The Most Competitive Disciplines
While overall campus admission rates provide a baseline sense of selectivity, they consistently mask the intense competition within highly sought-after programs. Across the University of California system, specialized health sciences and technological disciplines present the highest barriers to entry.
The interactive map below illustrates the single most restricted discipline at each of the nine undergraduate campuses. UCLA and UC Irvine, for instance, recorded their lowest admission rates in Nursing—both accepting an exceptionally narrow 1% of applicants. At UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, Public Health proved to be the most competitive (2% and 17%, respectively), while Computer Science created the tightest bottleneck at campuses like UC Davis and UC Riverside.
System Map: Most Restricted Disciplines
Hover or click on a campus to view comprehensive metrics for its hardest-to-get-into discipline in Fall 2025.
Admit Rate Severity
This highlights a critical dynamic in UC admissions: the "Competitive Major Penalty." Applicants targeting these severe bottlenecks face admission probabilities that are significantly lower than the campus’s baseline average. The discrepancy between the overall campus admission rate and the acceptance rate for specific, high-demand disciplines is stark, underscoring the strategic risk of applying to heavily competitive programs.
The Competitive Major Penalty
Comparing specific highly competitive disciplines against overall campus admit rates.
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UCLA Nursing: Admitted a mere 1% of applicants (31 admits from 5,668 applicants), marking it as one of the most selective programs in the entire system.
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UC Berkeley Public Health: Recorded the lowest discipline-specific admit rate at Berkeley at just 2% (74 admits from 3,415 applicants).
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UC Berkeley Computer Science: Admitted 6% of applicants, roughly half of the campus's overall 11% acceptance rate.
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UCLA Computer Science: Admitted just 7% of its 6,803 applicants, notably trailing the 9% overall campus rate.
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UC San Diego Public Health: Accepted 17% of applicants, presenting a significantly higher barrier than the campus's overall 28% admission rate.
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UC San Diego Engineering: Admitted 19% of applicants, trailing the campus-wide 28% acceptance rate by nine percentage points.
Yield Rates Highlight Institutional Desirability
Yield rates—the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll—serve as a key metric for institutional desirability. Both UCLA and UC Berkeley achieved high overall yield rates of 48% and 47%, respectively. However, specific disciplines far exceeded these averages.
UCLA's Nursing program yielded an extraordinary 94% of its admitted cohort, and UC Irvine's Nursing program yielded 68%. At UC Berkeley, the Computer Science discipline captured 63% of its admitted students, while Architecture enrolled 55%. These high yield metrics demonstrate strong applicant preference for these specific institutional programs over competing national offers, contrasting with broader access campuses like UC Merced (4% overall yield) and UC Santa Cruz (10% overall yield).
Highest Yielding Disciplines
Programs capturing the highest percentage of admitted students.
Campus Variations: The Access Spectrum
A campus's overall admit rate only tells part of the story. At the system's most selective institutions—UC Berkeley and UCLA—the "access spectrum" is notably narrow. Because nearly all academic programs are heavily impacted at these schools, the point span between their easiest and hardest disciplines is small. For example, UCLA's admit rates range from a high of 15% (Physical Sciences) to just 1% (Nursing), a span of only 14 percentage points. UC Berkeley's span is similarly tight at 23 points.
In stark contrast, campuses like UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara present a much wider access spectrum, demonstrating spans approaching or exceeding 40 percentage points depending on the intended major. UC Davis admitted 76% of applicants to Public Administration and 60% to Physical Sciences, but choked Computer Science admissions down to just 19%. Similarly, UC Irvine admitted 55% in Physical Sciences but restricted Nursing to 1%. Even at campuses where baseline averages are moderate, the gap between open disciplines and highly restrictive bottlenecks remains vast.
The Access Spectrum Across Campuses
Comparing narrow-span campuses (UCB/UCLA) against those with significantly wider admit rate variances.
The Narrow Spectrum (Span < 25 pts)
The Wide Spectrum (Span approaching or exceeding 40 pts)
Across Campuses: System-Wide Capacity
When widening the analytical lens to include all nine undergraduate campuses, a stark stratification in access becomes evident. The University of California system accommodates a massive volume of applicants, but capacity is deeply uneven across academic levels.
While UC Berkeley (11%) and UCLA (9%) represent the most restrictive bottlenecks, campuses like UC Merced (94%), UC Riverside (87%), and UC Santa Cruz (72%) function as the system's primary access points. Crucially, this access extends to highly competitive majors: UC Santa Cruz admitted an astonishing 79% of its nearly 6,000 Computer Science applicants, and UC Riverside admitted 84% of its Engineering pool. For students intent on STEM degrees who might be crowded out of the original tier of highly selective campuses, these alternative campuses represent highly viable pathways to a top-tier public education.
Comparing a single broad discipline across all nine campuses highlights the true scale of the UC system. For example, a student applying for Arts & Humanities faces a 9% admit rate at UCLA and 25% at UC Berkeley. However, those odds increase dramatically at UC Santa Barbara (35%), UC Davis (53%), UC Santa Cruz (68%), and UC Riverside (90%). The visualization below details the complete applicant pipeline for Arts & Humanities across the system, demonstrating how yields and admit rates inversely correlate as capacity opens up.
System-Wide Capacity: Arts & Humanities
Comprehensive pipeline data for a single discipline across all nine undergraduate campuses.
Interactive Discipline Data Lens
Select a campus or discipline below to view comprehensive Fall 2025 application, admission, and enrollment data. Data is sourced directly from the University of California Information Center.
UC Admissions Data Lens
Explore Fall 2025 acceptance rates by campus or by broad discipline.
FAQ: Understanding UC Admissions Data
Based on the Fall 2025 dataset provided by the University of California Information Center, here are the answers to the most common questions surrounding discipline competitiveness and yield strategies.
Nursing is arguably the most restrictive discipline. Both UCLA and UC Irvine recorded an exceptionally narrow 1% acceptance rate for their Nursing programs in Fall 2025.
UC Berkeley's overall campus admit rate was 11%, but its Computer Science discipline admitted only 6% of applicants, making it roughly twice as difficult as the baseline average.
The Competitive Major Penalty refers to the stark discrepancy between an institution's overall baseline admission rate and the significantly lower acceptance probabilities for specific, high-demand programs like Computer Science, Engineering, and Health Sciences.
While highly restrictive at campuses like UCLA and UC Berkeley, STEM capacity opens up significantly at other campuses. For example, UC Santa Cruz admitted 79% of its Computer Science applicants, and UC Riverside admitted 84% of its Engineering pool.
Yes, highly sought-after programs demonstrate extraordinary yield rates. For instance, UCLA's Nursing program yielded 94% of its admitted cohort, and UC Berkeley's Computer Science program captured 63%, both vastly outperforming the system-wide average yield rate of 16%.