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- UC Davis admitted a record 48,015 first-year applicants for fall 2026.
- The university received 122,271 applications, lowering the admit rate to 39.3%.
- UC Davis offered admission to 10,138 transfer students, 9,456 from community colleges.
The University of California, Davis accepted 48,015 first-year applicants for fall 2026 in a record-breaking admissions cycle, according to statistics released Wednesday by UC.
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The university received 122,271 applications for admission in fall 2026, marking a 1.8% increase over last year’s record of 120,131. As a result, this year’s application process was more competitive than last year’s — the university’s acceptance rate dropped from 44.6% in 2025 to 39.3% in 2026.
Despite this, UC Davis extended the most offers of first-year admission in its history this spring, topping last year’s acceptances by 4.5%. The university also offered admission to 10,138 transfer students, 9,456 of whom attend California community colleges. These figures also indicate an increase over last year.
UC Davis expects to enroll approximately 6,300 new students this fall with about 73% hailing from California, according to a university press release. The university also plans to enroll about 3,100 transfer students, 96% of whom are from California.
Of the California residents accepted for first-year studies, 34% would be the first generation in their families to attend college, and 36% are from low-income backgrounds. Of transfer students, 44% would be the first generation in their families to attend college, and 50% are from low-income backgrounds.
Among those offered a place in UC Davis’ class of 2030, 3.8% are African American; 0.5% American Indian; 27.6% Hispanic/Latino(a); 0.3% Pacific Islander; 43.2% Asian American; 19.4% White; and 5.0% unknown.
The class of transfer students accepted in this application cycle is 5% African American; 0.8% American Indian; 27% Hispanic/Latino(a); 0.3% Pacific Islander; 38% Asian American; 26.4% White; and 2.5% unknown.
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These figures represent no difference of more than 1 or 2 percent in admissions rate of any given racial or ethnic group compared to 2025.
The university announced its undergraduate admissions data in the wake of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice, which found that UC Davis School of Medicine discriminated based on race in its application process.
The investigation alleged that UC Davis had lowered its standards to accept more Black students, a claim that the university disputed.
“UC Davis School of Medicine strongly disagrees with any characterization of its admissions practices as discriminatory or inconsistent with applicable law,” a UC Davis spokesperson said in a statement to the Sacramento Bee.
UC Davis’ record-breaking 2026 undergraduate admissions cycle corresponded to similarly high application and acceptance rates across the UC system. This year, UC received 251,907 applications for fall admission — the most in its history. The number represents a 0.6% increase from the fall 2025 application cycle.
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