Tuition rates for graduate school

“Location, location, location!”

As the repetitiveness of the phrase suggests, investing in any location is an important financial decision – one with potentially rewarding outcomes.

Considering location when applying to graduate school is no different, especially when it comes to cost. Through the lens of tuition rates at some of the top twenty graduate level engineering programs in the country, prospective graduate students can begin to see general trends associated with the cost of an advanced degree at both public and private institutions.

UCLA (Samueli):
In-state: $12,571
Out of state: $27,673

University of Michigan – Ann Arbor:
In-state: $22,868
Out of state: $43,024

University of Texas – Austin (Cockrell):
In-state: $9,564
Out of state: $17,506

Compared with three highly reputable private institutions:

Princeton University: $41,820

California Institute of Technology (Caltech): $41,790

Stanford University: $47,073

The incentives for in-state residents to pursue a degree close to home are evident. With that said, graduate level admission at public universities has become increasingly competitive for these same students in recent years. Variables such as budgetary constraints and geographic diversity have helped to favor out of state students paying at a full rate.

Understanding how the location of your education can impact cost is one of the many things to consider before applying.