WUSTL sets 2005-06 tuition, fees, room and board

Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will total $31,100 for the 2005-06 academic year — a $1,400 (4.7 percent) increase over the 2004-05 academic year. The required student activity fee will total $311, and the student health fee will be $631. The announcement was made by Barbara A. Feiner, vice chancellor for finance.

Room-and-board charges for 2005-06 will be $10,754, an increase of $462 (4.5 percent) over the current year’s charges of $10,292 for the full meal plan and newer student housing.

In a letter to parents and students, Edward S. Macias, Ph.D., executive vice chancellor, dean of Arts & Sciences and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, said the following about the 2005-06 tuition, room, board and other fees:

“The cost of doing business has escalated for the University in ways that are well beyond our control, including significant increases in the cost of employee health benefits, utilities, library books and periodicals, and the challenge of attracting and retaining the very best faculty. Each of these areas rises in cost at a rate significantly greater than annual inflation. Where we can control costs, we are making every effort to do so, especially in non-academic administrative areas. We are making improvements in infrastructure, such as better heating and cooling systems, but the cost of conversion is significant and we will not realize savings for several years.

“The price of progress is paid in some part by the generosity of alumni and friends, but gift support and endowment income are not enough. The greatest share of our educational cost is borne by tuition, and no undergraduate, even those who receive no financial aid, pays the full cost of the education at Washington University. Though tuition is the largest single source of revenue for operating expenses, considerable funds from gifts, endowment and grants offset what would otherwise be charged in tuition.

“We have made some wonderful improvements to the campus over the past year with more to come. For example, this past spring we dedicated the newly renovated John M. Olin Library — a $38 million project that makes this facility a cutting-edge provider of information as well as a welcoming place for student study and research. In August we opened the new Forsyth House residence hall on the South 40. This is the eighth new residential facility to be constructed on the South 40 during the past ten years. Another residence hall will be completed in time for the fall semester.

“We continue to make exceptional progress in achieving our core mission of teaching and learning. Our new interdisciplinary programs, such as International and Area Studies and the Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities, allow students to explore intellectual challenges across the boundaries of traditional disciplines, with new modes of inquiry and understanding. We have strengthened our undergraduate research program for students in all fields, and expanded internship opportunities. And we have encouraged cross departmental and cross school collaborations that allow students to double major and minor at a greater frequency than is the case at other, comparable universities.

“Today, Washington University clearly is among the most desirable institutions of higher education in the nation. We continue to experience strong freshman application numbers and increasing quality among our students. Our graduation rate is strong. We are attracting outstanding faculty to interact with our students in classrooms, studios, and labs and to make the research discoveries that will advance human knowledge. To continue to excel in a highly competitive environment, we must carefully balance our academic and fiscal needs and responsibilities. The tuition we are announcing for next year results from this deliberation.”

About 60 percent of Washington University undergraduates receive financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships and other awards. As evidence of the university’s commitment to a strong financial aid program, students receiving need-based financial assistance will receive consideration for these increases in costs, along with consideration of changes in their family financial circumstances at the time they apply for renewal of financial aid.

The university offers payment plans to help lessen family financial burdens. The Partners in Education with Parents (PEP) plan allows university charges for all undergraduate years to be paid in monthly installments over as many as 10 years at competitive fixed interest rates. The advantage of this plan is that a family can decrease the effect of future tuition and room-and-board increases, depending on the level of participation the family chooses. There also is a monthly payment plan that allows families to spread all or part of a single academic year’s expenses over 10 equal monthly payments without interest charges.

Below are the 2005-06 full-time tuition and fee schedules for the Washington University graduate and professional programs, as well as tuition for evening and summer schools.

Graduate and professional tuition

Graduate School of Arts & Sciences and graduate programs in the School of Architecture and the School of Engineering and Applied Science: The 2005-06 tuition charge for graduate students in these programs will be $31,100, a $1,400 increase over the current charge of $29,700.

School of Art graduate programs: The 2005-06 tuition charge for the Master of Fine Arts program will be $25,484, a $1,098 increase over the current charge of $24,386.

George Warren Brown School of Social Work graduate program: The 2005-06 tuition for the Master of Social Work program will be $25,043, a $1,193 increase over the current charge of $23,850.

School of Law: The 2005-06 tuition for the Juris Doctor program will be $34,300 for first- and second-year students, an increase of $1,710 over the current charge of $32,590. Third-year students will pay a tuition of $33,820 — an increase of $1,690 over the current charge of $32,130.

John M. Olin School of Business graduate program: The 2005-06 tuition for the Master of Business Administration program will be $34,500, a $1,500 increase over the current charge of $33,000.

School of Medicine: Tuition for 2005-06 for the M.D. degree will be set in March.

Evening and Summer School tuition

Undergraduate evening students: For undergraduate evening students enrolling in University College in Arts & Sciences or continuing education classes in the School of Architecture in 2005-06, tuition will be $390 per credit hour, compared with the 2004-05 cost of $365 per credit hour.

Graduate students in University College: Depending upon the graduate program in University College in Arts & Sciences, tuition ranges from $390 to $575 per credit hour for 2005-06 compared with the current range of $365 to $550.

Summer School in Arts & Sciences: Tuition in Summer School classes in Arts & Sciences will be $615 per undergraduate credit hour, and $715 per graduate credit hour for summer 2005, compared with the 2004 Summer School rates of $565 and $665 per credit hour, respectively.