Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will total $32,800 for the 2006-07 academic year — a $1,700 (5.5 percent) increase over the 2005-06 current academic year tuition of $31,100. The required student activity fee will total $328, and the student health fee will be $660. The announcement was made by Barbara A. Feiner, vice chancellor for finance.
Room-and-board charges for 2006-07 will be $11,176, an increase of $422 (3.9 percent) over the current year’s charges of $10,754 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 2006-07 tuition, room, board and other fees:
“Our increases reflect the nationwide cost pressures on colleges and universities, including some costs that are rising in ways obvious to all of us — such as energy and employee health benefits. However, our costs also escalate in ways that may not be so apparent, such as electronic and printed periodicals and library books and the need to constantly attract and retain the very best faculty. How severe are these cost pressures? Our primary energy source — natural gas — is expected to nearly double over last year’s prices. Employee health benefits have increased by 16 percent annually over the past five years.
“Some have asked why we don’t recover these costs through greater gift support or increasing the spending rate of endowment income. While no undergraduate pays the full cost of what Washington University spends on his or her education — including those who receive no financial aid — tuition continues to be our most important and largest source of revenue to cover operating expenses. Annual increases in gifts, endowment income, and grants cannot rise rapidly enough to offset additional charges supported by tuition. We are deeply grateful for the support of alumni and friends, but their continuing support cannot fully cover necessary increases.
“We are always mindful that our core mission is success in teaching and learning. Recently, we have instituted an Office of Undergraduate Research, the Gephardt Institute for Public Service, the Center on Materials Innovation, a Center on Urban Research and Policy, and a new Interdisciplinary Project in the Humanities for undergraduate students. Our International and Area Studies Program is expanding, and a new Center on Joint Projects in the Humanities and Social Sciences will organize distinctive curricular and research opportunities for students and faculty. In the coming year we will be looking to develop new programs in human justice, entrepreneurship, and integrative biology, just to name a few. The new Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts will enhance collaboration and creative work in the visual arts.
“To address the after-college expectations of students and their families, we are making considerable investments in the creation and expansion of a University Career Center available to all students. We want undergraduates to address their future plans well ahead of their senior year and graduation, and we believe that career and academic planning are essential to the undergraduate experience.
“Perhaps the greatest challenge is to balance fiscal and academic needs with the need to constantly excel as one of the most sought-after and desirable institutions of higher education in the world. The number of freshman applications was the highest in our history last year and appears to be even stronger for next fall. These numbers also reflect extraordinary talent among our applicants with quality indicators among the highest in the nation. The ability of our students is evidenced in virtually all academic areas and can be seen in their creative efforts, their performance in classes and laboratories, and in such co-curricular activities as community service and volunteerism. Tuition income supports a critical difference in how well your children achieve these ends during their educational experiences here.”
Nearly 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 who qualify for 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 2006-07 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, the Graduate School of Architecture, and graduate programs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science: The 2006-07 tuition charge for graduate students in these programs will be $32,800, an increase of $1,700 (5.5 percent) over the current charge of $31,100.
Graduate School of Art: The 2006-07 tuition charge for the Master of Fine Arts program will be $26,631, an increase of $1,147 (4.5 percent) over the current charge of $25,484.
George Warren Brown School of Social Work: The 2006-07 tuition for the Master of Social Work program will be $26,190, an increase of $1,147 (4.6 percent) over the current charge of $25,043.
School of Law: The 2006-07 tuition for the Juris Doctor program will be $35,670, an increase of $1,370 (4.0 percent) over the current charge of $34,300 and the LLM program at $35,800, an increase of $1,500 (4.4 percent) over the current charge of $34,300.
John M. Olin School of Business graduate program: The 2006-07 tuition for the Master of Business Administration program will be $35,950, an increase of $1,450 (4.2 percent) over the current charge of $34,500.
School of Medicine: Tuition for 2006-07 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 College of Architecture in 2006-07, tuition will be $430 per credit hour, compared with the 2005-06 cost of $390 per credit hour.
Graduate students in University College: Depending upon the graduate program in University College in Arts & Sciences, tuition ranges from $430 to $625 per credit hour for 2006-07 compared with the current range of $390 to $575.
Summer School in Arts & Sciences: Tuition in Summer School classes in Arts & Sciences will be $665 per undergraduate credit hour, and $765 per graduate credit hour for summer 2006, compared with the 2005 rates of $615 and $715 per credit hour, respectively.