Undergraduate tuition at Washington University in St. Louis will be $40,950 for the 2011-12 academic year — a $1,550 (3.9 percent) increase over the 2010-11 current academic tuition of $39,400. The required student activity fee will total $410, and the student health fee will be no more than $632. Barbara A. Feiner, vice chancellor for finance, made the announcement.
Charges for on-campus double-occupancy housing for 2011-12 will range between $8,374 and $9,264, depending on whether a student selects newer housing. This year’s range is $7,982 to $8,828. The meal plans for 2011-12 will range from $3,600 to $5,000 compared with this year’s range of $3,498 to $4,788.
In a letter to parents and students about 2011-12 tuition, room, board and fees, Edward S.Macias, PhD, provost, executive vice chancellor for academic affairs and the Barbara and David Thomas Distinguished Professor in Arts & Sciences, said the following:
“I am writing to inform you of the 2011-2012 academic year tuition rate. The national and global economy is beginning to show small signs of recovery and the University — like all of us — is optimistic of better days ahead. And yet, we are ever mindful that we must continue to plan carefully and prudently for the coming years. Most importantly, despite these difficult times, we must continue to strengthen the University and allow it to live up to the high standards that you and your sons and daughters have come to expect. We take that obligation extremely seriously.
“We have seen some improvement in our endowment during the past year, but the overall value of the endowment and its income-producing potential is still significantly below where it stood in 2007-08. Nevertheless, throughout this difficult time, the University has placed the highest priority on the financial needs of our students and has once again increased funds that are available to help families that qualify for need-based financial aid. Prudent financial planning and careful distribution of endowment funds over many years have allowed the University to be responsive to today’s economic situation, and during the past three years, average need-based aid awards increased by 28 percent. Consistently over these years, about 60 percent of our undergraduate students received scholarships, grants and other awards, and we are proud of our ability to continue offering strong financial aid to those who need it.
“Last year, the University announced a major scholarship initiative called ‘Opening Doors to the Future’ with a goal of raising more than $150 million for endowed and annual named scholarships. To date, thanks to the generosity of alumni, parents and other supporters, we have raised nearly $100 million.
“Throughout the University, we have tightened our budgets and searched for efficiencies, while leaders in both the central administration and the schools have worked hard to cut and contain costs. Following a year of flat administrative salaries, raises for this past year were kept small as we instituted other cost-saving measures,such as important energy-saving technologies and programs.”
Students who qualify for need-based financial assistance will receive consideration for the costs increases, along with consideration of changes in their family financial circumstances.
Feiner noted that the University offers payment plans to help lessen family financial burdens, including the Partners in Education with Parents (PEP) plan that 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 most of a single academic year’s expenses over 10 equal monthly payments without any interest charges.
Below are the 2011-12 full-time tuition and fee schedules for the Washington University graduate and professional programs as well as tuition for evening and summer schools enrolling part-time students.
Graduate and professional tuition
Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, the Graduate School of Architecture and Urban Design, and graduate programs in the School of Engineering: The 2011-12 tuition charge for graduate students in these programs will be $40,950, an increase of $1,550 (3.9 percent) over the current charge of $39,400.
Graduate School of Art: The 2011-12 tuition charge for the Master of Fine Arts program will be $33,350, an increase of $1,220 (3.8 percent) over the current charge of $32,130.
Brown School: The 2011-12 tuition charge for the Master of Social Work program will be $32,760, an increase of $1,320 (4.2 percent) over the current charge of $31,440, and the Master in Public Health at $25,116, an increase of $1,012 (4.2 percent) over the current charge of $24,104.
Olin Business School graduate program: The 2011-12 tuition for the Master of Business Administration program will be $46,000, an increase of $1,700 (3.8 percent)over the current charge of $44,300.
School of Law and School of Medicine: Tuition for 2011-12 for the Juris Doctor, LLM program and Doctor of Medicine degree will be set in March.
Evening and Summer School tuition rates, 2011-12
Undergraduate evening students: For undergraduate evening students enrolling in University College in Arts & Sciences or continuing education classes in the School of Architecture in 2011-12, tuition will be $585 per credit hour, compared with the 2010-11 cost of $555 per credit hour.
Graduate students in University College: Depending upon the graduate program in University College in Arts & Sciences, tuition ranges from $585 to $795 per credit hour for 2011-12, compared with the current range of $555 to $765.
Summer School in Arts & Sciences: Tuition in Summer School classes in Arts & Sciences will be $905 per undergraduate credit hour and $1,095 per graduate credit hour for summer 2011, compared with the 2010 Summer School rates of $865 and $1,030 per credit hour, respectively.