Even with higher tuition rates, Iowa State’s overall tuition remains low when compared to its peers.
Tuition rates vary by:
- Residency status (resident, non-resident, or international)
- Level of study (undergraduate, lower/upper division, graduate, or professional)
- Field of study
Tuition rates for part-time students (8 or fewer credits in a semester) are prorated and assessed on a credit hour basis. Students taking only online courses are assessed resident tuition rates.
Why is tuition higher for some academic programs?
Some academic programs charge higher tuition rates because the cost of delivering those programs is higher, and added revenue is needed to ensure a high-quality educational experience. These higher assessments are based on the department associated with a student’s graduate degree program and their major professor of choice. Tuition rates for these programs are adjusted by the same annual percentage increase as the university’s base tuition.
Graduate students pay higher tuition in these colleges and academic departments:
Colleges
- Business
- Engineering
Departments
- Animal Science
- Architecture
- Computer Science
- Ecology, Evolution and Organismal Biology
- Genetics Development and Cell Biology
- Industrial Design
- Microbiology
- Plant Pathology
- Natural Resource Ecology and Management
Are higher tuition rates assessed for the summer semester?
Yes. However, most students typically take only 1-2 classes during the summer, so in those cases the higher rates would be assessed per credit hour.
How are the higher tuition revenues used?
Iowa State programs that charge higher tuition rates use the added revenue to hire additional faculty and maintain high-quality laboratory equipment and staff.