Cost of Public Graduate Schools

Graduate school can be hard to price because the cost of tuition depends greatly on the type of graduate school a student plans on entering. For instance, an MBA program is generally the most expensive option, and it can cost up to $10,000 more a year than a nursing school. Due to these variations, it is difficult to generalize the cost of tuition, but students can expect to pay anywhere from $3,500 to as much as $25,000 a year. The price for a non-resident will be slightly higher than for a state-resident.

The key financial distinction between an undergraduate education and graduate school is that there are many more opportunities to have tuition, and even living expenses, covered by the school or an outside scholarship entity. At the graduate level, there are more occasions for research, and therefore, more chances for paid opportunities to contribute to the academic community. As a result, many schools offer full tuition reimbursement and a small salary for students to earn their master's and PhD degrees. This is not a fool-proof option, however. Students who get the chance to have their graduate degree paid for,generally show high accomplishment (good grades) in their undergrad years, and therefore, show promise for contributing to the university's advancement.

The same $10,000 to $15,000 undergraduate living expenses can be expected at the graduate level.