In this edition of Real Numbers of MBA Admissions, see the total cost of a full-time MBA per year at U.S. schools. Tuition comprises most of the cost of each program. Other factors, including room and board, program fees, books and supplies, health insurance, transportation and other expenses, have been added to provide the total cost of an MBA in the U.S. by year.
Most business schools provide a breakdown of the expenses, which are posted under the financial aid or admissions section of their websites. Schools also typically take the total cost of attendance into account when calculating the financial aid package students receive. Many MBA programs also offer fellowships and scholarships to offset the cost of attendance. The list below denotes cost of attendance at an MBA program in the U.S. for single, non-state residents, living off campus; international students may incur additional expenses.
| U.S. Business School | Cost per Year 2023-2024 | Cost per Year 2022-2023 |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business | $100,707 | $95,470 |
| Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business | $107,084 | $101,922 |
| Columbia Business School | $127,058 | $122,460 |
| Cornell University SC Johnson Graduate School of Management | $107,211 | $107,622 |
| Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business | $124,309 | $120,325 |
| Duke University Fuqua School of Business | $106,735 | $100,269 |
| Emory University Goizueta School of Business | $108,720 | $99,290 |
| Georgetown University McDonough School of Business | $103,513 | $98,846 |
| Harvard Business School | $115,638 | $112,764 |
| Indiana University Kelley School of Business | $81,386 | $80,275 |
| MIT Sloan School of Management | $125,489 | $119,995 |
| Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management | $120,432 | $117,259 |
| NYU Stern School of Business | $126,874 | $123,253 |
| Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business | $81,452 | $81,452 |
| Owen Graduate School of Business of Vanderbilt University | $103,174 | $97,621 |
| Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business | $75,869 | $72,492 |
| Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business | $88,061 | $83,651 |
| Stanford Graduate School of Business | $126,465 | $124,389 |
| UC Berkeley Haas School of Business | $124,041 | $116,178 |
| UCLA Anderson School of Management | $120,236 | $117,216 |
| University of Chicago Booth School of Business | $122,160 | $115,062 |
| University of Georgia Terry College of Business | $54,806 | $49,160 |
| University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business | $103,150 | $99,780 |
| University of Minnesota Curtis L. Carlson School of Management | $82,629 | $80,379 |
| University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School | $99,928 | $96,676 |
| University of Rochester Simon Business School | $78,112 | $71,410 |
| USC Marshall School of Business | $95,139* | $109,261** |
| UT Austin McCombs School of Business | $82,738 | $81,128 |
| UVA Darden School of Business | $111,951 | $104,197 |
| UW Foster School of Business | $98,316 | $86,738 |
| Washington University in St. Louis Olin Business School | $145,946 | $136,470 |
| The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania | $124,476 | $118,568 |
| Yale School of Management | $114,860 | $108,780 |
*Represents second-year cost, based on 2022-2023 tuition.
**Represents first-year cost, based on 2022-2023 tuition.
Most U.S. MBA programs have gone up in price from 2022-2023 to 2023-2024, which, for U.S. consumers, should not be surprising. While some may have raised their tuition slightly, there have been a few glaring increases in cost of living expenses. For instance, at Washington Foster, the estimated cost of a one-bedroom apartment jumped from $21,248 to $29,668, while their tuition only went up about $1,700. Another example, Chicago Booth, saw estimated housing costs go up around $4,000 while they raised tuition about $3,000. This was also seen at Wharton, which reported a Philly-area housing increase of $4,000 per year and a tuition bump of about $2,500.
Based on costs including tuition and estimated expenses that each U.S. MBA program publishes, Columbia Business School, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB and Washington U. Olin appear to be the most expensive programs, each exceeding $125,000. WashU Olin charges tuition by semester and reports one year of tuition for three semesters at $99,300, which contributes to its high cost. One year of Stanford GSB’s tuition is closer to $80,000 with a single student’s housing allowance estimated around $20,000. NYU Stern’s tuition lands at around $84,000 with room and board in New York City being estimated at a cost of $29,344 for the year. Note that fellow NYC school, Columbia Business School, isn’t that far ahead of NYU Stern in cost.
At the other end of the spectrum, Georgia Terry, Rochester Simon, The Ohio State Fisher and Indiana Kelley stand out as the most affordable MBA programs. At Georgia Terry, the tuition and fees alone come to around $34,000 for the 2023-2024 academic year for non-residents of Georgia. Georgia residents have a tuition of $13,578. Average off-campus room and board for the year in Athens, Georgia, is reported at approximately $13,000. Rochester Simon, with a tuition of $52,500, reports their city’s room, board and transportation costs around $16,000 for the year. Turning to Indiana Kelley, non-residents need to cover about $55,000 in tuition; Indiana residents, meanwhile, only have $28,992 in tuition. Room and board in Indiana is estimated about $15,000. At Ohio State, tuition and estimated expenses have held steady, with non-residents expected to cover nearly $60,000 in tuition and $12,000 for room and board.
The Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Cost of MBA Programs in the U.S. chart is based on data about the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years, unless otherwise noted.
