Columbia Business School is renowned for its world-class teaching, its high employment rates and its M7 status. The rewards of their MBA program are well-documented and clear—but how much would it cost a student to complete it? How much does Columbia tuition actually cost?
This article will help you find out. We’ll break down the various costs of one year (the 2024-2025 academic year) on the MBA program at Columbia Business School (CBS), sharing what they are, how they shift, and how you should budget.
To Bear in Mind Before We Start
A note on calculations and budgeting
The budgets and costs included in this article have been published by Columbia Business School. Costs such as the price of CBS’s tuition and school-led medical services are, of course, set by the school itself. Living expenses, transportation costs and food budgets are researched through student surveys.
The budgets are released every May for the upcoming academic year. They are, as stated by CBS, based on a “moderate student lifestyle”
A note on changing tuition fees
Just as living costs, such as rent, food shops and transportation, increase a little every year, Columbia’s tuition fees go up, too. Columbia recommends that students budget for a 2-7% increase on all fees from their first year to their second.
A note on program
Columbia Business School runs a few different MBA programs—such as the Executive MBA, the MS and the MBAxMS programs. Columbia tuition varies for each.
In this particular article, we will focus on the cost of one year in the full-time MBA program, detailing costs for 2024-2025 for both the August and the January entry. For either track, the total costs explained below reflect one year. The January entry costs consist of an 8-month budget (since this is a shorter, condensed course), and the August of a 9-month budget.
Columbia Business School Tuition
To kick things off, let’s look at what is undoubtedly the biggest cost of them all: Columbia’s tuition. This remains the same for students coming in at either the August entry point or the January entry point (since both receive the same curriculum, contact hours, tuition and more).
For all students, tuition at Columbia business school for the 2024-2025 academic year is $88,300.
Is this high, or low? The best comparison here is with other M7 business schools and their tuition costs. Tuition at Stanford GSB, for example, costs $82,455, and a year of tuition on Harvard‘s MBA program is $76,410, meaning that Columbia clocks in at slightly more than other M7 business schools.
Living Expenses
Living expenses between the August and January entry vary—simply due to the fact that January-entry MBA students study over a very condensed period.
Costs for students entering the program in August include:
- Health Insurance – $4,955
- Books and Supplies – $1,250
- Personal Expense – $3,177
- Transportation – $1,323
- Food and Housing – $27,396
Costs for students entering the program in January include:
- Health insurance – $3,067
- Books and supplies – $1,250
- Personal expenses – $2,824
- Transportation – $1,176
- Food and housing – $24,352
The high food and housing costs are an unavoidable result of Columbia’s position in the exciting, but expensive, city of New York.
These expenses also do not take into account the possibility of dependents (such as children), which of course may result in much higher living expenses. Columbia Business School recommends chatting to their Financial Aid Office if this is the case.
Extra, Hidden and Other Costs
Listed alongside Columbia’s tuition cost are “mandatory fees.” Seeming a little vague at first, these costs are explained by CBS to include:
- CBS instructional materials fee
- University services & support fee
- University document fee
- Health services fee and the first-year student CBS orientation/program fee
Mandatory fees cost $5,857 for first-year students enrolling in August, and $5,133 for first-year students enrolling in January.
For “continuing students”—those completing the second year of their MBA in the academic year 2024-2025—mandatory costs are lower, just $3,752. This is, by the way, the only fee that differs between first and second year students studying in the same academic year.
Aside from these, there is always the possibility that costs not included in the budget above might occur. For example:
- Additional medical expenses that insurance doesn’t cover.
- The expenses associated with moving house, such as relocation or security deposit costs.
- The expenses incurred during summer breaks before and after school.
The Option for Financial Aid
Feeling overwhelmed as the numbers stack up? Columbia gets it. The school reminds incoming students that—while the cost is undoubtedly high—an MBA is a valuable investment. Median base salaries from M7 business schools such as Columbia sit at around $175,000, signing bonuses are common, and job offers three months post-school are given to over 95% of graduates.
CBS realizes that, no matter the value an MBA offers, the cost may act as a barrier to some candidates. In an attempt to dismantle this barrier, the school’s Financial Aid Office offers a variety of loans, assistance, resources and tools.
These include:
- On campus work opportunities, for example as teachers, tutors and research assistants.
- External scholarships that are available from companies and foundations.
- Institutional funding, encompassing scholarships and fellowships and available to all incoming and current students.
- Benefits and funding for veterans.
Total Costs and Conclusions
When all these costs are added up, what do they come to?
Once again, this depends slightly on whether you are a first year or a second year MBA student, and whether you entered the MBA in January or August.
- For first year students entering the program in August in the academic year of 2024-25, total costs are: $132,258
- For first year students entering the program in January in the academic year of 2024-25, total costs are: $126,102
- For second year students in the academic year of 2024-25, total costs are: $130,153
There are a few important points to remember about this “total cost”.
The first—this number is the official budget for Columbia tuition costs, and therefore “represents the maximum amount of funding” that students can gain through student loans, scholarship and sponsorship.
The second—the fact that costs and fees are likely to increase 2-7% from one year to the next. Costs for the 2025-26 year will be released next spring by CBS—keep an eye out.
And the third—the fees for Columbia tuition may seem high, but they cover more than the price of an MBA. Attendance at CBS unlocks a lifetime of career opportunities, access to a worldwide network and a shot at immeasurable professional growth.
