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Real Numbers of MBA Admissions: Cost of MBA Programs in the U.S.

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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.

Lauren Wakal
Lauren Wakal has been covering the MBA admissions space for more than a decade, from in-depth business school profiles to weekly breaking news and more.