Dear Tufts Students and Families,
We are writing to share projected undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2018–19 academic year. (Please note that these projections do not apply to B.F.A. students who matriculated prior to fall 2017. Separate rates for those students may be found on the Financial Services website.) Tufts University undergraduate tuition and fees for the 2018–19 school year will be $70,941, representing a 3.76 percent increase. Of this total, tuition will be $55,172. Fees include room, $7,934; board, $6,626; Health Service, $841 and an activity fee of $368. Books and personal expenses, which vary significantly by course of study and therefore are not included in this total, are projected to average $1,459.
We know that tuition planning is a priority for you because it involves significant financial sacrifices. Despite doing everything we can to minimize tuition and fee increases, the demands of operating a world-class, student-centered research university are costly, and the facilities and services needed are complex and require extensive infrastructure. We see that complexity daily in our classrooms, our labs, our athletic facilities, our dining halls and residences, and, of course, in countless services that make the Tufts experience distinctive and individualized. More information about the development and management of the budgets for the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering can be found here. We also work diligently to control costs, achieve operational sustainability, and promote energy efficiency. In the fall, we opened the new Science and Engineering Complex, allowing us to educate our students in a modern facility that is also one of the most energy-efficient buildings of its kind in the United States. Our new central energy plant goes online this spring, bringing significant reductions in energy costs. In addition, Barnum/Dana are being renovated to create more classroom, art studio, and office space; improvements are being made to our residence halls, including Miller and Houston; and many of the wood frame houses designated for juniors and seniors will be completed by the beginning of next year. Work on our residential facilities will continue over the next several years, adding much-needed beds to the Medford/Somerville campus, which in turn supports our goal of having more undergraduate students living on campus. We have also gained new cost-saving efficiencies by streamlining administrative functions across the university, and we are launching summer, nondegree, online, and graduate programs that will generate incremental revenue while advancing our educational mission.
In addition to controlling costs and raising new revenues, we remain committed to ensuring that our students have the means to attend Tufts University by offsetting tuition increases with financial aid. For the 2018–19 school year, Tufts has earmarked more than $84 million for undergraduate financial aid, representing nearly a 7 percent increase from this year’s budget. This level of support is possible due to the generous gifts of alumni and friends, many of whom have contributed recently through the university’s Brighter World campaign. Increasing financial aid continues to be a top priority for President Anthony Monaco and for us.
Tufts continues to address issues of equity, access, and equality among our students, and we have taken important measures to increase the financial supports available to our highest-need students. To offset the cost of attendance, we have increased the textbook allowance and personal expense allowance. We have also established emergency funding for expenses not covered by financial aid and developed a new textbook reserve system that allows students to check out books for an entire semester. Finally, we have approved a cash advance on financial aid for high-need students, which will support costs related to securing off-campus housing. Read more about our efforts to ensure that all students have equal access to Tufts’ educational and co-curricular opportunities. We know that any increase in tuition places additional burdens on you. Please know that we will put your tuition dollars to work to continue providing you with a college experience that ranks among the nation’s finest.
Sincerely,
James M. Glaser
Dean, School of Arts and Sciences
Jianmin Qu
Dean, School of Engineering
