University Park, Great Valley, Hershey Graduate Students: Breakout of Expenses

Penn State is a public university that receives some funding from the government and from taxpayers. There is, at this time, essentially no financial aid available for international undergraduate students.  U.S. Citizenship or legal permanent residency is a requirement for federal funds; Pennsylvania residency is a further requirement for state funds.

The tuition estimates listed below are based on the minimum number of credits required by the Department of Homeland Security to maintain full-time student status, (9 Credits), unless otherwise noted. Scheduling more than the minimum number of credits may increase your tuition charges. The figures provided here are estimates only.  Tuition charges are set immediately preceding each academic year by the Bursar's Office.  

*The One Year Engineering Master's program is based on a minimum of 12 credits for the fall and spring semesters, and 6 credits for the summer.  Students are required to register for summer classes.  Please check with the department for the course requirements. Some programs require more than 30 credits, which may increase your actual tuition fees.  

NOTE TO GRADUATE STUDENTS:  If your program requires or if you choose to enroll for more credits than the minimum required for full-time enrollment, you must recalculate the tuition and fees because they may be higher than what is listed here.

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If you are awarded an assistantship or fellowship which includes tuition and discounted insurance, ISSA will consider you fully funded ONLY if the stipend combined with any assistantship/fellowship award is greater than your estimated living costs plus your portion, (20%) of the medical insurance, or $22,000.  To calculate your financial guarantee requirement, subtract your annual stipend amount from $22,000.  You are required to show proof of personal funds for any difference.  Summer stipend amounts are only included in your annual stipend award when funding is guaranteed.

 If you are traveling with dependents, stipends are not sufficient to cover dependents' expenses and are not intended to do so. Graduate Assistant spouse dependent expense are $7,100 (including $1,050 for insurance). Graduate Assistant child dependent expenses are $4,600 for the first child, $4,600 for the second child and $3,500 for each additional child. This information is subject to change, and includes estimates only for the purpose of issuing visa eligibility documents. Please contact uhs-insurance@psu.edu for the most accurate insurance information.

We estimate living expenses for the academic year (fall and spring) to be $20,700 for a graduate student.  This includes approximately $1,200 for books, course materials, supplies, and equipment.

The estimated $1,200 cost for books, course materials, supplies, and equipment and the estimated $19,500 for living expenses are based on figures provided by the Office of Student Aid for the current academic year.  The $20,700 figure includes estimated amounts for room, food, clothing, laundry, personal care items, local transportation, and so on.

The insurance rate of an estimated $4,200 for the Fall 2025-Spring 2026 academic year was provided to us by the Student Insurance Office, using actual amounts as possible. Actual insurance rates will be available on the Student Insurance website closer to the start of the fall semester.

If you will be accompanied by dependents, you will be fully responsible for their support and additional funds are required. Health insurance is mandatory for all accompanying dependents. The high cost of child care for preschool children (ages 0-6 years) is not included in the child expenses figures. Child insurance expenses have a maximum fee for 3 or more children.