PROVIDENCE – Brown University students will see a higher tuition bill next academic year, with the Ivy League institution citing a need to close a significant structural deficit and dealing with ongoing inflation issues.
The Corporation of Brown University approved during its Feb. 8 meeting that the university’s undergraduate tuition for the 2025-26 academic year will increase by 4.5% as of July 1. Overall, including fees, educational costs for undergraduate students attending Brown will increase by 4.85%.
Brown said that the university resources committee reviewed and acknowledged the shifting macroeconomic environment and “particularly inflation” that is more comparable to pre-COVID-19-pandemic levels. Also, Brown said
the $46 million structural deficit in the university’s current fiscal year operating budget was also a “key area focus” for the committee in reviewing its tuition proposal.
Brown Provost Francis J. Doyle III said in a statement that while the deficit makes up only 3% of Brown’s total budget, increases in the deficit over time are “not sustainable,” and the university “can no longer maintain its historic, undergraduate tuition-dependent funding model, which is more reminiscent of colleges.”
Tuition for the next academic year at Brown will cost $71,700, up from the current $68,612. Factoring in fees, including for room and board, resources and health services, the total cost to attend Brown will be $93,064.
Graduate students taking most doctoral and on-campus master’s degree programs will pay $8,962 per course next year, a 4.5% jump from the previous year. Also, students attending the Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown will see a 2.75% tuition increase next year, as well, from $71,192 to $73,150.
Doyle also says Brown’s tuition increases will be coupled with a $17 million increase to the university’s undergraduate financial aid budget. Brown also approved a 3.5% salary increase for all faculty and staff at the university, but it will for the first time be divided into three components.
One component is a 1% “base” that is responsive to changes in the cost of living, which all faculty and staff will receive, Brown said. Another is a 1.75% “merit” component awarded based on performance. The final part is a 0.75% component for promotion, retention and equity adjustments, Brown said.
Other fee increases for next academic year at Brown are:
- Standard room rate: $10,410 [up from $9,940]
- Standard board: $8,104 [up from $7,504]
- Undergraduate student resources fee: $1,086 [up from $1,044]
- Health services fee: $1,236 [up from $1,166]
- Student activities fee: $428 [up from $400]
- Student recreation fee: $100 [up from $90]
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.
