Undergraduate tuition for the 2026-2027 academic year is set to increase by 4.5%, going from $68,240 to $71,310 before financial aid is applied. Housing costs, meal plans, student activity fees, and student health fees will increase concurrently.

Mark West, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs, announced the increases in an email sent to parents, families, and students on March 17. In addition to listing the amount by which tuition and other fees will increase, the University also addressed frequently asked questions about why tuition is increasing and how this change will affect students on financial aid.

“We are … committed to serving as responsible stewards of your tuition dollars,” West wrote. “At a time of high financial uncertainty in higher education and at Washington University, we continue to take measured and necessary steps to minimize expenses and find new efficiencies to ensure a WashU education remains an excellent value for our students.”

Last year’s increase was 5.8%, a bigger jump than any in the decade prior. In an interview with Student Life on Feb. 18, Executive Vice Chancellor for Finance and Chief Financial Officer David Gray said that the University was working to keep tuition increases this year smaller than the last.

“I think we all recognize that there are lots of pressures on families,” Gray said. “They are dealing with a lot of inflationary costs in their household budgets, and we think it is important that we not continue to add pressure to that situation, which can be accomplished through more moderate [tuition] increases.”

The University anticipated questions about why tuition increases are necessary as opposed to pulling more funding from elsewhere. The FAQ page explained that endowment funds cannot be used to keep tuition costs down because they are often restricted to only be used for specific purposes, as determined by the donor. The FAQs cited Chancellor Andrew D. Martin’s blog posts that offer transparency in endowment management.  

In the email, West also emphasized investments WashU has recently made in programs like the Bauer Leaders Academy, Center for Career Engagement, and Office of Financial Well-being to explain the need for tuition increases and benefits that students might see.

WashU’s announcement also noted that the University is working on lowering costs in addition to bringing in more money. 

“To minimize our operating costs, we have made strategic cuts to some programs and will continue to seek new efficiencies,” the FAQ page read. In October 2025, WashU announced hundreds of layoffs and cuts in vacancies.

While undergraduate tuition costs increased by 4.5%, WashU’s graduate programs saw different lower rates of increase, with tuition to the School of Medicine staying the same and tuition to the online Law LLM and MLS program decreasing by 21.7%. On average, graduate student tuition for in-person programs only increased by 2.51%.

In addition to increases in tuition across the board, housing, food, and other costs also rose.

The student activity fee increased from $682 to $712 and the health and wellness fee rose from $672 to $700 per student. The meal plan range is now $6,032 to $9,122, whereas it used to be $5,880 to $8,770. 

The overall total estimated cost of attendance for undergraduates combining tuition, meal plan, fees, and double room housing will go from $93,284 to $96,994 without aid. 

However, the University is still planning to uphold its need-blind admissions policy and no-loan commitment. The financial aid budget for Fiscal Year 2026 was $404.9 million, while the gross tuition and fees totaled to $832.9 million. 

“WashU students who receive financial aid pay significantly less than the full cost of tuition and can rest assured that each year their financial aid award is calculated taking the new cost of attendance into account,” West wrote.