Tuition Surcharge FAQs
What is the surcharge and why is it assessed?
Approved by the Board of Regents in 2012, the surcharge is $1,300 per semester for Carlson School students taking 9 or more credits. For students taking less than 9 credits, including summer session, the surcharge will be $100 per credit.
The amount of state support dollars allocated to the Carlson School has decreased over time while at the same time, the number of students admitted to the Carlson School has increased. The tuition surcharge allows the Carlson School to continue to invest in outstanding faculty despite the loss of state funding.
Funds raised by the tuition surcharge are used to support the cost of instruction. They are invested directly into the Carlson School Undergraduate Program to support innovative learning environments & experiential teaching, reduce the class size in core courses, and hire and retain exceptional instructional faculty to teach in the Undergraduate Program. The surcharge is similar to tuition revenue.
Pell-eligible and UPromise students enrolled full time (12 credits and 13 credits, respectively) are eligible for the surcharge offset (i.e. the surcharge is waived).
How is the surcharge different from the collegiate fee?
All colleges at the University of Minnesota have a collegiate fee. Only the Carlson School and the College of Science & Engineering have a tuition surcharge.
The Carlson School collegiate fee is $580 per semester for students taking 9 or more credits and $290 per semester for students taking fewer than 9 credits. View more about the various college fees at One Stop.
Collegiate fees help fund student support services, such as advising, student engagement activities, career center (partially), study abroad support, and technology support (i.e. computer lab support, printing). Whereas, the surcharge is considered additional tuition and goes toward instructional cost.
Do all students pay the surcharge?
All Carlson School undergraduate students are assessed the surcharge. However, about 25% of Carlson School students (Pell-eligible and U Promise scholarship recipients) receive the offset and do not pay the surcharge.
Are students charged the surcharge if all of their courses in a semester are outside of the Carlson School?
Yes. The surcharge is based on your college of enrollment, not on the coursework you are taking.
If a student is studying abroad, do they pay the surcharge?
The program fees for Learning Abroad Center (LAC) semester-length programs do not include the surcharge.
Students who study abroad on a Carlson Global Institute (CGI) semester or summer-length exchange program pay the surcharge while they are abroad (if you pay it here). You are essentially paying UM tuition while attending a Carlson School partner school.
Short-term programs are folded into the semester tuition cost, which includes the surcharge.