Fees

SUMMARY OF MANDATORY FEES

For 2024-2025 full-time graduate students, the average annual mandatory university fees are ~$2,000 for international students or ~$1,500 for domestic students. Each fee is discussed in the sections further below.

Importantly, these amounts exclude the mandatory health insurance cost, tuition, and income taxes (because they aren't technically "fees").

WARNING: Some graduate student employees who have an assistantship or fellowship may have only the College/School Fee waived, and no other fee waived (like they are at most other universities). This crucial fact is purposefully not mentioned in the employment offer letter sent by the university, and the charges are applied to student accounts 2 months after the semester begins. By then, it's too late to reconsider attending UMass Dartmouth.

Mandatory School Fees, Per Year*

   $161.26 - Student Activity Fee (charged as $80.63/semester)

+ $374.94 - Technology Fee (charged as $187.47/semester)

+ $951.25 - College/School Fee (averaged, see the next section below)

= $1,487.45 per year for domestic students

+ $535.00 - International Student Fee (only for international students, charged as $260.00/semester)

= $2,022.45 per year for international students

* assumes full-time student status and 9 in-person credits, and averages the College/School Fee

Important!

1. Again, almost all fees are NOT waived! Only the College/School Fee may be waived, and only for some graduate student employees.

2. Again, these totals do not include the mandatory tuition, health insurance, or income taxes! These totals also don't include an optional parking permit or dental insurance!

• • The annual $2,788.68 health insurance cost is discussed at great length on our Health Insurance page

  • Annual tuition costs $22,410.00 for out-of-state students taking the typical 9 credits per semester ($1,245.00 per credit, more info is here)

    • • Out-of-state Law School students taking the typical 15 credits per semester must pay $50,190.00 in annual tuition ($1,673.00 per credit, see here)

  • Income taxes may be ~2-12% of your income, and vary by country of citizenship (more info is on the Taxes page)

  • An annual commuter parking permit costs $250.00 and annual dental insurance costs $335.00, see the Opt-In Optional Fees section below.

Our Survive page contains complete information regarding UMass Dartmouth graduate student income and expenses, including the above additional expenses and optional fees.

MANDATORY COLLEGE/SCHOOL FEES

UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that these fees "cover costs directly associated with the delivery of instruction." Despite our best efforts, we have not received detailed information regarding these fees.

This College/School Fee is waived only for Distinguished Art Fellows, Distinguished Doctoral Fellows, and Doctoral Fellows. See page 3 of the Graduate Studies Office's Guidelines for Graduate Student Assistantship / Fellowship Financial Support document for more info.

Students are charged only 1 of the following fees, according to their college/school:

• Charlton College of Business fee: $510.00 per year ($255.00/semester)

• College of Arts & Sciences

  • • Level 1 fee (humanities, social sciences, education programs): $460.00 per year ($230.00/semester)

OR

• • • Level 2 fee (science programs): $1,002.00 per year ($501.00/semester)

• College of Engineering fee: $1,350.00 per year ($675.00/semester)

• College of Nursing & Health Sciences fee: $1,559.00 per year ($779.50/semester)

• College of Visual & Performing Arts Specialized Course Support fee: $957.00 per year ($478.50/semester)

• School for Marine Science & Technology fee: $943.00 per year ($471.50/semester)

• UMass Law School fees: $829.00 per year ($414.64 per semester)

  • • UMass Law School fee: $500.00 per year ($250.00 per semester for 12 credits)

    • Student Bar fee: $75.00 per year ($37.50 per semester)

    • Registration fee: $200.00 per year ($100.00 per semester)

    • Student Activity Fee for additional 3 credits: $54.28 per year at 12 credits ($27.14 at 12 credits per semester)

    • These amounts can be found at https://www.umassd.edu/law/admissions/tuition/, in the "Law Fall & Spring Semester Cost Chart" pdf document.

The unweighted average of the above College/School Fees is $951.25 per year ($475.63/semester).

MANDATORY SEMESTERLY FEES

Student Activity Fee: $80.63 per semester ($161.26 per year) at $8.96 per credit

• The Student Activity Fee is a per-credit fee, and capped at 12 credits even if a student takes more than 12 credits (such as Law students).

• UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "supports all student groups, student publications and various other student-related activities."

• We've generated a draft flowchart of the Student Activity Fee process from 2020 (see the bottom of this page). This is the best possible information we are able to obtain. If you are interested in helping to update it, please let us know!

Technology Fee: $187.47 per semester ($374.94 per year) at $20.83 per credit

• • • The Technology Fee is a per-credit fee.

    • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "supports the technology infrastructure and educational environment necessary to meet the technological demands of the UMass Dartmouth community."

    • We are not certain what this description means.

International Student Fee: $267.50 per semester ($535.00 per year), only for international students

• • • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "is to support the infrastructure required to maintain University compliance requirements for the admission, enrollment, and retention of international students."

    • This fee goes toward the operations of the International Student & Scholar Center (ISSC), and pays for the maintenance of their ongoing services to international students such as printing I-20s, getting documents, supporting OPT and STEM OPT students, and processing student documentation. This fee may also pay for the SEVIS reporting required by the federal government. 

    • Despite our best efforts, we have not received any more information regarding this fee.

Program Continuation Fee: $275.00 per semester ($550.00 per year), only for students registered for 0 credits

• Only charged to graduate students who are registered for 0 credits, such as near the end of their degree program when they are working on a project, thesis or dissertation and has completed all credit-bearing courses / thesis / project / dissertation required to meet the credit requirements of the degree.

• We cannot find any information regarding this fee.

MANDATORY ONE-TIME FEES

International Orientation Fee: $260.00, only for international students, charged once in the 1st semester

• • • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "supports the orientation program."

    • New international students are assessed a fee that supports the international student orientation program. This fee funds a 2-day program including sessions, speakers, breakfast, lunch, and a city tour. Note that the 2-day orientation program is mandatory for all incoming international students, and the program (including payments to vendors) is scheduled in advance. Refunds are not given to students who miss this mandatory orientation, or attend via Zoom because they aren't in the US yet.

    • Refunds are not provided even if the orientation is canceled, such as due to bad weather in January.

Transcript Fee: $100.00, charged once in the 1st semester

• • • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "provides lifetime transcripts at no charge."

    • We do not know whether it covers both electronic and printed transcripts, and/or both official and unofficial transcripts.

Graduation Fee: $220.00, charged once in the last semester

• • • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "helps to offset costs attributed to student services applicable to undergraduate and graduate students."

    • We are not certain what this description means.

    • This fee does not cover the cost of printing or binding your thesis/dissertation.

AUTO-CHARGED OPTIONAL FEES

These fees are optional, but automatically charged to your student account. Action must be taken to waive them if desired.

Student health insurance plan: $2,788.68 per year, optional, automatically charged every August!!

• • The university-offered Student Health Insurance Plan is technically waivable, but is a very complicated process that usually must begin in July!

  • The student health insurance is discussed in great depth on our Health Insurance page.

  • Charged automatically, can be waived manually by the student if desired

  • Offered through University Health Plans

  • More information is available on University Health Plans' Student Health Insurance Plan webpage

MASSPIRG fee: $9.00 per semester, optional, automatically charged at the beginning of each semester

• • Charged automatically, can be waived manually by the student if desired

  • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that "MASSPIRG is a statewide, student-directed, student-funded organization that advocates on behalf of students on issues such as affordable higher education, public health, and the environment. UMassD students have voted to fund a MASSPIRG chapter on campus through this waivable fee. Students who do not wish to be charged this fee must complete the online waiver process in COIN using the waivable fees link on the Student Center Page."

Alumni Association membership fee: $22.00, optional, automatically charged once in the last semester

• Charged automatically, can be waived manually by the student if desired

• • UMassD's Explanation of Invoice webpage states that this fee "provides you with a one-year membership in the Alumni Association. Any graduating student not wishing to participate in the Association must complete the online waiver in COIN using the waivable fee link on the Student Center Page."

OPT-IN OPTIONAL FEES

These optional fees require action before they are charged, and are worth consideration as the purchase may be desirable.

Dental insurance: $335.00 per year, optional purchase every July

• • Dental care is not covered by US health insurance, and must be purchased separately

  • Not automatically charged, must be manually purchased by the student

  • Offered through University Health Plans

  • More information is available on University Health Plans' Delta Dental Plan Options webpage

Commuter student parking permit: $250.00 per year, optional purchase every August

• • If you plan to park your car on the main campus or Law School campus, you must pay for a parking permit. The university doesn't publish the price of the Law School permit, but it may cost the same as a main campus permit?

  • Not automatically charged, must be manually purchased by the student

  • One-semester permits are also available for half-price

  • Information about student parking permits can be found on UMassD's Student Parking Permits webpage

STUDENT LOAN FEES

Only for students receiving financial aid, these student loan fees are charged semesterly by the loan management company (such as Sally Mae, Nelnet, etc.) to "service the loan account." 

• The fee varies by the student loan amount.

• Students receiving loans can find this fee at https://my.umassd.edu --> COIN --> Financial Aid Center --> View Current Financial Aid --> click the relevant aid year --> click View Scheduled Disbursement Dates. The fee is listed in the FEE column.

• The university does not receive this student loan fee money.

LINKS TO FEES INFO

Here are important links to official university information:

• Graduate Student Tuition & Fees: https://www.umassd.edu/graduate/tuition-fees/

• School of Law Tuition & Fees: https://www.umassd.edu/law/admissions/tuition/

• Online & Continuing Education Tuition & Fees: https://www.umassd.edu/online/tuition-and-fees/

• Explanation of Invoice: https://www.umassd.edu/bursar/explanation-of-billing/

• Graduate Student Tuition: https://www.umassd.edu/graduate/tuition-fees/

• Law School Tuition: https://www.umassd.edu/law/admissions/tuition/

• Student Health Insurance: https://www.umassd.edu/studentaffairs/health/healthinsurance/

• Student Dental Insurance: https://www.universityhealthplans.com/letters/letter.cgi?group_id=161

• Student Parking Permits: https://www.umassd.edu/parking/students/

STUDENT ACTIVITY FEE FLOWCHART

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