<p>This may be a stupid question, but is the tuition of a grad school at, say, SUNY Binghamton cheaper than the one at NYU?</p>
<p>i’m pretty sure they post that information online. use google.</p>
<p>The sticker price is probably lower, but many graduate students don’t pay the sticker price. In my field no one would consider enrolling at a graduate program without at least a tuition waiver; most graduate students also receive a stipend for their living expenses in exchange for TA services.</p>
<p>Yes.</p>
<p>For PhDs in some fields, it’s normal to have your tuition paid for, so for these people, it’s pretty irrelevant.</p>
<p>For other PhDs, it still doesn’t matter too much, since they usually have a chance to build residency after a year or so. One year doesn’t seem like much if you’ll be there for five.</p>
<p>For other PhDs, it still doesn’t matter too much, since they usually have a chance to build residency after a year or so. One year doesn’t seem like much if you’ll be there for five.</p>
<p>Two points:</p>
<p>1) In most fields, PhDs should be fully funded - not only tuition paid for, but some kind of stipend (and also health insurance, if you can get it). I think some fields are more likely to have the majority of their doctoral students covered, but in general - I’ve heard professors across fields (humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences) advise students NOT to attend programs that are not fully funded for at least the coursework phase, when it is most expensive. I had a professor in my own department tell a recently admitted doctoral prospective to NOT attend our program because she had not been awarded a full tuition waiver/scholarship and a stipend. I couldn’t imagine paying for this you-know-what, I would’ve dropped out after a semester lmao :D</p>
<p>2) At many public schools you do NOT have the chance to build residency after a year for tuition purposes. Many universities specifically state that if your primary purpose for moving to the state is to attend school, you are not eligible for in-state tuition at the school. In New York State, it doesn’t matter - if you have lived in NYS for the 12 consecutive months prior to submitting the application, you’re a resident for tuition purposes. But in the state of Georgia, you have to have resided for 12 consecutive months AND not have been enrolled full-time in school for any of those months AND be able to prove that you did not move to Georgia primarily for educational purposes. (However, an additional caveat is that nonresident graduate students who hold research or teaching assistantships may qualify for in-state tuition).</p>
<p>You basically need to look up the requirements for the individual states you are considering to be sure that you would pay the resident rates for your second year, or you may be in for a nasty surprise.</p>
<p>But to answer your original question, yes - in general graduate tuition at a public university is less than graduate tuition at a private one.</p>
<p>I think residency and type of public institution matters. </p>
<p>Flagship public universities (e.g., Berkeley, Michigan, etc.) are more expensive than comprehensive public universities. Flagships are slightly less expensive than elite privates. In a way, it goes like this: Elite Private > Flagship Public > Regular Public</p>
<p>For instance, graduate tuition and fees for in-state students at Michigan is roughly $20,000 for most master’s programs. Out-of-state students usually pay close to $40,000 for tuition and fees for the same program. This is excluding personal expenses!</p>
<p>In general publics are going to be cheaper, but as tenis noted there are some exceptions (and there is probably even more parity in professional schools like law, business, and medicine).</p>