The Marquette University Board of Trustees approved an undergraduate tuition increase of 3.5%, according to a Jan. 23 statement from the university. This brings undergraduate tuition up to $53,890 for the 2026-27 academic year, although no change will be made to student fees.
There will also be a 3% increase for housing and food rates for the 2026-27 academic year, which is attributed to “improvement to and rising costs for residents and dining facilities” according to the university statement.
This follows the 4% undergraduate increase for the 2025-26 academic year and the 5% undergraduate increase for the 2024-25 academic year. Collectively, Marquette tuition has increased 12.5% in the past three years.
The Board of Trustees also approved the following tuition increases to graduate and professional programs:
Graduate programs
- A per-credit $35 increase for Education Graduate School programs
- A per-credit $50 increase for the Graduate School and Graduate School Management programs
- A per-credit $125 increase for Graduate School Humanities programs in English, Theology, Philosophy and History
Professional programs
- 2% increase for in-state and out-of-state in the School of Dentistry
- 2% increase for full-time in the College of Health Sciences’ professional programs
- 2% increase for Marquette University Law School students
Master of Science in Nursing — Second-Degree Direct Entry for Non-Nurses:
- No changes will be made to annual tuition for current cohorts. The annual rate for students starting in summer or fall 2026 or spring 2027 will be $69,000.
“Affordability remains a top priority for us,” the university statement said. “We continue to seek new and thoughtful ways to identify cost savings and revenue-generating opportunities.”
At a November 2024 University Academic Senate meeting, President Kimo Ah Yun said he did not want to raise tuition; however, tuition has increased twice since this statement.
In July, Republican lawmakers attempted to limit tuition increases at Wisconsin’s public universities. This came after the University of Wisconsin’s Board of Regents approved a 5% increase at most UW campuses. The bill would impede the Board of Regents from raising tuition by more than the consumer price index increase each year, meaning tuition could not be raised by more than the rate of inflation.
However, as Marquette is a private institution, this bill or any state action would have no effect on tuition increases for Golden Eagles.
It is unclear if the university plans to increase undergraduate financial aid in consideration to the increased tuition, as have other private universities with similar increases. For instance, Northwestern University had a 3.3% undergraduate tuition increase for the 2025-26 academic year with a planned $306 million for undergraduate financial aid.
This story was written by Mina Marsolek-Bonnet. She can be reached at [email protected].
