Tuition fees in the USA for Indian students
What a degree costs to study in the USA, before the cost of living there. The ranges below are the published national picture; what you will actually pay depends far more on your subject than on your university.
At a glance
| Postgraduate tuition | $20,000–$60,000/yr (STEM/business at private universities higher) |
|---|---|
| Undergraduate tuition | $25,000–$55,000/yr |
| Verified fees in our catalogue | 178 universities in the USA with a fee checked against the institution's own page |
What the range does and does not include
A tuition range is the course fee. It does not include living costs, the visa fee, health cover, or the money you must evidence for the visa — and those together are frequently larger than the tuition itself.
- Subject changes it more than the university does. Business, medicine and some engineering sit well above the range's midpoint.
- The fee is usually per year, so a two-year programme is twice it.
- Fees can rise between years on a multi-year course; ask whether yours is fixed at entry.
Living costs are a separate page: /cost-of-living/usa. The two together, plus the visa requirement, are what you actually need to fund.
Getting a real figure rather than a range
- Find your specific programme on the university's own fees page — not a comparison site.
- Check whether the figure is per year or for the whole course.
- Check what it includes: some fees cover bench or lab charges and some bill them separately.
- Use that figure for the loan, since the lender will size against it.
Our university pages print a fee only where it has been checked against the institution's own page, and say when. A figure with no date on it is a figure nobody should budget from.
Tuition fees — FAQs
2 questions
Postgraduate tuition typically runs $20,000–$60,000/yr (STEM/business at private universities higher). Living costs are separate and are on our cost-of-living page.
Usually per year, and often in instalments. Confirm the schedule with the university, because it sets your loan disbursement dates.
Want a figure for your own course? A counsellor puts tuition, living costs, the visa requirement and the loan into one number — free.
Sources
Not re-checked recently — treat the figures as indicative and confirm before you rely on them.
- uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-and-exchange-visitors/optional-practical-training-opt-for-f-1-students
- studyinthestates.dhs.gov/stem-opt-hub/additional-resources/stem-opt-extension-overview
- internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/true-cost-us-masters-2026/
- usief.org.in/fulbright-nehru-masters-fellowships/
- inlaksfoundation.org/
- knight-hennessy.stanford.edu/