Bursar

How Fees Are Determined

Tuition and fees at the University of Cincinnati are reviewed and set by the Board of Trustees each spring for the upcoming year. The Office of the Bursar is responsible for assessing fees based on the appropriate factors.

Primary Factors for Student Fee Assessment

  • Tuition Fee Structure
  • Academic Career, Program, and Plan (CPP)
  • Offering College of the class section
  • Residency
  • Enrollment
Class enrollment each term will also influence fee assessment.
  • Students enrolled full-time are charged at a flat rate based on their tuition cohort, academic career, academic program, and academic plan (see the "Credit Hour Status" chart below) plus a per credit hour rate for any enrolled hours in overload status, which is typically 19 credit hours and above. Exceptions to the overload policy are:
    • College of Business
      • Master of Business Administration (22MBA)- 20 credit hour threshold
      • Master of Business Administration- Distance Learning (22MBA-DL)- 20 credit hour threshold
    • College of Design, Architecture, Art, & Planning
      • Master of Architecture (23MArch)- 20 credit hour threshold
    • College of Medicine
      • Doctor of Medicine (26MD)- no threshold
  • Part-time, undergraduate students are charged on a per credit hour basis determined by the offering college and career of the class section. Part-time graduate students are charged on a per credit hour basis determined by their primary career, unless they are enrolled in an undergraduate course. If they are enrolled in an undergraduate course charges will be determined by the offering college of the class section for that course.
  • Students will be charged the program fee for the primary academic program for which they are enrolled regardless of their enrollment status.
  • Note, some classes have course- or class-specific fees in addition to the Board-approved fees.
  • See the "Fee Calculation Logic" section below for more details.
Credit Hour Status for Billing
Career
 Part-Time
 Full-Time
Undergraduate
 1-11 credit hours
 12+ credit hours
Graduate 1-9 credit hours 10+ credit hours
Professional (MD) 1-23 credit hours
 24+ credit hours
Professional (JD) 1-11 credit hours
 12+ credit hours
  • Academic Career: The University of Cincinnati has four academic careers: undergraduate, graduate, law and medicine. Depending on the Academic Career, applicants are eligible for specific Academic Programs, Plans and Sub-Plans that fall underneath each career.
  • Academic Program: An academic entity to which a student applies, is accepted, and from which the student graduates with a degree or certificate. The academic programs equals the career plus the college. For example, Arts & Sciences Baccalaureate.
  • Academic Plan: An area of study you focus on while pursuing your degree. It consists of a group of core classes as well as requirements determined by a program. The academic plan is equivalent to a student's major, minor, etc. For Example, a student may be getting an Arts & Sciences Baccalaureate in Communication.
  • Instructional Fee: This required fee covers costs associated with instruction and classroom time including classroom supplies and materials.
  • General Fee: This required fee provides funding for non-instructional services and is assessed uniformly to all enrolled students. These services are directly related to students' academic progression through the university. The fee also enhances many programs available to and used by all students including many web-delivered services. The distribution of these fees is determined by the Student Advisory Committee on the University Budget (SACUB).
  • Campus Life Fee: This required fee covers various recreational and entertainment facilities and programming that can be utilized by all students to enhance the campus environment and increase student engagement. This fee was voted on and approved by the student body.
  • Info Tech & Inst Equip Fee: This required fee applies to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students in all programs. The Information Technology and Instructional Equipment fee is used to fund improved access to and assistance with information technology and to fund other types of instructional equipment.
  • Non-Resident Surcharge: This required fee applies to all students who do not qualify for Ohio residency. It is used to fund those instructional costs the state pays for on behalf of qualifying Ohio residents. This fee may also be described as “Distance Learning Non-Resident Surcharge”, “Non-Resident Metropolitan Surcharge”, “Instructional Fee (Non-Resident Surcharge)”, or the like.
  • New Student Fee: This required fee is $135.00 and applies to certain first time students. Questions regarding this fee should be directed to New Student Orientation at (513) 556-2486 or orientation@uc.edu.
  • Program Fees: This required fee is college specific. Contact your college office for more information on the purpose and use of these charges.
  • Distance Learning Fee: This required fee is used to support the infrastructure (state authorization process, information technology, etc.) needed to support the Distance Learning Mission.
  • Differential Tuition: Effective Fall 2016, this required fee applies to any full-time student who registers for 7 units/hours, or more, outside of their primary campus, academic program level and/or career. This fee is the difference between the full-time instructional fee charged at the primary program level, or campus, and the full-time instructional fee for the campus or highest program level. The same applies to the non-resident surcharge (in some cases the non-resident surcharge is less so student will receive a waiver for the difference).
    • Differential Tuition Examples:
    1. A Branch Campus student taking 7 undergraduate units/credit hours, or more, offered by a Main Campus (Clifton/Uptown) college will be charged a differential fee regardless of class location
    2. A Main Campus undergraduate student taking 7 graduate or Law units/hours, or more, will be charged a differential fee equal to the difference between the undergraduate and graduate or Law full-time instructional fee.
  • Student Health Insurance: This required fee applies to all students. In general, students enrolled for 6 or more credit hours/units or experiential learning (i.e., Coop) are required to have health insurance. Experiential Learning includes Coop, Full-Time Lindner Professional Experience and most internships. Students covered under another qualifying policy may waive coverage by the deadline and the charge will be removed. For more information visit the Student Health Insurance webpage.
  • Bloodborne Pathogen Insurance: This fee is required for all students in programs of study that may result in exposure to blood or blood products. For more information visit the Bloodborne Pathogen Insurance webpage or the Student Health Insurance webpage.
  • International Student Fee: This fee is $125.00 and applies to any enrolled student who does not hold U.S. citizenship, permanent resident, Asylee or Refugee status. Students with a primary program identified as distance learning are exempt from this fee. Contact the UC International Office for more details regarding this fee and what it supports at (513)556-4278 or international.students@uc.edu.
  • Anticipated Aid: Also known as "Estimated Aid," serves only as an acknowledgment to the student of expected funds that have not yet been received. Estimated aid is only displayed until 5 days before the start of the term.
This is a flow chart meant to be a visual aid for the fees calculation logic that is detailed below.
Full Gallery

This is a flow chart meant to be a visual aid for the fees calculation logic that is detailed below.

  1. Students active in only 1 career, 1 program and 1 plan will have tuition and fees calculate using this career/program/plan.
  2. Students active in only 1 career with multiple programs and 1 plan in each program will have tuition and fees calculate using the primary program. The primary program is usually the first confirmed program or oldest active program on the student’s record.
  3. For students active in more than 1 career (undergraduate, graduate, law, or medicine), the system will look at the student’s enrollment in each career for the term. Enrollment of 7, or more, units/hours in higher career(s) will be used to determine the primary academic career which will then determine academic program, academic plan, and academic sub-plan. Tuition and fees will be calculated based on this determination.
  4.  Full-time students taking classes outside of their primary career and/or campus, where costs are higher, will be subject to a “differential fee.” The amount of the fee is the difference between their primary career/campus flat rate instructional fee and the higher career/campus instructional fee. This fee will be assessed only when a student is enrolled in 7 or more credit hours at the campus/career with the higher costs. Students taking fewer than 7 hours will not be assessed this fee. The same applies to the non-resident surcharge (in some cases the non-resident surcharge is less so student will receive a waiver for the difference).
  5.  Students active in more than 1 academic program in a given career will be assessed only the program fees associated with the primary academic program. Students active in more than one academic plan under the primary academic program, will be assessed any and all program fees associated with all plans within the primary academic program.