Costs

Illustration by Valeria Pellicer.

2023-24 tuition and fees

California residents pay $20,076; nonresident students pay $35,178.

There may be a small fee increase for the 2024-25 academic year. Final figures for 2024-25 will not be available until summer 2024.

For details, see the Registrar's Fees page. The costs for 2023-24 include $5,214 for one year (including summer 2024) of health, dental, and vision coverage. You may waive this coverage if you already have other insurance.

State residency requires proof of having lived in California for at least one year prior to enrolling, as well as the intention to make California your home (permanent address, voting and vehicle registration, bank account, tax records). All graduates of California high schools are eligible for the in-state tuition rate. See the Residency page for information.

The figures do not include living expenses. We advise students to budget about $2,500 per month for the 9-month academic year (September 15 through June 15) to cover housing, food, transportation, books, supplies, travel to conferences, and other expenses. Rent is the main expense and is highly variable depending on your arrangement.

Two-thirds of our part-time internships during the school year offer a modest salary. Each student can count on one to two such internships, yielding between $2,000 and $5,000, to help offset expenses. Most students also earn money by publishing stories from classes, conferences, or freelance work. All summer internships include a salary; our program does not support unpaid internships after graduation.

It is not feasible for our students to work at a part-time job (other than the internships) or to work as a teaching assistant during the academic year.

We encourage students to seek their own sources of funding. We offer fellowships and scholarships to offset a portion of the costs for most students, listed here.