Tuition and Finances

Tuition and fees can be expected to increase each year; rates are set in late spring by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania reserve the right to increase tuition and fees and otherwise to amend the regulations concerning tuition, fees, and method of payment at any time and to make such changes applicable to students in the University at that time as well as to new students.

All continuing and new students in the Weitzman School, whether or not they advance register, are billed with the same due date for full tuition and general fees according to a set schedule. Tuition and general fees must be paid before the appointed date of registration for each semester.

Weitzman is a full-tuition school; during the fall and spring terms (and summer term for AAD students, as noted below), all Weitzman students are charged the full-time tuition rate if they take three, four, or five CUs. Taking required CUs in the summer or reducing CUs in one term in order to overload CUs in a future term does not alter the full-tuition bill for the fall and spring terms unless the deviation to the course of study has been approved in advance by the department chair due to extenuating circumstances. Taking courses in the summer or taking more than 5 CUs in any term will result in additional tuition charges, without additional disbursement of Weitzman scholarship funding.

All Weitzman School students in professional degree programs are permitted to take up to five course units (CUs) within the full-time tuition and general fee cost. Students may register for six course units with the written permission of their program director. If the student is auditing the sixth CU, there will be no additional tuition or general fee charge. If the student is taking the sixth CU for credit, the student will be charged tuition for the additional course unit at the per-CU rate. There is no change in tuition and fees for full-time students who are registered for three or four CUs and audit a fifth course. Students who register for less than three course units and audit a course will be charged the per-CU rate for tuition and fees for the audited course.

In rare circumstances, students may be approved by the program director to undertake one or more terms of part-time study. Part-time status is classified as fewer than three CUs in a term and results in billing at the per-CU tuition and general fee rates. With the exception of MUSA students who were admitted with part-time status, part-time status needs to be requested each term.

Upon completion of course requirements, a candidate for a Master of Science degree must be continuously enrolled until graduation and will be charged a master’s thesis fee each semester. Please review the “Enrollment Status” section for additional information.

Summer tuition is based on the tuition and fee rates approved by the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania for the upcoming academic year. This means that summer tuition and fees are billed at the same rate as the upcoming Fall and Spring terms, and not at the rate used in the preceding Fall and Spring terms.

Students in degree programs with required full-time summer coursework (such as the MSD-AAD) are charged the applicable full-time tuition and fee rates as noted above. 

In all other situations, Weitzman masters students who choose to take courses over the summer are charged Weitzman's per-CU tuition rate. There is no tuition discount in future terms if courses counting towards the degree are taken during the summer. No Weitzman scholarships are disbursed during the summer (except for MSD-AAD students and M.Arch 3.5 year students enrolled in ARCH 5000) and students are eligible for federal loans only when registered for two or more CUs that count towards the degree requirements. 

In addition to tuition, doctoral students pay a general fee at either the full or reduced rate as noted in the tuition and fees chart below. There are two types of tuition categories for doctoral students:

Full Tuition: tuition for full-time PhD students will be charged at a “Full-Tuition Flat Rate” for the first three years (six terms, excluding summers) of enrollment. Full tuition applies whether the student takes three, four, or five courses in a semester or is on dissertation status. (The fifth course can only be taken as an audit.)

Reduced Tuition: doctoral students are eligible for reduced tuition in year four if coursework has been completed. If it has, the student will be charged reduced tuition until the degree is awarded or for a maximum of five (5) additional years from the semester the student goes on reduced tuition status.

Weitzman doctoral students who defend early in the semester, by the "tuition waiver-defend by date" set by the Office of the Provost, qualify for a tuition waiver (in the form of a refund) for that final term. Because students are charged tuition at the start of the term regardless of the anticipated tuition defense date, it is the student's responsibility to reach out to the Weitzman Registrar to request a tuition refund if/when the early defense and deposit deadlines have been met.

The tuition and fees in this table apply to the Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and Spring 2026 terms.

The tuition and fees in this table apply to the Summer 2024, Fall 2024, and Spring 2025 terms.

When an applicant accepts admission to the university, they are required to pay a non-refundable deposit of $500, which shall be credited toward the first semester’s tuition charges. The due date for the deposit will be provided on the candidate’s admission letter from the Weitzman School.

Scholarships divided over two semesters: Weitzman scholarship awards are applied toward tuition and will be credited to students’ bursar bills. Scholarships will be evenly divided over the fall and spring semesters. MSD-AAD students receiving a Weitzman scholarship will receive half of their scholarship in their summer semester.

Full-time enrollment requirement to receive total award amount: To receive the offered scholarship award, students must maintain full-time enrollment in coursework which counts toward their academic degree requirements.

Scholarships are limited to designated number of semesters in a degree program: Weitzman scholarships will only be offered for the total number of semesters required by your degree program.

Satisfactory academic progress required: Weitzman School scholarships are based on merit and students must maintain satisfactory academic progress to continue to receive their scholarship award.

Impact of leave of absence: If a student takes an approved leave of absence, any Weitzman School scholarship they were receiving will be reinstated when they return from leave, assuming that they left in good academic standing.

Impact of part-time enrollment: Weitzman School degree programs are primarily intended to be pursued full-time within the standard curriculum and program length. Part-time enrollment in Weitzman School degree programs must be approved by the program’s Chair/ Director and the Weitzman School Registrar. If a student is approved for part-time enrollment, their scholarship award will be reduced and disbursed at a prorated amount correlative to their tuition charges. Prior to requesting part-time enrollment, it is recommended that students consult their academic department to make a study plan which ensures that they will meet all degree requirements and, once a study plan has been made, consult the Weitzman Financial Aid Office to discuss the impact to their scholarship funding and overall cost of the program.

Scholarships are only applied to tuition: Weitzman scholarships can only be applied to tuition. If a student is awarded an outside scholarship or tuition benefit which can only be applied toward tuition, and the combination of their Weitzman scholarship and outside scholarship(s) or tuition benefit exceeds the cost of tuition in a given term or year, their Weitzman scholarship will be reduced.

Scholarships will not increase: Weitzman scholarship awards will not increase after enrollment, and continuing students are not reassessed for scholarship.

Weitzman dual degree enrollment: Students who have enrolled in to two programs which can be pursued as a dual degree program within the Weitzman School of Design, and received scholarship from at least one program, must maintain full-time enrollment and satisfactory academic progress to receive their offered scholarship. If at any point a dual degree student withdraws from one of the programs in the dual degree, their scholarship award may be reduced or removed. 

External dual degree enrollment: If a student is enrolled in an external dual degree program where one of the programs is administered by another Penn graduate or professional school, their Weitzman scholarship will only be disbursed for the academic terms in which they are primarily enrolled in Weitzman School coursework and charged Weitzman School tuition and fee rates. It is recommended that students consult the Weitzman Financial Aid Office prior to enrolling in a dual degree program to ensure that they understand their scholarship award funding.

JD/MUSA dual degree program enrollment: Students enrolled in the Juris Doctor (JD) program at Penn Carey Law School enrolling in the Master of Urban Spatial Analytics (MUSA) degree program are not eligible to receive Weitzman scholarship funding.

Full-time University employees: Full-time employees of the University of Pennsylvania or Penn Medicine receiving faculty/staff tuition benefits are not eligible to receive Weitzman scholarship funding.

Visit Weitzman Financial Aid and Financial Aid FAQs for more information.

Students receiving federal student aid should be aware that U.S. Department of Education regulations govern the refund and repayment of federal student aid when a student withdraws before completion of the semester for which federal student aid has been received. Learn more on the SRFS website.