UMass will offer free tuition to eligible students

Local news

The program is available to Massachusetts residents from households with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less.

All four undergraduate campuses in the University of Massachusetts system are launching a free tuition program for Massachusetts residents from households with an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less.

The financial aid program comes after Governor Maura Healey signed a state budget deal this summer, including a plan for free community college.

“Here in Massachusetts, we are proud to be leaders in education – not only because we are home to world-class institutions, but also because we have made great strides to make higher education more accessible and affordable,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said in a statement.

Tuition and mandatory fees at UMass Amherst, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth and UMass Lowell will be fully covered by a combination of university-funded financial aid, federal aid and state financial aid, supported by the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature through the expansion of the MASSGrant Plus financial aid program.

However, room and board costs are not covered, and UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Law are not part of the program.

Since 2015, the UMass system has increased financial aid by 73 percent to a total of $409 million. said UMass President Marty Meehan.

“We are incredibly excited,” UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Mark Fuller told Boston.com. “We couldn’t be more excited to be able to put this together, along with our other partners across the UMass system.”

Currently at UMass Amherst, 92% of students from households earning less than $75,000 already attend college for free, and at UMass Lowell, 93% of those from households earning $75,000 per year or less attend college for free, according to a university. spokeswoman.

Beginning in the fall 2025 semester, eligible students at UMass Boston will not have to pay tuition or mandatory fees in an effort to “remove financial barriers and demystify the cost of college.” says the UMass Boston website.

The program, which UMass Boston the Beacon promisedoes not cover the cost of campus housing, meals and required fees, or program-specific curriculum costs, the website says. UMass Boston said it hopes the program can support as many as 3,000 students in its first year.

“Our Beacon Pledge program will ensure that a four-year degree at Boston’s premier public research university becomes not just a dream, but an achievable reality,” UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco said in a statement.

Current students who meet the admission requirements can also receive free tuition, and student eligibility is assessed and determined each year.

UMass Dartmouth, which calls the program the “UMass Dartmouth deal,” will also provide access to a “robust network of academic and professional resources,” including “financial literacy workshops and additional scholarships to help with costs such as books and housing,” the university said.

UMass Dartmouth said it expects 1,500 of its students to qualify for the initiative. The deal also guarantees eligible students a room in on-campus housing.

No additional application is required and if eligible, the student will be automatically enrolled in the program.

The announcement is an “effort to explicitly express this commitment in a way that is accessible and understandable to prospective students and their families,” UMass Amherst wrote in a statement.

“It is important that students with the greatest financial need understand how affordable a UMass education can be,” the statement said.