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Tuition

 2012-2013 Patterson School Annual Tuition & Fees
In-state tuition
(for KY, AL, FL, GA , LA, MD, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV)		 $10,964
Other US residents and international students $22,044
2012-2013 Competitor School Annual Tuition & Fees
SIPA, Columbia University $47,824
Nitze SAIS, Johns Hopkins $38,756
Korbel School, University of Denver $38,974
Fletcher School, Tufts $38,464
Woodrow Wilson, Princeton $38,620
MIIS, Monterey/Middlebury $34,000
IR/PS, UC San Diego $34,357
Walsh Foreign Service, Georgetown $42,766

For further information on expenses please visit the Office of the Registrar web site. International students are required to obtain health insurance - details and other helpful information can be found at the Office of International Affairs web site. Additional details on costs and amenities can be found at the Graduate Housing website.

What could you do with $75,000?

Cost is an important factor to weigh as you decide where to pursue your graduate education. Most applicants are drawn to the Patterson School because of its intimate size and quality, but we recognize financial considerations also matter. Paying for just three semesters of study instead of four, and not having to register for credit for a summer internship can make a significant price difference in total cost of our degree.

Even with no financial support, total tuition and fees for all three required semesters of study at the Patterson School are only $16,500 (students from KY, AL, FL, GA, LA, MD, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV) or $33,000 (everyone else). In contrast, Columbia's tuition and fees for the required two years of study are $95,500, Georgetown's $85,500, while Fletcher's and Denver's are $77,000 and $78,000. Furthermore, the cost to live 18 months in Lexington is considerably lower than living 24 months in the cities that host these competing programs.

It does not take a finance or international commerce major to recognize that the potential savings in tuition and fees alone—from $35,000 to $79,000—is profound. This fact also puts the "value" of the $10,000-$18,000 merit scholarships that some of our competitors offer simply on the basis of your GPA and GRE scores into proper context.

The TOTAL student loan debt incurred by the most recent group of Patterson School graduates for their masters degree study averaged just $14,000. immigration passport stamp to Peru

In-state Tuition

Students who are residents of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia can qualify for in-state Kentucky tuition, thanks to the Academic Common Market program.

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High Value, Low Cost

Patterson School students are noted for their drive and passion. Their determination to make a difference with their lives leads many to seek careers in specialties that, while exceedingly rewarding personally, may not always be optimum  financially. We believe decisions about whether to pursue a public service career, enter the armed forces, or join an NGO to advance a humanitarian  cause should be driven by the heart and soul, not the wallet. Our high-value, affordable education may offer our students greater professional latitude—and substantially less debt—upon graduation.

The Patterson School is currently the lowest cost master's degree in international studies of the top ranked programs in the United States.* For many prospective students it may provide the best mix of intimacy, quality, and cost. For some, it may be the only possible option, financially, to pursue their dreams.

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* For latest rankings see "One Discipline or Many: TRIP Survey of International Relations Faculty in Ten Countries," p. 65 (February 2009).