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UMass to offer free tuition to eligible students

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

Suzanne Kreiter / The Boston Globe

October 30, 2024

2 minutes to read

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 Gov. Maura Healey signed a state budget deal this summer including a plan for free community college.

“Here in Massachusetts, we pride ourselves on being leaders in education — not only because we’re home to world-class institutions, but also because we’ve taken major steps to make higher education more accessible and more affordable,” 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 through a combination of university-funded financial aid, federal aid, and state financial aid bolstered by the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature through the expansion of the MASSGrant Plus financial aid program.

However, the cost of room and board will not be 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, according to UMass President Marty Meehan.

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

Currently, at UMass Amherst, 92% of students from households making less than $75,000 are already attending for free, and at UMass Lowell, 93% of those who come from households making $75,000 a year or less attend at no cost, according to a university spokeswoman.

Beginning in the fall 2025 semester, qualifying 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,” the UMass Boston website says.

The program, which UMass Boston is calling the Beacon Pledge, does not cover the cost of campus housing, meals, and required fees, or program-specific curriculum fees, 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 make a four-year degree at Boston’s premier public research university not just a dream but an attainable reality,” UMass Boston Chancellor Marcelo Suárez-Orozco said in a statement.

Current students who meet the eligibility requirements can also get free tuition, and students’ eligibility will be reviewed and determined each year.

UMass Dartmouth, which is dubbing the program as 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 assist 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.

There is no additional application required, and if eligible, students will be automatically enrolled in the program.

The announcement is an “effort to explicitly state 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.