Tuition will increase by 4% in the 2025-26 academic year, the University Board of Trustees decided at their winter quarter meeting in February. The financial aid budget was also increased and students receiving aid will not be impacted.

Stanford’s financial aid system is structured so that families who earn below $150,000 are not expected to make a parental contribution toward their student’s tuition. Families with income below $100,000 have tuition, room and board covered.

“Nearly half of undergraduates receive need-based aid and should expect to see no change to their costs, provided their family financial circumstances have not changed,” University spokesperson Dee Mostofi wrote to The Daily in an email.

Stanford sets a higher threshold for parental contributions compared to its peer institutions. Harvard expects no parental contribution from families earning $85,000 or less, while Princeton covers all costs for families with incomes up to $100,000.

Parental contributions to college tuition have been a topic of public interest since October, when students of divorced parents filed a class action lawsuit against Stanford, the College Board and other universities. The lawsuit alleged that because children of divorced parents are required to report financial information for a non-custodial parent, they are subjected to higher tuition and fees than they would otherwise have to pay. 

The 4% raise increases tuition by $868 per quarter. General graduate tuition will also increase by 4%. 

The tuition increases for the 2025-2026 year are smaller than those from last year. In 2024, tuition rose by 5.5% and room and board fees increased by 7%. This year, both are expected to increase by 4%, with room and board fees increasing to $22,167 annually for undergraduates. 

Lower inflation rates have allowed the university to have a “more modest rate of growth” in tuition and room and board fees, Mostofi wrote, adding that undergraduate tuition contributes to roughly 25% of Stanford’s general funds and supports academic programs, student services, facilities and operations.

Graduate students’ tuition, if covered by fellowships or research grants, will likely continue to be covered in full, although some programs may change their financial policies. Graduate student tuition information is expected to be shared throughout the year at the Student Services website.

This article was updated to accurately reflect when the financial aid threshold was increased. It was changed to $150,000 in the 2020-21 academic school year, not the 2025-26 academic school year.