What Are My Costs?

We know that college is one of the biggest investment decisions you'll ever make and not one that you'll take lightly. Our goal is to make this as easy for you as possible by being as transparent with you as we can.

Cost of Attendance

Cost of Attendance (COA), also referred to as a student budget, is an estimate of the average educationally-related costs a student may incur during their period of enrollment (semester or year). COA includes approximate tuition and fee costs, as well as allowances for the cost of books, course materials, supplies, and equipment, transportation, living expenses, Federal Student Loan Fees (for borrowers), professional licensure expenses, and miscellaneous personal expenses. The total COA represents the maximum amount of financial aid a student may receive during that period of enrollment, including student loans. Cost of Attendance estimates are used solely for the purpose of financial aid. They are not your actual charges.

Some COA factors vary by student. These include:

Where the student lives (on campus, off campus, or at home with a parent)
The student's program of study. Some colleges or majors have different tuition rates
Number of enrolled hours

Customizing Your Expenses

Use the NIU Planning and Cost Estimator to get a customized estimate of your costs and see how it's affected by the following:

Number of credit hours
Choice of major or program
Housing and food choices
Costs for books and other fees

The estimator also allows you to enter the amounts of financial aid you receive to calculate the total you may owe to NIU.

NEW Calculate Your College Investment

Use our Net Price Calculator to understand the cost of attending NIU, personalized to you and your financial situation. It takes less than 5 minutes complete and allows you to look at the cost by term, annually or over the course of your college career.

Huskie Spotlight

I am so thankful for the financial support I have received. It has made paying for college a lighter burden and allowed me to prioritize my academics over work.

Adelaide Parr, communicative disorders major

Academic Year Cost of Attendance Estimates

2025-2026 Undergraduate Full-time

Tuition¹	$10,742
Fees²	$3,050
Loan Fees	$72
Living Expenses³	$14,680
Transportation	$1,140
Books, supplies, course materials and equipment	$1,200
Miscellaneous personal expenses	$1,600
Total⁴	$32,484

¹Tuition may be higher, depending on a student's program of study. Standard tuition is listed above and is based on full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours per semester). Rates for Nursing, Computer Science, and Engineering majors are listed on the Bursar Office website. Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours per semester will have reductions in all categories of COA.

^aFull-time tuition for Engineering students = $11,942

^bFull-time tuition for Computer Science students = $11,702

^cFull-time tuition for Nursing (excludes pre/intended nursing majors and RN-BS) = $11,102

²Fees do not include the NIU Student Health Insurance (SHI) plan cost. Students enrolled in 9 or more DeKalb-campus credit hours are automatically charged the student health insurance premium. Students may opt out of this insurance coverage and request a cancellation of the fee if they are covered by an insurance plan with benefits equal to or better than the NIU coverage. However, because SHI is mandatory for enrollment, students participating in the NIU plan may request the cost of SHI to be added to their COA by completing the COA Increase Request form (PDF).

³Living Expenses are an average allowance for on-campus housing. This allowance includes the Huskie Block 19 meal plan, as well as allowance for 2 additional meals per week. For students living off-campus, living expenses include a modest allowance for rent, food, utilities and other living necessities. Individual expenses will vary. Living expense allowances for students living at home with a parent are reduced to $4,288 for the academic year to acknowledge ongoing family household expenses such as food, utilities, personal use of technology and other household expenses.

⁴This COA reflects an assumption of full-time enrollment and has allowances for transportation and other miscellaneous expenses that may be incurred by some students in your program. Students living with a parent will have a different allowance for housing and travel. In addition, students enrolled less than full-time will have different category and total COA amounts.

2025-2026 Graduate

	Standard Rate for Six Credit Hours	Standard Rate for Nine Credit Hours	Standard Rate for 12 Credit Hours
Tuition	$4,652	$6,978	$9,304
Federal Student Loan Fees	$178	$178	$178
Fees	$1,746	$2,620	$3,494
Living Expenses	$16,374	$16,374	$16,374
Books, Supplies, Course Materials and Equipment	$594	$890	$1,188
Transportation	$3,398	$3,398	$3,398
Miscellaneous/personal expenses	$1,600	$1,600	$1,600
Total	$28,542	$32,038	$35,536

The cost of tuition for many NIU graduate programs is greater than the standard rate. Tuition rates for all programs listed on the Bursar Office website.

Some Components of the COA listed here use an assumption of 16 weeks of enrollment per term. If a student is enrolled in 8 or fewer weeks per term, the allowance for these components will reduce.

For instructions on waiving insurance online please visit the please view the Student Health Insurance website. International students should refer to the International Student Health Insurance to review requirements for healthcare coverage.

2025-2026 Law Full-time

Tuition¹	$17,376
Law Fees²	$8,216
Loan Fees	$204
Living Expenses³	$16,374
Books, Supplies, Course Materials and Equipment	$1,846
Transportation	$3,522
Miscellaneous personal expenses	$1,600
Total	$49,138

¹Tuition is listed above, and is based on full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours per semester) for students admitted for Fall 2025. Rates are listed on the Bursar Office website. Students enrolled in fewer than 12 credit hours per semester will have reductions in most categories of COA.

^aFull-time tuition for International students = $34,752

²Fees do not include the NIU Student Health Insurance (SHI) plan cost. Students enrolled in nine or more DeKalb-campus credit hours are automatically charged the student health insurance premium. Students have the option to opt-out of this insurance coverage and request a cancellation of the fee if they are covered by an insurance plan with benefits equal to or better than the NIU coverage. However, because SHI is mandatory for enrollment, students participating in the NIU plan may request the cost of SHI to be added to their COA by completing the COA Increase Request form (PDF).

³The living expenses category is an average of the costs for a student to maintain a moderate but adequate standard of living during both the fall and spring semester, generally 16 weeks each or 32 weeks in total. The estimate is based on a one-bedroom apartment, suitable for a law student, in DeKalb. It cannot be increased to include the costs for other family members or individual lifestyle choices. It can only consider the cost for the length of semesters, not including winter or summer breaks.