Costs of graduate schools vary across the Big Ten. Credit: Amal Saeed | Photo Editor

Graduate school comes at a cost, but that cost changes across the Big Ten. The Lantern compiled cost comparisons for programs ranging from a Master of Business Administration to law degrees at Ohio State, University of Michigan, Michigan State University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison — universities of comparable size.

Master of Business Administration 

An MBA is offered at all four universities, but the price varies significantly across institutions. 

The MBA at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business costs $31,139 in tuition and fees per academic year for Ohio residents and $53,643 for out-of-state residents. 

In comparison, the MBA at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business costs $66,048 in tuition per academic year for Michigan residents and $71,048 for out-of-state residents. University of Michigan offers its MBA for nearly double the amount of Michigan State University’s resident tuition, which is the second-most expensive. 

Michigan State University’s MBA at the Broad College of Business costs $33,098 in tuition per academic year for Michigan residents and $52,458 for out-of-state residents. 

The MBA at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Wisconsin School of Business costs $21,166 in tuition per academic year for Wisconsin residents and $42,704 for out-of-state residents. 

Master of Public Health

A Master of Public Health degree can be obtained for less than $7,000 a year for state residents at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, but out-of-state and in-state students are treated the same at Michigan State in terms of cost. 

An MPH at Ohio State’s College of Public Health costs $13,257 in tuition and fees per academic year for Ohio residents and $35,761 for out-of-state residents. 

Stephen Post, president of the Council of Graduate Students at Ohio State, completed his undergraduate public policy and management degree at Ohio State and is now getting his master’s in applied clinical and preclinical research at Ohio State. Post said he chose to stay at Ohio State because of the consistency in in-state tuition. 

“I really chose OSU because it was where I was at,” Post said. “I knew that the cost of in-state would be relatively similar to what it was in undergrad.”

An MPH at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health costs $14,861 in tuition per academic year for Michigan residents and $24,548 for out-of-state residents.

Michigan State University’s MPH at its Division of Public Health/College of Human Medicine costs $11,880 in tuition per academic year for both Michigan and out-of-state residents. 

The MPH at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s School of Medicine and Public Health costs $6,882.94 in tuition per academic year for Wisconsin residents and $13,879.58 for out-of-state residents. 

Law school

When it comes to law school, Wisconsin is the most inexpensive for its in-state students, and the University of Michigan is the least expensive for out-of-state students. 

Ohio State’s law degree at the Moritz College of Law costs $31,450 in tuition and fees per academic year for Ohio residents and $46,402 for out-of-state residents. 

University of Michigan’s law degree at the Michigan Law School costs $30,763 in tuition per academic year for Michigan residents and $32,263 for out-of-state residents.

Michigan State University’s law degree at its College of Law costs $45,600 in tuition per academic year, and its website did not distinguish cost between Michigan residents and out-of-state residents.

A law degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School costs $25,687.40 in tuition per academic year for Wisconsin residents and $44,383.64 for out-of-state residents.

Medical school

A medical degree is the most expensive degree out of the four compared, and all four schools have large variations between resident and nonresident tuition. 

Attending medical school at Ohio State’s College of Medicine costs $31,232 to $46,588 in tuition and fees per academic year for Ohio residents, depending on their academic year and $55,008 to $81,708 for out-of-state residents. 

The University of Michigan Medical School costs $39,706 in tuition and fees per academic year for Michigan residents and $59,036 for out-of-state residents. 

Michigan State’s College of Human Medicine costs $31,312 in tuition and fees per academic year for Michigan residents and $58,066 for out-of-state residents.

Attending medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health costs $37,548 in tuition and fees per academic year for Wisconsin residents and $51,483 for out-of-state residents.

Aside from the cost, Post said when choosing a graduate school, the most important thing is trust. 

“Trust what you have planned for yourself. Trust that feeling,” Post said.