Tuition and Fees

The Military Tuition rate is offered to active duty, guard and reserve servicemembers, their spouses and dependents and Department of Defense (DoD) civilian employees.

*Tuition effective 6/30/23 to 6/30/24. Tuition and fees are subject to change.

Participants pay the application fee at the time of application. The tuition is paid at the time of course registration. Text and materials are extra and cost varies per course. Students can order textbooks and course materials directly from MBS Direct at: (800) 325-3252.

NOTE: The Credit Hour Residency Waiver Fee applies to military students who have not earned at least 12 semester hours toward their associate’s degree or 24 semester hours toward their bachelor’s degree program.

If a student pays either residency waiver fee or does not graduate within 15 months, they will be required to pay additional credit hour residency waiver fees.

Students who successfully graduate from their first associate degree at TESU and pay the waiver will have been deemed to meet the University’s Credit Hour Residency requirement for both the completed associate degree and their first bachelor’s degree should they pursue one at TESU. The certificate residency fee may be applied toward the first associates/bachelors’ residency fee if the student completes their degree at TESU.

Students will be responsible for any increase in credit hour residency fees if the fee paid for the associate degree is less than the current fee at the time the student applies for graduation for their first bachelor’s degree.

Students with questions about the Credit Hour Residency Waiver are encouraged to speak with their TESU advisor.

Important Note for Military Students:

• Military students who enroll in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program will pay the nursing program tuition rate.
• Military students who enroll in the graduate-level degree programs will pay the graduate tuition rate or MBA tuition (if enrolled in the MBA program).

The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) requires students using VA educational (GI Bill) benefits to be placed into a per-credit tuition plan. The VA requires this because other traditional tuition plans that require students to pay a larger amount up front and take classes throughout a 12-month enrollment period can be problematic and costly for the student and the VA. This is especially true if a student only takes a few credits throughout the enrollment period. Placing VA students into a per-credit tuition plans helps alleviate this issue.

In accordance with VA guidance, Thomas Edison State University places all VA students no longer qualifying for contracted military tuition programs into the Per Credit Tuition Plan (PCTP). Under this plan, undergraduate tuition will be assessed on a per-credit basis.

Whether or not a student will have out-of-pocket expenses depends on which chapter of the GI Bill they are using and whether they are covered at 100 percent or not. Some chapters are designed to have students pay for tuition up front and receive reimbursement from the VA following certification. Other chapters do not require students to pay for tuition up front and the tuition is sent from the VA to the University following certification. If you have specific questions about your educational benefit, please contact the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs directly at (888) 442-4551.