Graduate

Estimate your costs and explore your options for financial aid.

Tuition and Fees

Syracuse University graduate students pay tuition per credit hour. Information about current graduate tuition rates is available from the Syracuse University Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs.

Tuition increases every May, but most of our master’s students are locked into the current rate for one calendar year, so this rate will be in effect until August. (Exceptions are audio arts, media studies, public diplomacy and global communications and the online master’s degrees.) If a student registers for courses beyond the following August, they will pay the new rate, which is estimated to increase about 4%.

Newhouse program fees will only be charged once, in the fall semester.

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Need more information? View our cost breakdown spreadsheet.

Estimated tuition and fees by program

Advertising (36 credits)

Arts Journalism and Communications (36 credits)

Audio Arts (36 credits)

Broadcast and Digital Journalism (40 credits)

Magazine, News and Digital Journalism (36 credits)

Multimedia, Photography and Design (37 credits)

Media Studies (36 credits)

Advanced Media Management (36-42 credits)

Public Diplomacy and Global Communications (43 credits)

Public Relations (40 credits)

Television, Radio and Film (36 credits)

Online master’s program tuition

Tuition for online master’s degree programs is charged on a per-credit basis, with students completing 33 credits. For more information, see tuition and financial aid for our online program.

More information on costs

Visit the University Bursar Office>>

Financial Aid

Various scholarships, fellowships and instructional associate positions are awarded to incoming Newhouse students to help offset the cost of attendance. Since Newhouse does have limited funding to offer, the majority of these awards are partial and may only be applicable for the academic year (excluding the summer sessions). It is also a competitive process, and all awards are merit-based.

In addition, U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for need-based loans issued by the government and facilitated through Syracuse University’s Financial Aid Office. Most students can fulfill their calculated financial aid need through these loan programs.

Financial Aid Opportunities

Merit-based awards

Approximately 75% of our students receive some form of merit-based aid. With the exception of a few named fellowships, these awards cover partial tuition. No student will be offered more than one scholarship award and most awards are tuition-specific. Awards preference will be given to those who meet our priority application deadline. You must answer “yes” on the application form to be considered for merit awards. Most decisions will be made by April 1. Please read descriptions below of the types of aid available.

Newhouse Diversity News Fellowship

Established in 1993, these awards are given annually to two minority students who wish to enroll in the magazine, news and digital journalism program and pursue a newspaper career. Only students who have majored in subjects other than journalism at the undergraduate level are eligible. Funded by the Newhouse Foundation, each award provides free tuition and a $1,400 a month stipend for 18 months of study (during which time the student also works as a reporting and editing intern at Advance Media New York).

Dean’s scholarships

These scholarships support graduate education for students with superior qualifications. Academic departments recommend students to receive these scholarships. These are percentage awards of varying amounts that are applied each academic term until completion of the degree. Awards range from 10 percent to 45 percent.

Classroom facilitators

Newhouse has a number of classroom facilitators who spend from five to 15 hours per week helping faculty members with classes or labs during the academic year. Some positions are just for one semester and others are for the academic year; it depends on what courses are being taught for a particular semester. Students in these positions are paid $20 an hour and assist with grading, tracking attendance, setting up equipment, operating classroom technology, encouraging class discussion and assisting with administrative tasks. If you are selected for a position, you must attend a mandatory training session that usually occurs the week before fall semester classes. Positions are advertised to all enrolled master’s students in July for the fall/academic year and again in November for the spring.

In addition, we hire students as technology specialists and studio facilitators to assist with labs and studios and the associated equipment. These students are also paid $20 an hour.

Project aides/student program associates

Each semester faculty are asked if they would like to hire graduate students to help with research and creative projects. A memo is sent to all students inviting them to apply for specific positions at the beginning of the fall semester and again at the beginning of the spring semester. Project aides work between five and 10 hours a week for $20 an hour.

Other administrative offices and research centers within Newhouse also hire graduate assistants to work from 10-15 hours a week at $20 an hour. These positions are advertised during the summer to all enrolled students.

Positions may also be available in other units on campus; many of those openings are advertised on Handshake.

Need-based awards

Besides our merit based awards, the only additional assistance coordinated by the University is in the form of federal loans. All need-based aid is administered centrally by the University’s Office of Financial Aid, which does not award grants or other scholarships to graduate students.

To apply for federal loans, graduate applicants who are U.S. citizens must first file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), offered through the U.S. Department of Education. The FAFSA should be filed as soon as possible after January 1 for summer applicants. Applicants should not wait for an admission decision before filing.

Also, both the current year’s FAFSA as well as the next year’s FAFSA should be completed if you plan to begin your studies in the summer. Admitted and matriculated students whose FAFSA information has been received by the University’s Financial Aid Office will be notified via email after the end of February. Usually the forms are not received from the U. S. Department of Education until early March.

Most graduate students are eligible for Federal Stafford Loans, for up to $10,250 per semester and for each summer. There are also Graduate PLUS Loans for which there is no maximum loan limit (annually or lifetime). Eligibility is calculated by the cost of attendance minus other financial aid and a basic credit check must be passed. Unfortunately, there are not specific need-based programs for non-U.S. citizens. Many of our international students negotiate loans in their home countries to help pay for their program costs. As noted in other sections, international students will be required to provide proof of adequate financial resources in order to obtain the necessary forms for a student visa.

You may contact the Office of Financial Aid directly at 315-443-1513 or https://financialaid.syr.edu/emailus/ with questions about need-based aid. Since the Financial Aid office serves all of Syracuse University, please be sure to identify yourself as an incoming Newhouse graduate student.

Forever Orange Scholarship

Specifically for Syracuse University students, the Forever Orange Scholarship provides half of the tuition for students who enroll full-time in a qualifying graduate degree or certificate program at Syracuse University. The scholarship is automatically available to all graduating Syracuse University seniors who are eligible for admission—no separate scholarship application is needed.

The scholarship applies to all on-campus master’s programs at Newhouse. However, the scholarship cannot be combined with any other program-granted graduate funding awards, such as assistantships, fellowships or other scholarships, nor can it be deferred to future terms.

4+1 Syracuse University A&S Bachelor’s/Newhouse Master’s

Description
The combined degree program is offered for the student who wants to complete consecutively a bachelor’s degree program through Arts and Sciences and a master’s degree program at Newhouse. The combined degree program is designed to be completed in five years, with the student taking two graduate courses in the senior year. Up to six credit hours may be counted towards both the bachelor’s and the master’s degrees. A block of transfer credits labeled as “transferred from SU undergraduate record” appears on the graduate record and applies credit hours toward the graduate degree but is not calculated in the graduate GPA. Graduate courses taken in the fourth year of study not required for completion of the bachelor’s degree are included in the undergraduate tuition but appear only on the graduate record, and grades calculate only toward the graduate GPA.

Admission
Students must be currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University and should apply to one of the Newhouse residential master’s programs during their junior year. A 3.25 GPA guarantees admission to the program. Students are accepted for graduate study after completion of the third year of study but are not fully matriculated as graduate students until all bachelor’s degree requirements have been met. Admitted students are also eligible for a 50% tuition scholarship through the Forever Orange scholarship.

Le Moyne College, Alfred University, St. John Fisher University 4+1 Bachelor’s/Newhouse Master’s

Description
The combined degree program is offered for the student who wants to complete consecutively a bachelor’s degree program (Le Moyne College, Alfred University, St. John Fisher University) and a master’s degree program at Newhouse. The combined degree program is designed to be completed in five years with a guaranteed scholarship of 32.5% of the total tuition, or an equivalent award or higher.

Admission
Students must be currently enrolled in a bachelor’s degree program in one of the institutions named above and should apply to one of the Newhouse residential master’s programs during their senior year. Admission is based upon academic performance. Admitted students are guaranteed a tuition scholarship equivalent or higher than 32.5%.

HBCU Pipeline Scholarship

Graduates (or soon-to-be graduates) of Historically Black colleges and universities are considered for a scholarship valued at 50 percent of their program’s tuition though this merit based award. Recipients must have an undergraduate GPA of 3.25 or higher. A separate application form is not necessary for consideration.

External Funding Sources

For military service members, veterans and spouses: Tillman Scholars Program

The application window is now open for the Tillman Scholars Program.

For those not aware, Pat Tillman was a professional football player in the National Football League, who gave up his NFL career and enlisted in the United States Army in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Tillman was subsequently killed while serving as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan, and the Foundation was created to honor his legacy of service. The Tillman Foundation’s mission is to “unite and empower remarkable military veterans and spouses as the next generation of private and public sector leaders committed to service beyond self.”

Syracuse University has been a partner to the Pat Tillman Foundation since 2017, and over that time, nine Syracuse University students have been selected as Tillman Scholars. Last year, we had an unprecedented four Syracuse University students selected as Tillman Scholars. The Tillman scholarship is highly competitive, and provides significant multi-year funding toward tuition expense, access to a national network of mentors and significant professional development opportunities.

The application is open to military service members, veterans and spouses who are pursuing a full-time bachelor’s, master’s or professional degree at a US-based accredited institution. Scholars are selected based on merit, demonstrated commitment to service and potential for impact in their field. Interested applicants can contact the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA, vma@syr.edu) and the Center for Fellowship and Scholarship Advising (CFSA, cfsa@syr.edu), which provides guidance on application essays and materials.