Each semester, students who are enrolled at Northeastern Illinois University are billed for tuition plus a combination of mandatory and optional fees. All tuition and most fees are billed at a per-credit-hour rate. A credit hour corresponds to one 50-minute lecture or discussion period, or two laboratory periods per week, for one term. Each course is typically offered for three credit hours per semester.

The tuition and fee rates depend on the year of admission to the University, a student’s residency status, and whether a student is enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student. Additional tuition and fees may be billed for specific courses.

Tuition Guarantee for Undergraduate Students

Through the University’s Tuition Guarantee Plan, newly enrolled full-time and part-time undergraduate students (freshmen, transfer students, undergraduate students-at-large) seeking their first bachelor's degree are guaranteed their same initial tuition rate for four consecutive academic years. (This guarantee does not apply to fees. Fees may increase during this four-year period.)

Extension to Tuition Guarantee Plan

Students who qualify for the Tuition Guarantee Plan also qualify for two additional years of guaranteed tuition, but at a different rate than under the four-year guarantee. During the two-year extension, students are billed the tuition rate that had been set by the University during the academic year following their initial enrollment.

For example, a student whose first semester is Fall 2024 will be billed the tuition rate set for the 2024-2025 academic year for four years. If the student does not graduate by Summer 2028 (i.e., four academic years after first enrolling), he or she will be billed the 2025-2026 academic year’s tuition rate for new students for the fifth and sixth academic years.

Tuition Guarantee for Readmitted Students

Students who withdraw from the University for any reason (other than being called for active military service) and who re-enroll within their four-year tuition guarantee period will resume the tuition guarantee until the end of the fourth year.

Students who withdraw from the University and do not re-enroll within the continuous four-year period of their tuition guarantee, but then re-enroll in the fifth or sixth year, will be eligible for the extension to the tuition guarantee plan. In other words, their rate of tuition will be that of the academic year following their first enrollment, until the conclusion of the sixth year from the point of initial enrollment.

Students who withdraw from the University and who do not re-enroll within the four-year tuition guarantee period or the fifth or sixth year of the extension to the guarantee must submit a new admission application. If admitted, the students will be billed the tuition rates for newly enrolled students for their academic year of re-enrollment.

Special consideration may be given to students who withdraw from the University because they have been called for military service.

A student’s residency will determine whether he or she will pay the in-state or out-of-state tuition rate.

Eligibility for In-State Tuition

The following students are eligible for in-state tuition rates:

  • Illinois residents: For tuition purposes, the University considers any adult student (18 years or older) to be an Illinois resident if he or she has lived in Illinois for at least six consecutive months immediately preceding the official beginning of any term of registration. Evidence of residency is submitted at the time of application for admission. A student may have his or her residency status reclassified at any time by the University on the basis of additional or changed information.
  • Residents of neighboring states: Students who are residents of Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin are eligible for in-state tuition rates.
  • Veterans, students on active military duty, and dependent children of veterans and active military duty students.
  • Undocumented students: Undocumented students may qualify for in-state tuition by submitting an affidavit.

Eligibility for Out-of-State Tuition

Students who do not meet the criteria for in-state tuition rates, including international students, are billed the out-of-state tuition rates.

The tuition rates charged will depend on the year of admission to the University, a student’s residency status, and whether a student is enrolled as an undergraduate or graduate student. The maximum number of credit hours of tuition that students will be charged per semester is 16 credit hours.

Undergraduate Tuition Rates for 2024-2025

Undergraduate students are students who have not completed a bachelor’s degree and who are enrolled as degree-seeking students or undergraduate students-at-large. These students are billed at the undergraduate tuition rates.

In-State Tuition: $430.95 per credit hour

Out-of-State Tuition: $861.90 per credit hour

Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.

Second Bachelor’s Degree Tuition Rates for 2024-2025

Students seeking a second bachelor's degree will be billed at the second bachelor’s tuition rates.

In-State Tuition: $463.53 per credit hour

Out-of-State Tuition: $927.06 per credit hour

Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.

Graduate Tuition Rates for 2024-2025

Graduate students are students who have completed a bachelor’s degree and are enrolled in graduate degree, graduate certificate, endorsement or licensure programs, or are enrolled as graduate students at large. These students are billed at the graduate tuition rates.

In-State Tuition: $463.53 per credit hour

Out-of-State Tuition: $927.06 per credit hour

Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.

College of Business and Technology Differential Tuition Rates for 2024-2025

Beginning in Fall 2017, students registered for courses offered through the College of Business and Technology, regardless of major or degree program, will be charged a differential tuition rate for those courses, based on their residency status, whether they are undergraduate or graduate students, and their term of admission.

For 2024-2025

In-state differential tuition for undergraduate students: $474.05 per credit hour
Out-of-state differential tuition for undergraduate students: $948.09 per credit hour

In-state differential tuition for Graduate Master's, Teacher Licensure and Second Bachelor’s students: $509.88 per credit hour.
Out-of-state differential tuition for Graduate Master's, Teacher Licensure and Second Bachelor’s students: $1,019.77 per credit hour

Tuition and fees are subject to change without notice.

Northeastern Illinois University is committed to graduating leaders and advocates with a quality education with the least amount of loan indebtedness possible. To make this possible, students are encouraged to meet direct costs (tuition and fees) with federal, state, institutional and private grant and scholarship assistance. The first steps include the completion of the free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, the Northeastern online scholarship application and profiles for at least three private scholarship searches. Although loans are often included in a financial aid package as an offer, Northeastern requires a request form for the Federal Direct Loan Program. The University also requires that the Federal Direct Loan Program be exhausted prior to applying for private, credit-based loans. Unlike grants or tax benefits, loans do not discount tuition. Loans do not reduce the net price of college — they simply postpone payments.