Temple University’s Board of Trustees approved a blended 4.2% increase for 2023-24 undergraduate and graduate base tuition for in-state students during its meeting on Tuesday, July 11. During the same meeting, the Board of Trustees also approved a blended 4.4% tuition increase for out-of-state students. 

Base tuition will now be $8,988 per semester for Pennsylvania residents and $16,188 per semester for non-Pennsylvania residents. The increase comes after the university held tuition rates flat during two of the past four years (2019-20 and 2020-21). Mandatory fees this year will be $484 per term. 

The tuition increase comes when the status of the university’s state appropriation remains unknown. As of last week, House Bill 612, the bill that provides funding to Pennsylvania’s four state-related institutions of higher education, fell six votes short of passage within the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. This state appropriation is used to help make Temple University more affordable and accessible for Pennsylvania residents. Temple effectively doubles the value of the appropriation to provide every in-state resident a tuition discount of around $13,000.  

“Inflation and increased operating costs continue to challenge the university’s budget, and this is compounded by what looks like the fifth consecutive year of flat funding from the Commonwealth,” said Ken Kaiser, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Temple University. “We have taken a close look at the budget and made several  adjustments. It’s important to us that the burden of the increasing costs of higher education does not fall solely on our students. We have taken significant steps to trim the budget, while also being cognizant of the need not to disrupt or potentially negatively impact the student-centered education that is core to Temple’s identity.” 

To Kaiser’s point, Temple will cut its budget by 4.6%—more than $57 million —to help keep its tuition costs down this academic year. This follows last year when the university cut its budget by $41.1 million. Since fiscal year 2021, Temple has now reduced its budget by more than $170 million, with an average cut of more than $42 million per year.  

“As a state-related institution without a large endowment, our operating budget is almost entirely driven by tuition revenue as the appropriation provides only about 15% of our revenue,” Kaiser said. “Despite the tuition increase, Temple’s access-driven mission remains as strong as ever, and a large portion of the university’s tuition revenue will be used to assist students in need.” 

Approximately 18.5% of all undergraduate revenue will be put into financial aid over and above the in-state tuition discount. This traditionally equates to more than $112 million annually. 

Additional details are available at Temple University’s 2023–2024 tuition rate schedule and by accessing Temple’s tuition calculator at the Bursar’s Office.