How much does it cost?

Here are our tuition and fee rates for the 2024-2025 academic year:

Note: the UW Office of Student Financial Aid provides student budgets to help students estimate expenses beyond tuition and fees. See “Estimate your financial aid eligibility” below for more info, and reach out to our Graduate Advisor if you could use some help estimating cost of living expenses.

Whoa, that’s a lot of money!

It is.

For context, let’s compare our cost to other museum studies programs:

The average cost for one year of tuition in a museum studies graduate program is $30,285.*

Museology’s tuition is $23,547.

*This figure uses out-of-state tuition for other museum studies programs. Museology does not differentiate between in and out-of-state for tuition.

So how do students pay for this?

Museology Support

While we’re unable to provide full-ride scholarships or assistanships that come with tuition waivers, we do our best to support students financially in a number of other ways, including:

Paid Internships

Through our paid internship program, you’ll likely be paid at least $1,800 for internship hours completed as part of your degree requirements, reducing the cost of the degree by at least 4%.

Paid Internship Program

Professional Memberships & Conference Scholarships

We provide scholarships for students to attend regional and national conferences. We also provide students with free professional memberships with the Washington Museum Association, the American Alliance of Museums, the American Association for State and Local History.

Thesis Scholarships

We provide scholarships for students’ thesis research and projects.

Part-time work

90% of our students work part-time while doing their degree. Our students have found great on-campus jobs that enable them to make money while learning valuable work skills (learn more about UW student employment). Seattle’s minimum wage is $19.97. If you work 20 hours a week for minimum wage (and often students are paid higher than that), you’ll be making nearly $400 per week.

Work Study

Many students from the U.S. are eligible for Work Study, a federal program that subsidizes student workers’ salaries. Both of the museums on campus are eligible to hire Work Study students.

UW Work Study

Assistantships

While these opportunities are relatively rare, there are sometimes opportunities for Museology students to work as research or teaching assistants at UW. The Museology program occasionally offers research assistant positions (paid hourly, not accompanied by tuition waiver). Museology students also sometimes find assistantships in other departments on campus (also usually paid hourly without tuition waiver).

Loans

60% of Museology students take out a loan.

Of the students that take out loans, those loans average $53,700.*

To learn more about federal loans and other forms of financial aid, we encourage prospective students to visit the UW Office of Student Financial Aid website.

*Based on self-reported data from the Classes of 2023 and 2024.

How do I repay my loans?

Our graduates are successful, and they’re well positioned to pay back their loans. Of students who graduated from 2018-2022, 76% are employed in museums or related businesses or non-profits. The types of jobs that our students are taking right out of school pay an average of $52,000-$60,000 (in the Seattle area).

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

PSLF is a program for people who work in public service in federal, state, tribal, or local government, or for a non-profit organization. Because most museums are non-profits, and because Museology students are typically offered Stafford loans and Graduate PLUS loans (see this UW OSFA loans chart), most Museology students are eligible for PSLF.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness

Estimate your financial aid eligibility

Finances should not be a barrier to getting an education! Find out what types of loans, scholarships, and grants you may be eligible for.

UW Financial Aid price calculator

What about cost of living?

As noted above, the UW Office of Student Financial Aid provides student budgets to help students estimate expenses beyond tuition and fees. The OSFA recognizes that every student’s life situation is different. These estimates are meant to serve as a baseline, but many students will have additional costs not included in these estimates. So, you might ask:

What if I can’t get enough federal loans to fund my studies?

A financial aid package is not set in stone when it’s first offered. Students are encouraged to decline any loan amount beyond their needs, or, as needed, submit a revision form to request additional support.

The Office of Student Financial Aid exists to ensure students get the support they need to make their education possible. We encourage prospective students to check out their website and contact the OSFA with any questions.

Some resources for your financial aid search

As noted above, applicants should consult the University of Washington Office of Student Financial Aid for more information about the types of financial aid available. Importantly, any applicant hoping to receive federal loans must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The priority deadline for completing the FAFSA this year is February 28, 2025.

The University of Washington’s Graduate Funding Information Service has assembled this list of funding resources specific to Museology students: Museology funding guide.

International students looking to learn more about funding graduate studies in the U.S. may wish to consult Education USA, a U.S. Department of State network of over 430 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories.