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Master of Public Administration Online (MPAOL)

Online MPA Tuition and Fees

COSTTERM 1TERM 2TERM 3TERM 4TERM 5TERM 6
Tuition ($2,539/unit)$12,695$15,234$20,312$20,312$22,851$10,156
MPA Lab Fee$125$0$0$125$0$0
New Student Fee$55$0$0$0$0$0
Programming Fee (fall/spring only)$0$20$20$0$20$20
Norman Topping Fee$11$11$11$11$11$11
Total$12,886$15,285$20,363$20,448$22,902$10,207
PROGRAM TOTAL$102,091
Understanding the Table
  • The table above provides a breakdown of tuition and fees for an in-service student starting in Summer and reflects units shown in the Online MPA program’s course sequencing. Actual costs may vary if registered in more or less units each semester. Tuition and fees are subject to change for future years and can be found at classes.usc.edu.
  • Students designated as pre-service must complete an additional 1 unit of tuition (which is not included in the table above).
  • Online students are exempt from the following fees:
    • USC Health Center Fee
    • USC Transportation Services Fee
  • The table does not include health insurance nor tuition refund insurance costs.
General Information
Enrollment Status
  • The USC Catalogue defines full-time enrollment as 8 units for master’s level and graduate certificate students and 6 units for doctoral level students.
  • While students must be enrolled at least half-time to be eligible for federal student loans, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), H.R. 1, 119th Congress, signed into law on July 4, 2025, requires that federal loan eligibility be prorated for students enrolled less than full-time based on university standards. As a result, students attending less than full-time may be eligible for reduced federal student loan amounts based on their enrollment level. Learn more here.