MBA Tuition Fees For The World’s Best Business Schools

When considering which MBA is right for you, cost will inevitably play a prominent role. And within that cost, tuition fees are the chief culprit. Most of the world's top business schools are found in the US, where tuition fees grew by 2.9% from 2021, according to our BusinessBecause Cost of MBA Report 2022. 

Our report breaks down the total cost of studying a top-ranked MBA program—as listed in the Financial Times MBA Ranking —covering tuition fees, extra fees, living costs, healthcare, and the books and materials you can expect to pay for throughout a full-time MBA program. 

The increase of US schools' tuition significantly contributed to the 6.8% overall cost increase of MBAs in 2022. While non-US schools' tuition costs appeared to decrease, this is due primarily to the strengthening of the dollar.

So what is the cost of an MBA at top business schools such as Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, and INSEAD in terms of total tuition fees?

Download our Cost of MBA Report 2022

Most expensive MBA tuition fees

Wharton charges the world’s most expensive MBA tuition fees, an estimated $162,460 for two years, according to our report.

Wharton’s fees cost $40,000 more than the cheapest US MBA in our list at Georgetown McDonough ($121,788).

The average cost of tuition for the M7 business schools is $153,427. 

The Harvard MBA costs $146,880 in total tuition, the cheapest tuition fees out of the M7 business schools. Columbia MBA tuition cost is $154,752. Stanford MBA cost of tuition is an estimated $149,412 for the two years.

The average cost of MBA tuition in the United States costs over $50,000 more than in Europe and over $70,000 more than in Asia.

Considering an MBAs’ high tuition fees, many students will need to take out a loan. Harvard MBA grad Chris Abkarians co-founded Juno, which uses group buying power to negotiate student loan rates for MBA participants. He says that business schools in the US have been increasing tuition fees at a rate of roughly twice the pace of inflation for the last 30 years, so students increasingly rely on loans. Chris adds that the average loan amount borrowed per MBA student in the US is $60-70,000—with most expensive MBA, NYU Stern, requiring a median loan of $140,000. 

However, while the cost of an MBA at NYU Stern, Wharton, and other top schools is expensive, many students will not pay total tuition fees, with business schools offering generous MBA scholarships to offset the cost of tuition. 

"The cost of an MBA is a valid concern that almost everyone I know has at the beginning of the process, but don't let that deter you," Chris says. 

"When you're admitted, some schools simultaneously give you a merit-based scholarship which reduces the amount of tuition you pay. Then, you can also submit a financial aid request for a needs-based scholarship."

 For more on scholarships, see our MBA Application Guide.

To fund an MBA, many students will look to MBA loans. Juno, an increasingly popular option, uses group buying power to negotiate the best student loan rates possible for MBA participants. 

Started by two Harvard MBAs, the loans company has helped MBA students get more than $300 million in education loans and make savings of up to $15,000 on loan repayments.

Tuition freezes aside, Juno’s co-founder, Chris Abkarians, says business schools in the US have been increasing tuition fees at a rate of roughly twice the pace of inflation for the last 30 years, and so students increasingly rely on loans. 

The average loan amount borrowed per MBA student in the US is $60-70,000, he says.

However, while cost of an MBA at Harvard, Wharton, and other top schools is expensive, many students will not pay total tuition fees, with business schools offering generous MBA scholarships to offset the cost of your tuition.

“The cost of an MBA is a valid concern that almost everyone I know has at the beginning of the process, but don’t let that deter you,” Chris says. 

“When you’re admitted, some schools simultaneously give you a merit-based scholarship which reduces the amount of tuition you pay. Then, you can also submit a financial aid request for a needs-based scholarship.”

*For US MBA programs, we have doubled the cost of tuition for 2021-22 to get a total two-year tuition cost. All non-US tuition fees have been converted from local currency into US$.