Lawrence, KS · Public · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for University of Kansas
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
Four years here, after grants
$82,339
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,000.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for University of Kansas, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at University of Kansas
| Full price, in state | $28,898 |
| Full price, out of state | $49,431 |
| After grants, at your income | $19,258 |
At this income, 2 of Kansas's other 5 colleges cost less after grants, and 3 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. In state: $1,000 to $5,000 a year, from a 3.25 GPA (and 1 more below).
University of Kansas's promise. The Kansas Commitment: undergraduate base tuition and required student and wellness fees for Kansas residents with a family income of $75,000 or less. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At University of Kansas, our scenarios for Kansas households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,000 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What University of Kansas says it awards for grades and test scores.
In state: $1,000 to $5,000 a year, from a 3.25 GPA
GPA 3.95 or higher $5,000 a year Chancellor GPA 3.85 or higher $4,000 a year Traditions GPA 3.7 or higher $3,000 a year Crimson & Blue GPA 3.5 or higher $2,000 a year Rock Chalk GPA 3.25 or higher $1,000 a year Jayhawk KU uses the higher of the weighted and unweighted GPA. Apply for admission by December 1. To keep it, your student needs a 3.0 GPA in college.
Out of state: $8,000 to $16,000 a year, from a 3.25 GPA
GPA 3.95 or higher $16,000 a year KU Excellence GPA 3.85 or higher $14,000 a year KU Distinction GPA 3.7 or higher $12,000 a year KU Achievement GPA 3.5 or higher $10,000 a year KU Performance GPA 3.25 or higher $8,000 a year KU Access KU uses the higher of the weighted and unweighted GPA. Apply for admission by December 1. To keep it, your student needs a 3.0 GPA in college.
Enter your student's GPA in our college comparison to see these scholarships beside your family's price.
Published guarantees you may qualify for
We do not assume you qualify for any of these, and our plans never bank on them. Check each against your own situation with the aid office.
The Kansas Commitment: undergraduate base tuition and required student and wellness fees for Kansas residents with a family income of $75,000 or less
Household income up to $75,000. Covers tuition, fees.
- For a Kansas resident who is a full-time, first-time freshman on the Lawrence or Edwards campus. The student needs a 3.25 high school GPA, applies to KU by December 1 and files the FAFSA by February 1. It covers up to 30 credit hours a year for up to eight semesters, through grants and scholarships. It does not cover application, enrollment or course fees, books, housing, food or transportation.
“The commitment guarantees enough scholarships and grants to pay for undergraduate base tuition and required student/wellness fees for Kansans who meet academic qualifications and have a family income of $75,000 or less (AGI/Adjusted Gross Income).”
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what University of Kansas reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price. Out of state, there are no grants: the price is before any scholarship from the college.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit. For a family that lives in Kansas, it also counts Kansas' tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan.
The $6,000 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in University of Kansas's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Kansas, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price University of Kansas at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: University of Kansas's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing, food and books, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 3.0% a year. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The out-of-state figure uses the published out-of-state tuition instead. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
University of Kansas's own budget for 2026-27 is $33,725 in state and $53,660 out of state. It also counts costs the university doesn't bill for, such as travel and personal spending. We leave those out.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of Kansas. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Pittsburg State University$14,165 a year
- Emporia State University$17,833 a year
- University of Kansas$19,258 a year
- Wichita State University$19,666 a year
- Kansas State University$19,983 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Kansas college →