Amherst, MA · 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 Massachusetts-Amherst
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
$84,769
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $3,400.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for University of Massachusetts Amherst, $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 Massachusetts Amherst
| Full price, in state | $39,609 |
| Full price, out of state | $64,419 |
| After grants, at your income | $19,374 |
At this income, 14 of Massachusetts's other 51 colleges cost less after grants, and 37 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Merit scholarships. Out of state: UMass Amherst’s Chancellor’s Award, for first-year students from outside Massachusetts, is $10,000 to $18,000 a year. Admissions picks the level at acceptance.
University of Massachusetts Amherst's promise. UMass Amherst Advantage: tuition and mandatory fees for Massachusetts students from households earning $75,000 or less. The conditions ↓
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At University of Massachusetts Amherst, our scenarios for Massachusetts households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,100 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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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 Massachusetts-Amherst says it awards for grades and test scores.
Out of state: UMass Amherst’s Chancellor’s Award, for first-year students from outside Massachusetts, is $10,000 to $18,000 a year. Admissions picks the level at acceptance.
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.
UMass Amherst Advantage: tuition and mandatory fees for Massachusetts students from households earning $75,000 or less
Household income up to $75,000. Covers tuition, fees.
- The UMass system says the four undergraduate campuses cover this through a mix of federal, state and university aid. It does not cover housing.
“In Fall 2025, tuition and mandatory fees at all UMass campuses became fully covered for undergraduate students from households earning $75,000 or less through a combination of federal, state, and university-funded financial aid.”
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 Massachusetts Amherst 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 Massachusetts, it also counts Massachusetts' tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan.
The $6,100 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in University of Massachusetts Amherst's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Massachusetts, 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 Massachusetts Amherst 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 Massachusetts-Amherst'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.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Bridgewater State University$18,053 a year
- Worcester State University$18,950 a year
- University of Massachusetts Amherst$19,374 a year
- University of Massachusetts Lowell$22,018 a year
- Amherst College$22,912 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Massachusetts college →