In-State Tuition in California: Residency Rules and Out-of-State Rates (Graduate, 2026)
To get in-state tuition in California you need 12 months of California domicile before the term begins (Cal. Educ. Code § 68017). In-state graduate tuition is $14,300 a year at UC Berkeley Graduate Division, against $29,600 for non-residents. California participates in WUE.
- You would pay
- $14,300/yr
- Resident pays
- $14,300/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $29,600/yr
- Residency worth over 2 yrs
- $30,600
Tuition and mandatory fees only, compiled from published rates and rounded. Excludes housing, books and course differentials. Eligibility is decided by the institution, not by this page.
California charges $14,300 a year for in-state graduate study at UC Berkeley Graduate Division and $29,600 for everyone else. California takes part in WUE, which is the only route to a lower rate that does not require moving.
California classifies a student as a resident after 12 months of domicile. Physical presence in California for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make California your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. Classification is decided by the institution you enroll at, and a financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile.
This page covers all 50 origin states. Direction matters: what a California resident pays elsewhere is a different question from what an arriving student pays here, and the two are rarely symmetric.
What California charges, and who pays less
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California residency | You pay the published resident rate once you meet the state's residency test. | $14,300 | $15,300 | Yes, if eligible |
California residency requirements
| Durational requirement | 12 months of domicile before the term begins |
|---|---|
| Domicile test | Physical presence in California for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make California your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. |
| Dependent students | A financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile. If your parents are not California residents, you are not one either, regardless of where you live. |
| Independent students | A financially independent adult can establish domicile on their own record. |
| Named exceptions |
|
| Authority | University of California / California State University ↗(Cal. Educ. Code § 68017) |
Step by step
- Confirm you meet the California domicile test: Physical presence in California for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make California your permanent home rather than living there to attend college.
- Gather the documents the University of California / California State University asks for — a driver's license, voter registration, vehicle registration and a 12-month record of physical presence are the usual set.
- File the residency classification form with the campus registrar before the term's deadline; classification is decided by the institution, not by the state.
- If you are financially dependent, check whose domicile counts — California assigns a dependent student the parents' domicile, so the parents must qualify.
Official links
Coming to California from another state
Direction matters. These cover the exact move into California at graduate level:
All 50 origin states
Leaving California to study elsewhere
What a California resident pays in each of the other 50 states:
All 50 destination states
California at other levels
Asked and answered
›What are the residency requirements for in-state tuition in California?
Physical presence in California for at least 12 months before the term begins, combined with objective evidence that you intend to make California your permanent home rather than living there to attend college. The durational requirement is 12 months, administered by the University of California / California State University under Cal. Educ. Code § 68017. Classification is made by the institution you enroll at, not centrally.
›How much is out-of-state tuition in California?
$29,600 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at UC Berkeley Graduate Division for 2025–26, against $14,300 for a resident — a gap of $15,300. Rates differ by campus and by college within a campus.
›Which tuition exchange programs does California belong to?
California participates in WUE at graduate level. Membership is a state-level commitment; each campus then decides whether to offer the program and which majors it opens.
›Can I get in-state tuition in California after one year of living there?
12 months of domicile is the requirement, but time alone is not enough. You have to show you moved to live in California rather than to attend college there — driver's license, vehicle registration, voter registration, employment and state tax filing are the evidence campuses ask for. A financially dependent student is assigned the parents' domicile regardless.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-08-07.
Tuition figures on this page are compiled 2025–26 published rates (basis: published compiled), rounded to the nearest $100 and refreshed each June. Eligibility rules are checked against the cited compact commission or residency authority.
- University of California / California State University — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of California, Berkeley — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- California Community Colleges — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- UC Berkeley Graduate Division — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
How this page was made
Compiled and checked by Billy Reiner, editor of In-State Check. Last verified 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from UC Berkeley Graduate Division’s own 2025–26 rate page and rounded to the nearest $100. Housing, books, travel and course-specific differentials are not included in them.
- Checked against the administering body
- Compact membership at this level was checked against the commission that runs the program (WICHE). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against University of California / California State University, Cal. Educ. Code § 68017. Nothing here is taken from another comparison site.
Not advice. In-State Check is independent of every college, compact and state agency named here. Residency classification and award decisions are made by the institution you apply to. Found an error? Send the page URL and the source that contradicts it to [email protected], and the page is corrected and re-dated. Full methodology.