Do Minnesota Residents Get In-State Tuition in Wisconsin? (Graduate, 2026)
Yes — Minnesota and Wisconsin run Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, so Minnesota residents can pay the Wisconsin in-state graduate rate of about $12,400 a year instead of the $26,000 non-resident rate at UW-Madison Graduate School. Check the current terms before you apply.
- You would pay
- $12,400/yr
- Resident pays
- $12,400/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $26,000/yr
- Saved over 2 yrs
- $27,200
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.
Open this pair in the checker to switch level, compare other states, or copy a link to the result.
Bilateral agreements are rarer than students assume, and this is one of them. Under Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, a Minnesota resident at UW-Madison Graduate School pays about $12,400 rather than the $26,000 non-resident rate.
Minnesota residents start from $20,000 a year, the in-state graduate rate at University of Minnesota Graduate School. Measured against that, Wisconsin costs $7,600 a year less than staying home. 7 other states offer Minnesota residents a reduced graduate rate, the lowest being South Dakota at about $10,300.
Treat the figure below as a planning number rather than a quote. Rates are set per campus and per college within the campus, and a program in engineering or nursing frequently carries a differential the headline rate does not include.
Every route from Minnesota to Wisconsin
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity | The oldest and broadest state-to-state tuition agreement in the country. A resident of either state pays the higher of two figures: the in-state tuition at the campus attended, or the tuition at a comparable campus in the home state. The result is at or a little above the in-state rate. Students apply for reciprocity status separately from admission, through the Minnesota Office of Higher Education or the University of Wisconsin System. | $12,400 | $13,600 | Yes, if eligible |
| Midwest Student Exchange Program | Participating public institutions charge MSEP students no more than 150% of their in-state resident rate. Participating private institutions instead discount their own published tuition by at least 10%. Each institution chooses whether to take part and which programs it opens. | $18,600 | $7,400 | Conditional |
Where Minnesota residents pay less
Staying home, a Minnesota resident pays $20,000 a year for in-state graduate tuition at University of Minnesota Graduate School. The cheapest Wisconsin option for you is $12,400 at UW-Madison Graduate School, which is $7,600 a year less than Minnesota's own in-state rate at University of Minnesota Graduate School.
Minnesota belongs to Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) at graduate level, so 8 of 50 states offer Minnesota graduate students a reduced rate, and Wisconsin is one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota to South Dakota | Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity · USD Graduate School | $10,300 |
| Minnesota to North Dakota | Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity · UND School of Graduate Studies | $12,700 |
| Minnesota to Indiana | Midwest Student Exchange Program · Indiana University Graduate School | $15,450 |
| Minnesota to Nebraska | Midwest Student Exchange Program · University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies | $15,450 |
| Minnesota to Missouri | Midwest Student Exchange Program · University of Missouri Graduate School | $16,950 |
Minnesota's neighboring states, compared
What a Minnesota resident pays for graduate tuition in each state that borders Minnesota, cheapest first:
- South Dakota$10,300/yr · Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity
- Wisconsin$12,400/yr · Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity
- North Dakota$12,700/yr · Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity
- Iowa$31,600/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from Minnesota in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Wisconsin residency, in brief
Wisconsin grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Wis. Stat. § 36.27), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Wisconsin to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Wisconsin residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Read the current terms of Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity — bilateral agreements are renegotiated and can narrow to specific campuses or majors between academic years.
- Apply through the channel the agreement specifies; several are administered by the home state's higher-education agency, not by the receiving campus.
- Provide proof of Minnesota residency in the form the agreement requires.
- If you fall outside the agreement's scope, fall back to the residency route: 12 months of Wisconsin domicile.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do Minnesota residents get in-state tuition in Wisconsin?
Effectively yes, through Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, but it is not residency. You pay the in-state rate of about $12,400 while remaining a Minnesota resident for every other purpose, and the benefit ends if you leave the approved program.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Wis. Stat. § 36.27), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would graduate study in Wisconsin actually cost a Minnesota resident?
About $12,400 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, against $26,000 at the published non-resident rate and $12,400 for a Wisconsin resident. Over 2 years that is roughly $27,200 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Is there more than one way to lower the cost?
Yes — 2 routes apply to this pair: Minnesota-Wisconsin Tuition Reciprocity, Midwest Student Exchange Program. They are not stackable. You take the one you qualify for, and where more than one applies the campus normally applies whichever produces the lower rate.
›Where can Minnesota residents get reduced graduate tuition?
In 8 states at graduate level. Outside Wisconsin, the lowest are South Dakota ($10,300), North Dakota ($12,700), Indiana ($15,450). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Wisconsin cheaper than staying in Minnesota?
On tuition, yes. The cheapest Wisconsin option for a Minnesota resident is $12,400 a year, which is $7,600 below Minnesota's own in-state rate of $20,000 at University of Minnesota Graduate School. Housing and travel are not included.
Sources
Every eligibility rule on this page is checked against the operating compact commission or the state's own residency authority. Last verified 2026-09-27.
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.
- Universities of Wisconsin — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- UW-Madison Graduate School — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Minnesota Graduate School — 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 2026-09-27.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from UW-Madison Graduate School’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 (MHEC). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Universities of Wisconsin, Wis. Stat. § 36.27. 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.