Do North Dakota Residents Get In-State Tuition in Nebraska? (Graduate, 2026)
MSEP — 150% of the resident rate
Not in-state, but reduced — North Dakota and Nebraska both belong to Midwest Student Exchange Program, so graduate tuition at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies can drop to roughly $15,450 a year against the $28,300 non-resident rate. Awards are limited and campus-by-campus.
- You would pay
- $15,450/yr
- Resident pays
- $10,300/yr
- Non-resident rate
- $28,300/yr
- Saved over 2 yrs
- $25,700
Conditional: Individual campuses opt in and can cap or close awards — confirm with the school before you apply.
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.
Midwest Student Exchange Program sits between the $10,300 in-state rate and the $28,300 non-resident rate at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies, landing at roughly $15,450. It is a discount you apply for, not a classification you qualify for.
20 other states offer North Dakota residents a reduced graduate rate, the lowest being Wyoming at about $7,000. At home, in-state graduate tuition is $12,700 at UND School of Graduate Studies, so Nebraska works out at $2,750 a year more than staying home.
The failure mode is timing. Awards of this kind are funded annually and allocated in the order applications arrive, so a student admitted in March can find the program closed while a student admitted in November does not.
Every route from North Dakota to Nebraska
| Route | What it gives you | Per year | Saving | Guaranteed? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. | $15,450 | $12,850 | Conditional |
Where North Dakota residents pay less
Staying home, a North Dakota resident pays $12,700 a year for in-state graduate tuition at UND School of Graduate Studies. The cheapest Nebraska option for you is $15,450 at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies, which is $2,750 a year more than staying home, or $5,500 over 2 years.
North Dakota belongs to Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) at graduate level, so 21 of 50 states offer North Dakota graduate students a reduced rate, and Nebraska is one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota to Wyoming | Western Regional Graduate Program · University of Wyoming graduate programs | $7,000 |
| North Dakota to Montana | Western Regional Graduate Program · University of Montana Graduate School | $8,000 |
| North Dakota to New Mexico | Western Regional Graduate Program · UNM Graduate Studies | $8,000 |
| North Dakota to Nevada | Western Regional Graduate Program · UNLV Graduate College | $9,000 |
| North Dakota to Utah | Western Regional Graduate Program · University of Utah Graduate School | $9,300 |
North Dakota's neighboring states, compared
What a North Dakota resident pays for graduate tuition in each state that borders North Dakota, cheapest first:
- Montana$8,000/yr · Western Regional Graduate Program
- South Dakota$10,300/yr · Western Regional Graduate Program
- Minnesota$20,000/yr · Minnesota-Dakotas Tuition Reciprocity
Compare all 50 states from North Dakota in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
Nebraska residency, in brief
Nebraska grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 85-502), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Nebraska to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Nebraska residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Check that your chosen Nebraska campus participates in Midwest Student Exchange Program — membership is a state-level agreement, but each campus decides whether to offer it and how many awards to fund.
- Confirm your intended major is on the approved list. Individual campuses opt in and can cap or close awards — confirm with the school before you apply.
- Apply for the award at the same time as admission, and well before the campus deadline — most participating institutions award on a first-come basis and close early.
- Keep your North Dakota residency documentation current; the program is only open to residents of a member state.
- Compare the result against the residency route: Nebraska grants in-state status after 12 months of domicile, currently $10,300 a year.
Official links
Related
Asked and answered
›Do North Dakota residents get in-state tuition in Nebraska?
No — but you pay less than the sticker rate. Midwest Student Exchange Program caps graduate tuition at University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies at roughly $15,450 rather than the $28,300 non-resident rate. That is a discount, not in-state classification.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Nebraska?
Nebraska requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 85-502), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would graduate study in Nebraska actually cost a North Dakota resident?
About $15,450 a year in tuition and mandatory fees under Midwest Student Exchange Program, against $28,300 at the published non-resident rate and $10,300 for a Nebraska resident. Over 2 years that is roughly $25,700 saved. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can North Dakota residents get reduced graduate tuition?
In 21 states at graduate level. Outside Nebraska, the lowest are Wyoming ($7,000), Montana ($8,000), New Mexico ($8,000). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Nebraska cheaper than staying in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota's in-state graduate rate is $12,700 a year at UND School of Graduate Studies, and the cheapest Nebraska option for a North Dakota resident is $15,450, so Nebraska costs about $2,750 more a year, or $5,500 over 2 years, in tuition and fees alone.
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.
- Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- UND School of Graduate Studies — 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 University of Nebraska-Lincoln Graduate Studies’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, MHEC). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 85-502. 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.