Do South Carolina Residents Get In-State Tuition in District of Columbia? (Graduate, 2026)
No — South Carolina residents pay full non-resident graduate tuition in District of Columbia, about $19,000 a year at UDC graduate programs against $12,000 for residents. There is no exchange program between South Carolina and District of Columbia; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing District of Columbia residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $19,000/yr
- Resident pays
- $12,000/yr
- Over 2 yrs
- No saving available
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.
This is the common case, and the honest answer is no. District of Columbia charges South Carolina residents its full non-resident graduate rate of $19,000, and no regional program bridges the two states.
Seen from South Carolina, this is one option among 50. 14 other states offer South Carolina residents a reduced graduate rate, the lowest being Arkansas at about $9,500, against $15,000 for in-state study at University of South Carolina Graduate School.
One more angle: some public universities charge non-resident rates that are lower than another state's in-state rate. Comparing District of Columbia's $19,000 against your home options on absolute cost, rather than on residency status, occasionally changes the answer.
Every route from South Carolina to District of Columbia
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at graduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where South Carolina residents pay less
Staying home, a South Carolina resident pays $15,000 a year for in-state graduate tuition at University of South Carolina Graduate School. The cheapest District of Columbia option for you is $19,000 at UDC graduate programs, which is $4,000 a year more than staying home, or $8,000 over 2 years.
South Carolina belongs to Academic Common Market (ACM) at graduate level, so 14 of 50 states offer South Carolina graduate students a reduced rate. District of Columbia is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina to Arkansas | Academic Common Market · University of Arkansas Graduate School | $9,500 |
| South Carolina to Mississippi | Academic Common Market · University of Mississippi Graduate School | $9,800 |
| South Carolina to Louisiana | Academic Common Market · LSU Graduate School | $10,300 |
| South Carolina to Oklahoma | Academic Common Market · OU Graduate College | $10,300 |
| South Carolina to Texas | Academic Common Market · UT Austin Graduate School | $12,000 |
South Carolina's neighboring states, compared
What a South Carolina resident pays for graduate tuition in each state that borders South Carolina, cheapest first:
- Georgia$12,100/yr · Academic Common Market
- North Carolina$30,000/yr · non-resident
Compare all 50 states from South Carolina in the checker. Each figure is one reference campus per state, not a state average.
District of Columbia residency, in brief
District of Columbia grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 8-B, § 1500), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to District of Columbia to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
District of Columbia residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at UDC graduate programs: $19,000 a year against $12,000 for residents.
- Check whether the specific campus you want offers its own non-resident scholarship or a border-county waiver — those are institutional, sit outside the state agreements, and are the most commonly missed discount.
- If you plan to stay, price the residency route: District of Columbia requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the University of the District of Columbia rules in full before you enroll — classification is decided once, and re-classification later in a degree is the hardest version of this problem.
Official links
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Asked and answered
›Do South Carolina residents get in-state tuition in District of Columbia?
No. South Carolina residents pay the full non-resident rate of $19,000 at UDC graduate programs. The only route to the $12,000 in-state rate is establishing District of Columbia residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in District of Columbia?
District of Columbia requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 8-B, § 1500), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would graduate study in District of Columbia actually cost a South Carolina resident?
About $19,000 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at UDC graduate programs, against $12,000 for a District of Columbia resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can South Carolina residents get reduced graduate tuition?
In 14 states at graduate level. Outside District of Columbia, the lowest are Arkansas ($9,500), Mississippi ($9,800), Louisiana ($10,300). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in District of Columbia cheaper than staying in South Carolina?
No. South Carolina's in-state graduate rate is $15,000 a year at University of South Carolina Graduate School, and the cheapest District of Columbia option for a South Carolina resident is $19,000, so District of Columbia costs about $4,000 more a year, or $8,000 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.
- University of the District of Columbia — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of South Carolina 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 2026-08-07.
- Compiled from published rate pages
- The in-state and non-resident figures are tuition and mandatory fees for one full-time year, read from UDC graduate programs’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 (SREB). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against University of the District of Columbia, D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 8-B, § 1500. 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.