Do North Dakota Residents Get In-State Tuition in Massachusetts? (Undergraduate, 2026)
No — North Dakota residents pay full non-resident undergraduate tuition in Massachusetts, about $40,100 a year at University of Massachusetts Amherst against $17,400 for residents. There is no exchange program between North Dakota and Massachusetts; the only route to the in-state rate is establishing Massachusetts residency, which takes 12 months.
- You would pay
- $40,100/yr
- Resident pays
- $17,400/yr
- Over 4 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.
There is no agreement between these two states at undergraduate level. The full non-resident rate applies: $40,100 at University of Massachusetts Amherst, where a resident pays $17,400.
21 other states offer North Dakota residents a reduced undergraduate rate, the lowest being Wyoming at about $10,050. At home, in-state undergraduate tuition is $11,100 at University of North Dakota, so Massachusetts works out at $29,000 a year more than staying home.
Worth checking before you accept the non-resident rate: whether the campus offers a border-county waiver, a legacy or alumni rate, or a merit award pegged to the residency gap. These are institutional decisions and they are not published centrally.
Every route from North Dakota to Massachusetts
No exchange program or bilateral agreement connects these two states at undergraduate level, so the route table is empty.
Where North Dakota residents pay less
Staying home, a North Dakota resident pays $11,100 a year for in-state undergraduate tuition at University of North Dakota. The cheapest Massachusetts option for you is $40,100 at University of Massachusetts Amherst, which is $29,000 a year more than staying home, or $116,000 over 4 years.
North Dakota belongs to Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) and Midwest Student Exchange Program (MSEP) at undergraduate level, so 21 of 50 states offer North Dakota undergraduate students a reduced rate. Massachusetts is not one of them.
| State | Route | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota to Wyoming | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Wyoming | $10,050 |
| North Dakota to Montana | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Montana | $12,000 |
| North Dakota to Nevada | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of Nevada, Las Vegas | $13,350 |
| North Dakota to New Mexico | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of New Mexico | $13,350 |
| North Dakota to South Dakota | Western Undergraduate Exchange · University of South Dakota | $13,600 |
North Dakota's neighboring states, compared
What a North Dakota resident pays for undergraduate tuition in each state that borders North Dakota, cheapest first:
- Montana$12,000/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- South Dakota$13,600/yr · Western Undergraduate Exchange
- Minnesota$16,500/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.
Massachusetts residency, in brief
Massachusetts grants in-state tuition after 12 months of domicile before the term begins (610 CMR 5.00), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile. Moving to Massachusetts to enroll does not by itself start the clock.
Massachusetts residency requirements in full · how long every state requires
Step by step
- Budget for the non-resident rate at University of Massachusetts Amherst: $40,100 a year against $17,400 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: Massachusetts requires 12 months of domicile, and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile, so the family would need to move.
- Read the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education 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
Related
Asked and answered
›Do North Dakota residents get in-state tuition in Massachusetts?
No. North Dakota residents pay the full non-resident rate of $40,100 at University of Massachusetts Amherst. The only route to the $17,400 in-state rate is establishing Massachusetts residency.
›How long does it take to get in-state tuition in Massachusetts?
Massachusetts requires 12 months of domicile before the term begins (610 CMR 5.00), and a financially dependent student takes the parents' domicile.
›How much would undergraduate study in Massachusetts actually cost a North Dakota resident?
About $40,100 a year in tuition and mandatory fees at University of Massachusetts Amherst, against $17,400 for a Massachusetts resident. Figures are compiled 2025–26 published rates and exclude housing, books and course-specific differentials.
›Where can North Dakota residents get reduced undergraduate tuition?
In 21 states at undergraduate level. Outside Massachusetts, the lowest are Wyoming ($10,050), Montana ($12,000), Nevada ($13,350). Each figure is one reference campus, and awards are made campus by campus.
›Is studying in Massachusetts cheaper than staying in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota's in-state undergraduate rate is $11,100 a year at University of North Dakota, and the cheapest Massachusetts option for a North Dakota resident is $40,100, so Massachusetts costs about $29,000 more a year, or $116,000 over 4 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.
- Massachusetts Department of Higher Education — residency for tuition purposes ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of Massachusetts Amherst — tuition and fees ↗Accessed 2026-08-07
- University of North Dakota — 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 Massachusetts Amherst’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, NEBHE). The residency test — the durational requirement, the domicile evidence and the dependent-student rule — was checked against Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, 610 CMR 5.00. 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.