Tuition Waivers

Presidential, Presidential Honor, Provost, and Bison Merit Awards may be granted to first-year students meeting minimum ACT/SAT and/or GPA requirements.

International Student Awards may be granted to first-year students meeting minimum admission proficiency scores.

Eligibility is determined by the Office of Admission and/or Global Programs and Services.

Applications and Additional Information

The Graduate Assistant Waiver covers base tuition charges for graduate-level credits and does not include differential tuition, student fees, or audited courses. Degree-seeking students with a qualifying graduate assistantship that meets policy requirements may be eligible. Eligibility is determined by the Graduate School. Students should refer to the Graduate Assistantship policy for their college of record.

Visit Graduate Assistantships for more information.

See Graduate Assistantship and Fellowship Policies to review the policy.

Students and/or parents seeking this waiver will need to complete the form, located on Human Resources/Payroll's website (located under Human Resources > Tuition Waiver). NDSU policies 133 and 133.1 require that tuition waiver forms be completed and submitted to Human Resources prior to each semester for which you are taking classes. Please refer to the policies for appropriate deadlines. For more information, please contact Human Resources/Payroll.

Awarded to graduate students not on an assistantship. Waivers in this category are provided to external award recipients such as Fulbright (100% waiver) and World Learning scholars (30% waiver). Included in this category are waivers that result directly from Memorandums of Understanding between NDSU and specific affiliated international universities or institutions. Eligibility is determined by the Graduate School.

Select departments may choose to offer a waiver of base tuition and/or differential tuition. Eligibility is determined by the respective department.

Awarded to high-achieving transfer students transferring to NDSU to complete their first bachelor’s degree. Minimum GPA at previous institutions required. Eligibility is determined by the Office of Admission.

Application and Additional Information

Available to full-time North Dakota law enforcement officers with at least two years of service that are maintaining satisfactory job performance. Must complete the appropriate application supplied by the ND Attorney General and receive supervisor approval at least one month in advance of the start of the semester. The waiver provides a 25% reduction in tuition and student fees to undergraduate students and is available for a maximum of five years after initial award.

ND Century Code §§ 37-07.1 and SBHE Policy 820 authorize a thirty-five percent tuition waiver on undergraduate tuition for qualified members of the National Guard, subject to limitations stated in that chapter and National Guard rules. Eligibility is determined by the North Dakota National Education Center in Bismarck, ND.

ND Century Code §§ 15-10-18.2 and 15-10-18.3 and SBHE Policy 820 authorize tuition and fees be waived in North Dakota institutions of higher education for a dependent/spouse/widow/widower of a resident veteran who was killed in action, died of service-related causes, has a one hundred percent service-connected disability as determined by the department of veterans' affairs, was a prisoner of war or declared missing in action. Educational benefits are allowed for a bachelor's degree or certificate of completion. Eligibility depends on residency requirements: either the veteran or the child’s other parent must have established and maintained residency in the state. This is reviewed and determined by NDSU's Certifying Official.

​Veteran Dependent Tuition Waiver Application​

SBHE Policy 805.3 authorizes the tuition to be waived for on-campus courses audited by persons 65 years of age or older. Eligibility is reviewed by the Office of Registration and Records.

SBHE Policy 820 authorize tuition and fees be waived for the appointed student member of the State Board of Higher Education. Eligibility is reviewed by Customer Account Services.