University at Buffalo

Buffalo, NY · Public · 20,112 undergrads (large, suburb) · website ↗

Test-optional
$50 application fee

What you'll actually pay

Average net price per year — tuition, fees, room & board minus grant and scholarship aid — for in-state students by household income.

Household income	Avg net price / year
Under $30,000	$14,668
$30,000 – $48,000	$16,585
$48,000 – $75,000	$21,262
$75,000 – $110,000	$24,117
Over $110,000	$28,079
All incomes (average)	$20,995

Sticker tuition and fees: $10,936 in-state, $31,536 out-of-state — before aid, from the same earlier College Scorecard release as the net prices above.

These are averages. For an estimate for your family, use University at Buffalo's own net price calculator — every college that takes federal student aid must publish one.

Net price calculator ↗

Other costs of attendance, 2025–26

The college's own estimate for a full-time undergraduate for the year, before aid, from the October 2026 College Scorecard. It is a newer year than the tuition and net prices above, so don't add the two together.

Housing and meals, on campus	$18,064
Housing and meals, off campus (not with family)	$18,064
Books and supplies	$1,500
Other expenses, on campus	$5,322
Other expenses, off campus	$5,322

Grants and loans for first-year students, 2022–23

What the college reported for its full-time, first-time students (4,187 of them) in 2022–23; 86% got some kind of aid, loans included. Each average is over the students who received that kind of aid, not over everyone. It is an older year than the 2025–26 costs above.

Type of aid	Students awarded	Average amount
Any grant or scholarshipFederal, state, local and the college's own	74%	$9,996
Federal Pell GrantNeed-based, from the federal government	38%	$5,657
The college's own grants and scholarshipsNeed- or merit-based, funded by the college	68%	$3,886
Federal student loansBorrowed by the student; repaid with interest. No Parent PLUS or private loans	50%	$5,091

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release); full-time, first-time degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates; public domain.

Admissions & outcomes

Acceptance rate: 74%
Average SAT: 1295
Median ACT: 28
Students with Pell grants: 33%
Graduation rate (6yr): 75%
Freshman retention: 85%
Median earnings @ 10yr: $70,814
Median debt at graduation: $19,000
International undergrads: 2,470 (12.1%)

For comparison, the median across all 1,596 four-year colleges on this site: graduation rate 56%, earnings ten years after entering $54,869, debt at graduation $23,250.

Admission policy, test scores and teaching

SAT/ACT policy: Test-optional
Application fee: $50
Students per faculty member: 11 to 1
Faculty who are full-time: 70%
Open admission: No

Middle 50% of test scores, fall 2024

25th to 75th percentile of enrolled first-year students who submitted scores. A quarter scored below the first figure and a quarter above the second. Section ranges can't be added together into a total-score range.

SAT Reading and Writing: 600–680
SAT Math: 610–700
ACT composite: 27–32

What the college considers in admission decisions, fall 2023

How the college said it used each item when deciding on first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking applicants for fall 2023. For SAT and ACT scores, see the fall 2024 policy above.

High school GPA	Required
High school class rank	Considered if submitted
High school record	Required
Completion of a college-preparatory program	Considered if submitted
Recommendations	Considered if submitted
Formal demonstration of competencies (e.g. portfolio)	Considered if submitted
English proficiency test (for applicable students)	Required
Other test (Wonderlic, WISC-III, etc.)	Not considered
Work experience	Considered if submitted
Personal statement or essay	Required
Legacy status	Not considered

First-time applicants: 38,210
Admitted: 26,481
Enrolled: 4,271

Counts of first-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, including early decision and early action. The acceptance rate higher up this page comes from a different College Scorecard release, so it may not match these counts.

IPEDS, U.S. Department of Education, Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release), fall 2023; open admission from IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 (revised); public domain.

Most popular fields of study

Share of bachelor's degrees awarded.

Business17%

Engineering13%

Social Sciences13%

Psychology10%

Biology & Life Sciences9%

Health & Nursing8%

Computer Science8%

Communications & Media6%

Visual & Performing Arts3%

Architecture2%

Earnings and debt by field of study

Median annual earnings of graduates who received federal student aid and were working, not studying: one year after completing (graduates of 2020–21 and 2021–22) and four years after (2017–18 and 2018–19), measured in 2022 and 2023 and shown in 2024 dollars. Median debt is federal Direct and Grad PLUS loans borrowed at this college by 2022–23 and 2023–24 graduates; it leaves out Parent PLUS and private loans. “National” is the median for the same field and credential across all US colleges.

Bachelor's degrees (48)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Business Administration, Management and Operations	653	$53,275	$69,903national $68,257	$17,250
Psychology, General	528	$35,799	$52,303national $50,706	$17,030
Computer Science	302	$79,064	$105,160national $107,009	$17,500
Communication and Media Studies	293	$39,534	$62,912national $56,359	$19,500
Biology, General	290	$34,550	$57,298national $57,214	$20,500
Mechanical Engineering	226	$73,286	$84,602national $92,135	$18,790
Social Sciences, General	183	$37,534	$56,257national $53,366	$17,421
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	170	$89,513	$93,507national $88,910	$13,856
Sociology	154	$38,561	$54,382national $52,657	$15,500
Public Health	140	$39,428	—national $58,808	$19,500
Civil Engineering	135	$70,094	$84,868national $86,517	$19,500
Physiology, Pathology and Related Sciences	133	$30,399	$66,880national $62,172	$20,500
Political Science and Government	119	$31,225	$58,292national $63,293	$19,500
Economics	117	$45,143	$70,720national $82,686	$18,500
Mathematics	104	$54,205	$60,882national $69,562	$16,381
Accounting and Related Services	103	$61,633	$92,314national $76,194	$17,750
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	88	$73,586	$92,360national $98,207	$20,760
Non-Professional Legal Studies	85	$30,467	—national $61,959	$20,381
History	81	—	$50,518national $50,680	$20,500
Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering	79	$77,295	$95,209national $100,647	$19,000
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	76	$58,231	$84,920national $93,451	$20,500
Criminology	75	$41,461	—national $55,556	$15,378
English Language and Literature, General	70	$30,433	$51,385national $48,590	$17,774
Film/Video and Photographic Arts	62	$33,692	$43,285national $43,765	$16,750
International Business	60	$55,318	$64,711national $73,201	$18,031
Architecture	59	$48,140	$61,525national $66,914	$21,500
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	53	$29,070	$57,360national $58,928	$18,500
Chemical Engineering	51	$71,915	$95,424national $98,158	$14,000
Fine and Studio Arts	51	$32,829	$43,584national $41,367	$19,019
Natural Resources Conservation and Research	42	$34,322	—national $55,012	$18,897
Environmental Design	42	$35,849	$49,920national $57,461	$21,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	40	—	—national $55,792	$16,500
Computer Engineering	37	$81,334	$109,221national $109,015	$19,000
Neurobiology and Neurosciences	35	—	—national $62,451	$20,200
Industrial Engineering	34	$72,435	$86,118national $98,442	$16,375
Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences	33	$37,538	$59,841national $60,190	$19,500
Computer/Information Technology Administration and Management	29	—	—national $85,063	$23,125
Chemistry	28	$49,562	$68,413national $65,120	$16,750
Geography and Cartography	26	$47,658	$68,176national $57,853	—
Physics	23	—	—national $76,786	$17,481
Linguistic, Comparative, and Related Language Studies and Services	22	—	$44,841national $49,984	$20,500
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft	22	$23,497	$45,677national $39,775	$21,000
Clinical/Medical Laboratory Science/Research and Allied Professions	21	$80,660	$89,223national $75,975	$22,600
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering	17	$63,337	$75,263national $81,171	$19,000
Anthropology	16	$32,026	$44,274national $46,676	—
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics	13	—	$59,216national $55,000	$17,027
Dance	13	—	$39,576national $39,980	—
Pharmacology and Toxicology	12	—	$64,445national $68,883	—

Master's degrees (34)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Computer and Information Sciences, General	668	$79,073	—national $124,201	$20,500
Engineering, General	467	$77,792	—national $120,215	$20,500
Social Work	225	$53,054	$60,612national $65,123	$41,000
Information Science/Studies	157	$77,069	—national $112,705	—
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas	148	$52,465	$55,486national $63,707	$25,250
Industrial Engineering	139	$99,127	$102,080national $119,184	—
Business Administration, Management and Operations	135	$89,738	$114,480national $103,485	$38,171
Library Science and Administration	130	$43,148	$56,619national $56,301	$31,708
Applied Mathematics	94	$71,116	—national $116,060	$20,500
Public Health	92	$56,340	$87,916national $82,751	$41,000
Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods	81	—	—national $124,807	$20,500
Architectural Sciences and Technology	69	$56,440	$69,581national $77,466	$41,000
Accounting and Related Services	69	$72,156	$98,554national $95,833	$16,675
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	66	$60,887	$65,788national $71,416	$41,000
Engineering-Related Fields	55	$106,183	—national $125,651	$20,500
Biology, General	49	$38,188	—national $69,830	$25,995
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods	44	$46,105	$48,676national $59,916	$32,627
Mechanical Engineering	40	$87,270	$96,497national $115,974	—
Biomedical/Medical Engineering	38	$77,242	$82,528national $106,375	$20,500
Chemical Engineering	33	$69,374	$102,730national $115,468	—
Economics	33	$70,119	—national $100,743	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	31	$56,462	$61,300national $67,030	$41,000
City/Urban, Community, and Regional Planning	30	$56,270	$58,546national $79,665	$40,750
Educational Administration and Supervision	28	$51,527	$54,856national $71,685	—
Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering	25	$86,356	—national $122,434	—
Civil Engineering	20	$77,117	$90,707national $98,323	—
Student Counseling and Personnel Services	18	—	$60,153national $60,111	—
Systems Science and Theory	17	$66,381	—national $111,527	—
Nutrition Sciences	15	$60,228	—national $67,126	$36,897
Fine and Studio Arts	14	—	$37,918national $49,079	—
Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions	14	$50,799	$61,512national $59,571	—
Real Estate Development	9	$76,540	—national $124,997	—
Teaching English or French as a Second or Foreign Language	8	—	$51,565national $65,767	—
Architecture	2	—	$66,761national $74,139	—

First professional degrees (4)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Medicine	169	$64,658	$100,331national $112,460	$257,748
Law	156	$77,356	$85,126national $107,773	$61,500
Dentistry	119	—	$198,110national $170,812	$188,774
Pharmacy, Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Administration	115	$95,174	$137,101national $138,348	$131,554

Doctoral degrees (8)

Field of study	Degrees awarded 2023–24	Earnings, 1 yr after	Earnings, 4 yrs after	Median federal debt
Chemistry	28	—	$109,414national $115,386	—
Curriculum and Instruction	21	$77,049	—national $83,031	—
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing	7	$160,671	$156,779national $138,131	$85,952
Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology	6	—	$112,025national $99,878	—
Educational Administration and Supervision	5	$126,513	—national $100,573	—
Pharmacology and Toxicology	1	—	$180,229national $108,943	—
Communication Disorders Sciences and Services	1	—	—national $88,343	$61,500
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions	1	$72,571	$75,450national $82,893	$65,500

A dash means the Department of Education suppressed the figure because too few graduates were measured — not zero. 246 more programmes at this college have every figure suppressed and are not listed.

Contact and accreditation

Address: 12 Capen Hall, Buffalo, NY 14260-1660
Phone: (716) 645-2000
Institutional accreditor: Middle States Commission on Higher Education

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts) and IPEDS Fall Enrolment for international student counts. College Scorecard, October 2026 release: net price calculator link, mission flags and religious affiliation (2025–26), enrolment shares, test policy, SAT/ACT ranges and student-to-faculty ratio (fall 2024), cost-of-attendance components (2025–26), and earnings and debt by field of study. IPEDS Institutional Characteristics 2023–24 for the application fee and the IPEDS 2024 directory for the phone number. IPEDS Admissions 2023–24 (ADM2023, provisional release) for admission requirements and first-time applicants, admits and enrolments (fall 2023). IPEDS Student Financial Aid 2022–23 (SFA2223, provisional release) for grants and loans to full-time, first-time students. All are U.S. Department of Education data in the public domain. Verify current costs and requirements with the school.

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