In-state vs. out-of-state tuition at Nebraska
The University of Nebraska-Lincoln charges $10,434 a year in published tuition and fees for Nebraska residents, about $5,217 a semester, and $28,584 a year for students from other states, about $14,292 a semester, a difference of $18,150. About 24% of first-year students came from out of state. You may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships. Compare out-of-state tuition at 100 public universities →
What makes Nebraska different
- Lower cost. The lowest published out-of-state tuition in the Big Ten, and the second-lowest in-state tuition after Purdue.
- Agriculture and food science. As Nebraska's land-grant university, it has strong programs in agriculture, food and nutrition.
- A distinctive honors program. The Raikes School combines computer science and business for a small group of students.
What Nebraska students study
The most common bachelor's degrees (class of 2024): business administration (267), psychology (246), marketing (185), finance (175), consumer and family economics (154), nutrition (152) and biology (142). Source: IPEDS Completions, first majors only.
You may thrive at Nebraska if…
- Keeping costs down matters to your family.
- You'd like a Big Ten experience on one of the conference's smaller public campuses.
- You're interested in agriculture, food science, business or nutrition.
Worth asking about
- What scholarships are available to out-of-state students?
- How does the Raikes School select students?
How Nebraska compares with the other Big Ten schools
Nebraska has the conference's lowest out-of-state price and is one of its smallest public universities. See how the 18 Big Ten schools differ.
FAQ
What is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's acceptance rate? 87.8% for fall 2025: 16,372 of 18,648 first-year applicants were admitted, according to its Common Data Set 2025–26. Source For fall 2024 it was 87.5%.
What is the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's out-of-state acceptance rate? 91.2% for fall 2025, compared with 88.5% for Nebraska residents. Nebraska admitted 7,673 of 8,413 out-of-state applicants and 8,169 of 9,229 Nebraska residents, according to its Common Data Set 2025–26. Source International applicants are counted separately. Out-of-state tuition and fees are $28,584 a year before aid; you may pay less if receiving grants or scholarships. Compare out-of-state acceptance rates at public universities →
How much does Nebraska cost for out-of-state students? Published tuition and fees are $28,584 a year out-of-state and $10,434 in-state, before any aid.
Is Nebraska in the Big Ten? Yes. Nebraska is one of the 18 Big Ten universities.
How much is Nebraska tuition per semester? About $5,217 a semester for Nebraska residents and $14,292 for out-of-state students, based on published yearly tuition and fees of $10,434 and $28,584 before aid.
Is Nebraska an R1 university? Yes. In the 2025 Carnegie Classifications, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is an R1 university, the group with the highest research spending and doctoral degrees. What R1 means →
How many students go to Nebraska? About 19,200 undergraduates (fall 2024).
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