2025-2026 University Budget and Tuition

Dear Lions,

Reflecting on my tenure at LMU, I am filled with gratitude for each of you—our students and Lion parents. Choosing any university requires an element of faith, and I am honored that you entrusted LMU with helping you realize your future. Aligned with our Catholic mission in the Jesuit and Marymount traditions, LMU’s foremost priority has always been providing a transformative educational experience rooted in values that resonate with you and your families.

Today, I share updates on our university’s financial health, essential for fulfilling our devotion to academic excellence, creativity, and accessibility.

Every decision we make is driven by our mission, especially our budget, which reflects our moral commitments to student support, educational quality, and access. As a nonprofit university, LMU reinvests tuition and fee revenue primarily into our community members through student financial aid and faculty/staff salaries and benefits, nearly three-quarters of the university’s budget. After ensuring that we support one another, our remaining budget is committed to improving our academic programs, campus facilities, and the co-curricular resources that animate our mission.

While external economic challenges such as inflation, rising health care costs, millions of dollars in cuts in federal grant funding, and increasing operational expenses persist, we remain steadfast in our fiscal stewardship. That means managing our expenses in line with agreed-upon budgets, preserving cash reserves wisely, and being thoughtful about how we invest for the future, all with the goal of maintaining a strong financial position. These efforts help us limit tuition increases, expand affordability, and ensure LMU’s strength for future generations. To assure transparency, our audited financial statements are always publicly available for review.

Tuition and Fees

Every dollar from tuition and fees is reinvested directly into enriching your LMU experience.

LMU’s Board of Trustees recently approved the 2025-26 budget and tuition. For the coming academic year, undergraduate tuition will be $64,470, representing an overall rate increase of 5.74%.
Housing costs will increase by 5%, aligning with our continued efforts to enhance residential life. Recent investments in our residence halls and capital improvements reflect our ongoing commitment to providing high-quality living spaces for our students. Even with this increase, our housing rates remain lower than many off-campus alternatives—one way we help address housing affordability challenges in the broader Los Angeles market, where price increases have been more substantial.
Graduate tuition rates differ by program and will be updated on the LMU Student Accounts in the summer.
Meal plan rates will increase more than usual this year, averaging 7.5% across our standard residential plans. The improved purchasing power of our meal plans will lay the groundwork for LMU’s “All-You-Care-to-Eat” dining program, scheduled to launch in fall 2026. At the same time, we are excited to begin a new partnership with Aramark, our first change in dining services provider in more than 50 years. Over the next several years, Aramark will help revitalize our campus dining experience through significant improvements to food quality, major upgrades to dining facilities, and expanded offerings.

Financial Aid and Scholarships

Eighty-nine percent of our undergraduates receive some form of financial aid to help cover the cost of attending LMU, and our fundraising efforts continue to prioritize scholarships and support so that every student with talent and drive has the opportunity to be and remain here.

At the close of the most recent academic year, LMU has awarded over $183.3 million in grants and scholarships to students, with more than $137 million for undergraduates, up from $110 million in 2015.
Separately, LMU has distributed over $15.6 million in federal and state grants to undergraduates and $5.7 million in paid work-study awards to enrolled undergraduate students.
Our comprehensive campaign has raised over $135 million for scholarships, creating 243 new scholarships since the campaign started in 2018.

Investments in the LMU Experience

Your LMU experience is shaped by the spaces where learning, living, and community converge. This year, we are upgrading 16 more classrooms with modern AV systems and flexible layouts, bringing us to 27 new general-purpose learning spaces in just three years.

Major renovations are also underway, including the transformation of Gersten West into a hub for academic support and student success. Across campus, refreshed lecture halls now feature inclusive seating and improved accessibility, while residence halls benefit from safety upgrades, new furnishings, and enhanced ADA systems.

These improvements are part of our ongoing commitment to cura personalis—caring for the whole person—by ensuring that our learning environments inspire, support, and reflect the excellence our students deserve.

Faculty and Staff Support

Our faculty and staff are at the heart of your LMU experience. With the 2023 launch of our Multi-Year Compensation Initiative, we aimed to move compensation toward the 75th percentile of market benchmarks. This reflects our enduring commitment to attract and retain exceptional talent and ensure continuity in your academic and co-curricular journeys. Now in its second year, the initiative continues to move faculty and staff toward the competitive range of the 75th percentile. Eligible faculty will see market adjustments in their new contracts, and staff adjustments will be available in October. We remain committed to this work to ensure that faculty and staff are compensated competitively in the market.

Lions, as my time as president draws to a close, my gratitude for your partnership deepens. Together, we have accomplished extraordinary things and laid the foundation for an even brighter future. Thank you for your trust, your resilience, and your enduring inspiration. Godspeed, goodspeed, and Go Lions!

With gratitude,

Timothy Law Snyder, Ph.D.
President