The University of Tulsa is cutting its annual tuition and fees from $54,000 to $25,000 starting the fall of 2027, the school announced Tuesday.
“This move makes The University of Tulsa the most affordable private research university in America’s heartland,” UTulsa President Dr. Stacy Leeds said. “We want Tulsa’s best and brightest to have no barriers to accessing excellence right here in their backyard.
“And we want more students from around the nation and the world to move to Tulsa to study here, to live here and to work here, so that they can take advantage of this great city.”
Heartland Forward, a national nonprofit policy think tank based in Arkansas, defines the heartland as a 20-state region encompassing Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska, Kansas, Louisiana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi.
“The University of Tulsa has made a bold decision,” Mike Neal, president and CEO of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, said at a news conference at UTulsa’s Lorton Performance Center. “Our business community has a key stake in its success.
“Our employers need what TU produces. And our region needs more pathways for talented people to discover that they can build an extraordinary life right here. That is the kind of alignment that creates momentum.”
A 2026 Gallup survey found that only 12% of Americans believe four-year colleges are doing a good job of providing an affordable education. By contrast, the city of Tulsa is ranked sixth in the nation for undergraduates getting jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal.
“It is an incredibly competitive environment for higher-ed institutions but for cities, in particular,” said Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, a 2006 TU graduate who also played football for the Golden Hurricane. “The old way of doing things was ‘Hey, these things will just happen on their own.’
“But the reality is you have to be intentional. You have to offer things that other places do not offer. (Tuesday) is a strong statement in this community. We are offering the academic excellence that comes along with being a top 100 university.”
UTulsa’s move received support from all corners of the community, including the City of Tulsa, local public and private schools, business and industry leaders, tribal nations and philanthropic organizations.
Dr. Ebony Johnson is superintendent of Tulsa Public Schools, which has an enrollment of about 33,000 students, roughly 85% of whom are socio-economically disadvantaged.
“I’m appreciative that we are opening up doors for our students to not have dreams deferred,” she said, but a “destiny that can be right here at The University of Tulsa.”
