Tuition Rates and Expenses

The following tuition rates apply to the 2023-2024 academic year and are expected to increase in subsequent years. The Law School prices tuition based on the degree pursued rather than the length of enrollment. Students who graduate early are still responsible for the full tuition amount. Generally, tuition is billed on a semester or quarterly basis. 

JD Programs

JD and Two-Year JD for International Lawyers Degree Programs

  • $73,754
JD-MBA Degree Program
  • $104,430

Students who are admitted to the JD-MBA Program during their first year of law school are charged the first-year JD-MBA Program tuition rate. The difference between the first-year JD-MBA Program tuition rate and the JD Program tuition rate is assessed at the start of the summer term.

JD-LLM in Taxation Degree Program 

  • First Year and Second Year: $73,754
  • Third Year (including 7th semester): $110,631

Under both the 6-semester and 7-semester formats, students pay the equivalent of 3 years of JD tuition plus half of the annual LLM in Taxation degree tuition. Under the 6-semester format, the additional LLM in Taxation tuition amount is applied to a student's tuition bill during the Spring semester of the third year at the prevailing LLM in Taxation tuition rate. Under the 7-semester format, the additional LLM in Taxation tuition amount is applied at the time the student returns to complete his/her seventh semester of coursework.

JD-LLM in International Human Rights Degree Program

  • First Year – Third Year: $73,754
  • Fourth Year: Half tuition of the LLM rate

JD Non-Degree and/or Auditing Fee

  • $3,572 per credit hour

Joint Degrees with Non-Northwestern University Graduate Programs

Students who pursue a joint degree program with an external university spend five semesters in residence at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law and are billed the prevailing JD program tuition rate during each of those five semesters. Typically, the external university’s master’s program requires students to complete a full year or a year and a half in residence at its program, most often occurring after a student’s first or second year at Northwestern Pritzker Law. While attending the external university, students are not billed Northwestern tuition, nor do they receive Northwestern scholarship funding. During their fifth and final semester in residence at Northwestern, students are billed the final semester of tuition plus a one-time absentia fee. The absentia fee accounts for the time in which they were away and in recognition of the credits that they received toward their JD degree from their coursework at the external university. The absentia fee is equal to the greater of either 10% of Northwestern Law’s prevailing tuition or the difference between Northwestern Law’s prevailing tuition and the prevailing tuition at the external institution they attended.

Visiting Students

Students who visit Northwestern Pritzker School of Law for a term or a year are required to pay Northwestern Law tuition at the prevailing full-time JD program tuition rate.

LLM Programs

General LLM, and LLM in International Human Rights Degree Programs

  • $77,164

LLM in Taxation Degree Program

  • $73,754

Part-Time LLM in Taxation and Non-Degree Taxation Programs

  • The tuition budget for part-time Tax-LLM students will be based on actual enrollment, charged at $3,688 per credit hour.

MSL Program

Full-Time

  • $60,732

Part-Time 

  • $2,169 per credit, up to 28 credits. Students are charged for tuition as they enroll in classes. 

Online

  • $2,169 per credit, up to 28 credits. Students are charged for tuition as they enroll in classes.

Fees

Absentia Fee for Students who Visit Away

Students who visit away at a domestic institution must pay tuition directly to the institution they will attend. Northwestern Law charges an absentia fee equal to the greater of either 10% of Northwestern Law tuition for the term(s) away or the difference between Northwestern Law’s tuition and the institution to be attended. Students forfeit Northwestern Law scholarship funding during the terms in which they visit away. As a result, students receiving financial aid from Northwestern Law may not apply scholarship funds to either the tuition or the absentia fee.