Engineering Student Fees

What are fees for engineering students?

The Samuel Ginn College of Engineering is deeply committed to providing high quality, student-centered education programs and professional development experiences to our students. Additional fees are required by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering to support enhancements to the learning experience of undergraduate students enrolled in engineering programs. The fees help pay for additional faculty and instructors, student services and computer and laboratory equipment. The outcomes include:

• Decrease in class sizes
• Increase in course offerings
• Upgraded and better maintained laboratories
• More student services such as advising, internship and career assistance, study abroad opportunities, and student projects and organizations support

Some peer universities or programs refer to the additional charge as a “fee” and others refer to it as “differential tuition.”

Who pays the fees and at what amounts?

Students enrolled in an undergraduate degree in the College of Engineering who are taking any course (engineering or non-engineering) in any mode of delivery (in-person or remote) that applies to their engineering degree are charged the fee.

The current fee amounts can be found in the Auburn University Bulletin at the following link.

https://bulletin.auburn.edu/generalinformation/financialinformation/basicchargesrevisedmay/

Why are fees being charged?

Fees are being charged because additional funding is necessary to provide a student-centered engineering education at the level of excellence consistent with our high standards. Engineering education is costly, particularly because it is most effective with smaller class sizes and with equipment and laboratories that are at the forefront of technology. Furthermore, the professional development and preparation that happens outside of the course schedule is more and more important in preparing engineers for the workforce or study for advanced degrees. 

Many other programs at Auburn University charge student fees, including the Harbert College of Business and the College of Architecture, Design and Construction.

A large number of excellent engineering programs at peer institutions charge fees or differential tuition for engineering students. These include the University of Tennessee, Texas A&M, the University of Missouri, the University of Wisconsin and the University of Alabama, among many others.

How are engineering fees spent?

Click to View Fee Allocation

All funds raised from fees are used to enhance undergraduate engineering education, including:

• Hiring and retaining additional faculty members and instructors to offer more sections and courses with reduced class sizes (68 percent)
• Providing additional GTAs for core engineering courses (10 percent)
• Upgrading and maintaining hands-on and computer teaching laboratories, including the elimination of bottleneck courses that currently limit enrollment because of facilities (15 percent)
• Adding advisers, career counselors, tutors and academic support staff; and enriching targeted student experience programs, including student projects, student organizations and teams, and professional and leadership development, and internship placement  (7 percent)

Note: the percentages provided represent the proportion of FY19 Engineering Fees expended in each of the listed categories.

An engineering fee oversight committee advises the dean on effective use of the fees. The committee includes representation from faculty, staff, students and alumni. 

Will additional financial aid be available to assist with the cost of the engineering fee?

Yes. Additional resources will be available through the student financial aid office to assist accessibility.

How do I obtain additional information regarding the engineering fee?

All information regarding the engineering fee will be posted to this page as it becomes available. For further information, contact fees@eng.auburn.edu.   

The following is a statement from the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs:

The amount that students pay in tuition and required fees represents a sizable and important investment in their future. However, student payments alone do not cover the full cost of providing any of Auburn’s educational programs. Even after state appropriations are included, some programs require supplemental tuition or student fees in order to provide the high-quality learning environment that students expect. Like the basic tuition and fees, these additional amounts help to cover not only the direct costs of providing instruction and advising in these programs but also indirect costs associated with Auburn’s role as a comprehensive center of higher education for the state.