UCLA Tuition 2003-2004
UC systemwide tuition for California residents was $4,984 for the 2003-2004 academic year. Non-residents paid $19,194 including Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Campus-based fees averaged $546 across UC.
Resident Tuition
$4,984
Non-Resident Tuition
$19,194
Campus Fees (UC average)
$546
Year-over-year change: Resident tuition changed by +30%. Non-resident tuition changed by +18.39%.
What changed in 2003-2004
Fees jump 30% as the state budget collapses
This was the steepest single-year increase in the period. On July 16, 2003 the Regents' Finance Committee voted 5-4 to raise mandatory systemwide fees 25 percent and to delegate authority to the President to add another 5 percent if the final state budget warranted it; the full Board approved 13-3 the next day. On July 30, one day after the Legislature adopted the budget, President Richard Atkinson notified the Board that the additional 5 percent was necessary.
The total was 30 percent, or $1,150 more for a resident undergraduate. Systemwide fees rose from $3,834 to $4,984, and because the Registration Fee stayed at $713, the entire increase landed in the Educational Fee. The driver was California's fiscal emergency — a roughly $38 billion two-year deficit, UC's Partnership with the state underfunded by about $1 billion, and an additional $80.5 million cut.
The July vote drew little protest because students were dispersed for summer. The reaction came in November, when UCPD clashed with students at the Regents meeting held at UCLA's Covel Commons.
2003-2004 tuition in 2025 dollars
Comparing tuition across decades only works once inflation is stripped out. Adjusted with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, the $4,984 a California resident paid in 2003-2004 is equivalent to $8,720 in 2025 dollars. Non-resident tuition of $19,194 works out to $33,584 in 2025 dollars.
Resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$8,720
Non-resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$33,584
Inflation adjustment uses CPI-U annual average, U.S. city average, all items (1982-84=100). The 2025 annual average is computed from eleven months because the October 2025 index was never collected during the federal funding lapse.
What does that mean? UCLA tuition worked out to roughly $18/day of instruction, or $332/class (assuming 15 classes per year).
At California's $6.75/hr minimum wage back then, covering tuition alone would take 738 hours of work (~18 full-time weeks) — before housing and food.
Quick Facts
Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (1998-1999)
+$1,375
Resident tuition rose 38.1% from $3,609 to $4,984
Non-Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (1998-1999)
+$6,011
Non-resident tuition rose 45.6% from $13,183 to $19,194
Looking for Current UCLA Costs?
UCLA tuition for 2026-2027 is now $16,430 for California residents. Use our interactive Cost Calculator to estimate your total cost of attendance — including housing, meal plans, books, and more.
Sources
Figures and historical context for 2003-2004 are drawn from the following sources.
- Regents Board minutes, July 17, 2003 (13-3 vote)(opens in a new tab)
- Regents Committee on Finance minutes, July 16, 2003 (25%+5%, 5-4 vote)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Regents approve 25 percent hike (July 20, 2003)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Clash erupts at regents meeting (Nov. 19, 2003)(opens in a new tab)
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, CPI-U annual averages (CUUR0000SA0)(opens in a new tab)
- California Department of Industrial Relations, History of California Minimum Wage(opens in a new tab)