UCLA Tuition 2010-2011
UC systemwide tuition for California residents was $10,302 for the 2010-2011 academic year. Non-residents paid $33,181 including Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Campus-based fees averaged $977 across UC.
Resident Tuition
$10,302
Non-Resident Tuition
$33,181
Campus Fees (UC average)
$977
Year-over-year change: Resident tuition changed by +15%. Non-resident tuition changed by +4.6%.
What changed in 2010-2011
The second 15% lands; "tuition" gets its name
The second half of the November 2009 action took effect. Resident undergraduate mandatory systemwide fees rose 15 percent to $10,302 — a $9,402 Educational Fee plus a $900 Registration Fee — effective summer 2010. This was the step that completed the widely cited 32 percent increase, and it landed in 2010-11, not 2009-10.
The state partially relented: a 2010-11 budget not signed until October 8 added $264.4 million plus $106 million in one-time federal stimulus funds, restoring a little more than half of the prior year's base cut. It was not enough. On November 18, 2010 the Regents approved another 8 percent increase for 2011-12 by a vote of 15-5, with both the student regent and the student regent-designate dissenting.
At the same meeting the Regents amended the Student Tuition and Fee Policy to rename the Educational Fee "Tuition" and the University Registration Fee the "Student Services Fee" — the vocabulary the University still uses today.
2010-2011 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 $10,302 a California resident paid in 2010-2011 is equivalent to $15,210 in 2025 dollars. Non-resident tuition of $33,181 works out to $48,989 in 2025 dollars.
Resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$15,210
Non-resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$48,989
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 $38/day of instruction, or $687/class (assuming 15 classes per year).
At California's $8.00/hr minimum wage back then, covering tuition alone would take 1,288 hours of work (~32 full-time weeks) — before housing and food.
Quick Facts
Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2005-2006)
+$4,161
Resident tuition rose 67.76% from $6,141 to $10,302
vs. 10 years earlier (2000-2001)
+$6,873
Resident tuition rose 200.44% from $3,429 to $10,302
Non-Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2005-2006)
+$9,220
Non-resident tuition rose 38.48% from $23,961 to $33,181
vs. 10 years earlier (2000-2001)
+$19,138
Non-resident tuition rose 136.28% from $14,043 to $33,181
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 2010-2011 are drawn from the following sources.
- Regents item F10, Nov. 18, 2010 (2011-12 student fees)(opens in a new tab)
- Regents Board minutes, Nov. 17-18, 2010 (revised policy showing the renaming)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Regents approve 8 percent fee increase for fall 2011 (Nov. 18, 2010)(opens in a new tab)
- UC 2013-14 Budget for Current Operations(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)