UCLA Tuition 2011-2012
UC systemwide tuition for California residents was $12,192 for the 2011-2012 academic year. Non-residents paid $35,070 including Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Campus-based fees averaged $989 across UC.
Resident Tuition
$12,192
Non-Resident Tuition
$35,070
Campus Fees (UC average)
$989
Year-over-year change: Resident tuition changed by +18.3%. Non-resident tuition changed by +5.69%.
What changed in 2011-2012
Tuition passes state funding for the first time
The 8 percent increase approved in November 2010 took effect in summer 2011, but the state's late-June budget imposed another $150 million cut. On July 14, 2011 the Regents approved an additional 9.6 percent increase effective fall 2011, applied entirely to Tuition. Resident undergraduate Tuition reached $11,220 including the settlement surcharge, plus a $972 Student Services Fee — $12,192 in all, 18.3 percent above 2010-11 and roughly double the 2005-06 level.
State support fell $650 million for the year, and a $100 million mid-year trigger cut in December brought the total reduction to $750 million, about 26 percent. The result was a threshold moment: for the first time in UC's history, revenue from student tuition and fees surpassed the state's General Fund contribution. The public university had become majority student-funded.
UCLA's reaction merged with the Occupy movement. Occupy UCLA pitched tents in Bruin Plaza, and the Regents met by teleconference from UCLA's James West Alumni Center in November amid disruptions at all four sites.
2011-2012 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 $12,192 a California resident paid in 2011-2012 is equivalent to $17,450 in 2025 dollars. Non-resident tuition of $35,070 works out to $50,194 in 2025 dollars.
Resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$17,450
Non-resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$50,194
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 $45/day of instruction, or $813/class (assuming 15 classes per year).
At California's $8.00/hr minimum wage back then, covering tuition alone would take 1,524 hours of work (~38 full-time weeks) — before housing and food.
Quick Facts
Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2006-2007)
+$6,051
Resident tuition rose 98.53% from $6,141 to $12,192
vs. 10 years earlier (2001-2002)
+$8,763
Resident tuition rose 255.56% from $3,429 to $12,192
Non-Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2006-2007)
+$10,245
Non-resident tuition rose 41.27% from $24,825 to $35,070
vs. 10 years earlier (2001-2002)
+$20,567
Non-resident tuition rose 141.81% from $14,503 to $35,070
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 2011-2012 are drawn from the following sources.
- Regents item F10, July 14, 2011 (additional 9.6% increase)(opens in a new tab)
- UC 2013-14 Budget for Current Operations (tuition revenue surpasses state support)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Faces of protest — Bruin activists on Occupy UCLA (Nov. 28, 2011)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: UC Regents pass $2.8 billion budget plan amid protests (Nov. 28, 2011)(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)