UCLA Tuition 2019-2020
UC systemwide tuition for California residents was $12,570 for the 2019-2020 academic year. Non-residents paid $42,324 including Nonresident Supplemental Tuition. Campus-based fees averaged $1,452 across UC.
Resident Tuition
$12,570
Non-Resident Tuition
$42,324
Campus Fees (UC average)
$1,452
Year-over-year change: Resident tuition changed by 0%. Non-resident tuition changed by +1.83%.
What changed in 2019-2020
Flat tuition, then a pandemic and no refunds
Resident tuition held at $12,570 for a second year, while Nonresident Supplemental Tuition rose 2.6 percent to $29,754. Then, in March 2020, UCLA moved instruction online and the year's defining question stopped being the price and became what the price was buying.
UC declined to refund spring 2020 tuition or mandatory fees. A UC spokesperson said that "in many areas the University faces increased costs, not lower costs, due to the pandemic." Students disagreed loudly: a Change.org petition gathered more than 43,000 signatures, and USAC's financial supports commissioner pointed out that out-of-state and international students were "paying $15,000 (for spring quarter) for a university that they're going to at home right now." USAC launched an emergency relief fund that April.
The dispute outlived the quarter. Class actions filed in April 2020 were coordinated, and in June 2024 a California appellate court held that students had adequately alleged breach of an implied contract — but only for spring 2020, not for any later remote term.
2019-2020 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 $12,570 a California resident paid in 2019-2020 is equivalent to $15,829 in 2025 dollars. Non-resident tuition of $42,324 works out to $53,298 in 2025 dollars.
Resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$15,829
Non-resident tuition in 2025 dollars
$53,298
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 $47/day of instruction, or $838/class (assuming 15 classes per year).
At California's $12.00/hr minimum wage back then, covering tuition alone would take 1,048 hours of work (~26 full-time weeks) — before housing and food.
Quick Facts
Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2014-2015)
+$378
Resident tuition rose 3.1% from $12,192 to $12,570
vs. 10 years earlier (2009-2010)
+$3,612
Resident tuition rose 40.32% from $8,958 to $12,570
Non-Resident Tuition
vs. 5 years earlier (2014-2015)
+$7,254
Non-resident tuition rose 20.68% from $35,070 to $42,324
vs. 10 years earlier (2009-2010)
+$10,601
Non-resident tuition rose 33.42% from $31,723 to $42,324
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 2019-2020 are drawn from the following sources.
- Daily Bruin: UCLA rejects possibility of spring tuition refund (April 21, 2020)(opens in a new tab)
- Daily Bruin: Students sue UC and CSU systems, demand refunds (April 28, 2020)(opens in a new tab)
- Stoffel v. Regents, Cal. Ct. App. No. B320813 (June 25, 2024)(opens in a new tab)
- UCOP Historical Fee Levels, Tables 1-3(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)