Grand Canyon University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Jump to a section 8 sections
- Federal data lists GCU as a private nonprofit, mostly online and accredited by HLC
- GCU online tuition is $490 a credit in 2026-27, with its own rate for some programs
- GCU’s average net price is $21,509, for full-time first-time students
- 43% of GCU’s 2017-18 starters earned a credential within eight years
- Nursing, teaching and business produce the most GCU graduates
- ED’s 2023 fine was rescinded, per the FTC, and the FTC case was dismissed in August 2025
- Who GCU fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to GCU
Grand Canyon University (GCU) charges $490 a credit for 2026-27 under its Online and Professional Studies rate, for undergraduate programs without their own rate. Its average net price was $21,509 for 2024-25, and 43% of students who started in 2017-18 earned a credential within eight years, according to College Scorecard’s October 2026 data.
Recommended next step
Check your aid before you choose GCU
About two minutes, no name or email asked. Pell, state grant, Work-Study and federal loan estimates for your answers. GCU's financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Check my aidFederal data lists GCU as a private nonprofit in Phoenix, AZ, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). One federal ID covers its campus and its online students, and 70% of undergraduates studied fully online in fall 2024.
If you are investing your own hard-earned money this time, three things shape what you pay at GCU: the per-credit rate for your program, how many of your credits transfer, and the aid you qualify for.
How many terms until you finish?
Tell us what you're working toward and the credits you have. You'll see an estimate right here, nothing to sign up for.
Federal data lists GCU as a private nonprofit, mostly online and accredited by HLC
| Fact | GCU |
|---|---|
| Control (College Scorecard) | Private nonprofit |
| Accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC) |
| Location | Phoenix, AZ |
| Undergraduates studying fully online (fall 2024) | 70% |
| Graduate students studying fully online (fall 2024) | 98% |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 73,371 |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 37,321 |
| Undergraduates studying part-time (fall 2024) | 66% |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 52% |
| Admission rate (fall 2024) | 79% |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 104717 |
GCU online tuition is $490 a credit in 2026-27, with its own rate for some programs
GCU bills online and evening students by the credit. These are the main 2026-27 rates on its online and evening tuition page, in GCU’s labels, shortened.
| Level | Program (GCU’s label) | Per credit |
|---|---|---|
| Undergraduate | Online and Professional Studies (all other programs) | $490 |
| Graduate | Online and Professional Studies (all other programs) | $610 |
| Graduate | Advanced practice nursing, OT and speech language pathology | $760 |
| Doctoral | Doctoral and research continuation courses | $760 |
| Undergraduate | Military rate (after scholarship) | $250 |
| Graduate | Military rate (after scholarship) | $400 |
| Doctoral | Military rate (after scholarship) | $617.50 |
| Continuing education | CTE courses (not eligible for federal aid) | $165 |
The military rates are for active duty, active reserve, National Guard members and military spouses in online and professional studies programs; the Master of Divinity and the Accelerated BSN, Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A bachelor’s degree in nursing. Registered nurses can earn it in an RN-to-BSN program. are excluded.
GCU’s online and evening tuition page lists the other 2026-27 rates: education $465 (undergraduate) and $625 (graduate), theology and MDiv $415, RN, Registered nurse. A nurse licensed by a state board after passing the NCLEX-RN exam. to BSN $345, graduate business $675, Associate of Science in Pre-Nursing $240, Accelerated BSN prerequisites $425, and certificates at $295 or $500.
Scorecard lists $17,900 in tuition and fees for 2025-26, the same in-state and out-of-state. Online students are billed per credit instead; GCU’s budget figures are effective May 1, 2026.
GCU’s average net price is $21,509, for full-time first-time students
Net price is the full cost of attendance, including housing and living costs, minus grants and scholarships. Scorecard’s average covers 4,087 full-time, first-time undergraduates who got federal aid in 2024-25. 66% of GCU undergraduates studied part-time in fall 2024, so a part-time online adult’s cost can differ.
| Family income | Average net price, 2024-25 |
|---|---|
| $0 to $30,000 | $21,512 |
| $30,001 to $48,000 | $23,979 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | Not published |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $13,488 |
| $110,001 and up | Not published |
For 2026-27, Pell pays up to $7,395 a year to eligible undergraduates, and your own net price depends on your income, family size and state. The aid check stacks Pell, state grants, Work-Study and federal loans for your answers in about two minutes, without asking for your name or email.
43% of GCU’s 2017-18 starters earned a credential within eight years
| Measure | GCU |
|---|---|
| Earned a credential within 8 years (all students who started in 2017-18) | 43% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time students who started in fall 2019) | 54% |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting | $52,063 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting | $50,609 |
| Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing | $74,343 |
| Graduates’ median federal loan debt | $24,000 |
| Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2024-25) | 52% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25) | 54% |
The two graduation rates count different groups. The 6-year rate counts only first-time, full-time students; the 8-year rate counts every 2017-18 starter, part-time and transfer students included. To see the same measures for ten large online schools, read online college completion rates compared.
These are school-wide medians, campus and online together. Your payoff depends on the program, the job you target and what you pay.
Nursing, teaching and business produce the most GCU graduates
These are GCU’s largest fields by awards in 2023-24, from Scorecard’s field-of-study file. Human services (bachelor’s) and business administration (master’s) tie for fifth at 1,216 awards each, so both are shown.
| Field and credential | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (bachelor's) | 3,578 | $103,884 | $15,750 |
| Teacher education (master's) | 1,662 | $56,764 | $34,674 |
| Business administration (bachelor's) | 1,659 | $65,828 | $23,423 |
| Nursing (master's) | 1,394 | $123,688 | $38,753 |
| Human services (bachelor's) | 1,216 | $48,766 | $25,000 |
| Business administration (master's) | 1,216 | $89,393 | $41,000 |
Short names stand for Scorecard’s federal CIP categories: Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing; Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods; Business Administration, Management and Operations; Human Services, General.
Scorecard lists the three master’s fields and human services as fully online, and only some nursing and business bachelor’s credentials as fully online.
Earnings are graduates’ medians four years after finishing, for those who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Debt is the median federal loan balance of those who finished in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
ED’s 2023 fine was rescinded, per the FTC, and the FTC case was dismissed in August 2025
-
A nonprofit buys GCU from GCE
Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (GCE), “a Delaware publicly traded corporation”, sold GCU to a nonprofit for about $853 million. Under a services agreement, GCE kept services including marketing and enrollment, as the Ninth Circuit’s opinion describes the deal.
-
ED proposes a $37,735,000 fine
ED’s notice said GCU was “substantially misrepresenting” the total cost of doctoral programs with a dissertation, including continuation courses. It counted 7,547 doctoral students who began from November 2018 to October 2023, at $5,000 each.
-
Ninth Circuit rules on nonprofit status
The court held that ED applied the wrong legal standards when it denied GCU’s application to be recognized as a nonprofit. It sent the case back to the district court with instructions to set aside ED’s denials and return the matter to ED.
-
Court dismisses GCU from the FTC case
The FTC had sued GCE, GCU and GCE’s CEO in December 2023 over doctoral costs, nonprofit claims and telemarketing. Per the FTC, the District of Arizona dismissed GCU from the case in 2024 and again on this date.
-
The FTC case is dismissed, and the FTC says ED rescinded the fine
The Commission voted 3-0 to authorize dismissing its complaint against GCE and its CEO, and the parties filed a stipulation dismissing the case with prejudice. The FTC’s statement says ED “rescinded a massive fine levied on related grounds” and the IRS “confirmed that Grand Canyon University is properly claiming 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation designation.”
The stipulation reads: “the parties stipulate to the dismissal of this case with prejudice.” Each side pays its own costs, and no party owes another “any fines, costs, fees, or penalties arising from this case.”
For someone enrolling now, the records show this: College Scorecard’s October 2026 release and College Navigator list GCU as a private nonprofit, Scorecard lists HLC as its accreditor, the FTC says ED rescinded the 2023 fine, and the FTC case was dismissed with prejudice.
Who GCU fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You want short online courses. Online courses in GCU’s BS in Business Administration run eight weeks, at $490 a credit for 2026-27.
- You are bringing credits. GCU accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward that degree, and 14,033 transfer-in undergraduates were enrolled in fall 2024.
- You want nursing. The nursing bachelor’s had 3,578 awards in 2023-24 and a median $103,884 four years after finishing; Scorecard marks only some of its credentials as fully online.
Watch-outs
- Fewer than half finish. 57% of students who started in 2017-18 had not earned a GCU credential within eight years.
- Graduates borrow. 54% of undergraduates took a federal loan in 2024-25, and graduates owe a median $24,000.
- The net price is for full-time starters. It covers 4,087 students, so ask GCU for a written estimate at your pace.
Check your own aid before you apply to GCU
GCU’s averages describe what other students paid. The aid check applies the federal rules for the year you start (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your income and family, takes about two minutes, and shows the result without asking for your name or email.
To compare on the same measures in College Scorecard’s October 2026 data, see Liberty University Online (47% eight-year rate, $22,500 median debt) or Southern New Hampshire University (39%, $19,999).
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional and comes after you see your aid result. The figures here come from federal records and GCU’s own pages, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid stack before you apply to GCU
About two minutes, no name or email asked. GCU's financial aid office sets your actual offer. School matching is optional after your result.
See my aid stackWant your finish-line plan by email? Go to the quick check
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Grand Canyon University (UNITID 104717)
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary: field definitions and cohort years
- NCES College Navigator: Grand Canyon University (enrollment and distance education, fall 2024; age, fall 2023)
- Grand Canyon University: online and evening tuition, 2026-27
- Grand Canyon University: cost of attendance
- Grand Canyon University: Bachelor of Science in Business Administration
- U.S. Department of Education, notice of intent to fine Grand Canyon University, October 31, 2023
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Grand Canyon University v. Cardona, No. 23-15124 (November 8, 2024)
- Federal Trade Commission, case page: Grand Canyon University/Grand Canyon Education
- Federal Trade Commission, statement of Chairman Ferguson joined by Commissioners Holyoak and Meador, August 15, 2025
- Federal Trade Commission, Statement from FTC on Grand Canyon University Case, August 15, 2025
- U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, FTC v. Grand Canyon Education, Inc., stipulation of dismissal with prejudice (August 15, 2025)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
Related Resources
Liberty University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Liberty tuition was $22,465 for 2024-25 and its average net price $29,357. 44% of students finish within 8 years; graduates owe a median $24,500.
Southern New Hampshire University Online: 2026 Outcomes
SNHU tuition was $17,200 for 2024-25 and its average net price $36,708. 35% of students finish within 8 years; graduates owe a median $21,082.
Online college completion rates 2026: 10 schools compared
College Scorecard data for 10 online-heavy schools: 8-year completion runs 21% to 52%, graduates' earnings $54,301 to $87,445. What each figure measures.