Walden University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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- Walden is a for-profit, online-only university owned by Covista
- Walden tuition is $360 a quarter credit for most bachelor’s courses, up to $960 for the DNP
- Federal aid for graduate students is loans, under the July 2026 limits
- 35% of Walden undergraduates earn an award within eight years
- Walden settled a DBA class action for $28.5 million in 2024
- Nursing master’s degrees lead Walden’s awards, 3,695 in 2023-24
- Who Walden fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to Walden
Walden University’s published tuition and fees were $13,140 for 2025-26, and 35% of undergraduates who started in 2017-18 earned a Walden award within eight years, according to College Scorecard’s October 2026 data. Its average net price of $29,899 for 2024-25 rests on one student, so the per-credit rates below are a better guide to what you would pay.
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Walden is a for-profit, online-only university owned by Covista
Walden is a private for-profit university based in Minneapolis, MN, and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). Its owner is Covista, the company named Adtalem Global Education until February 2026.
| Fact | Walden |
|---|---|
| Control | Private for-profit |
| Owner | Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education) |
| Accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC), next review 2033 |
| Location | Minneapolis, MN |
| Students studying fully online (fall 2024) | 100% |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 9,136 |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 40,297 |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 90% |
| Admission rate (fall 2024) | Not published (open admission) |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 125231 |
Its nursing programs hold accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education at the bachelor’s, graduate and doctoral levels, and its graduate public health program from the Council on Education for Public Health.
Walden tuition is $360 a quarter credit for most bachelor’s courses, up to $960 for the DNP
Walden prices most programs per quarter credit hour. These are its handbook rates for courses on or after February 23, 2026. Some courses cost less (BS in Child Development courses are $256, some field-experience courses $220), and the MBA, DBA and MS in Education also run in semester versions at other rates.
| Program | Per quarter credit |
|---|---|
| Most bachelor’s coursework | $360 |
| BSN Completion | $365 |
| MS in Education (quarter version) | $395 |
| MSN, non-practitioner specializations (February 2019 catalog on) | $505 |
| MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling | $550 |
| Master of Social Work | $570 |
| MBA (quarter version) | $630 |
| Doctor of Business Administration (DBA, quarter version) | $715 |
| MSN, nurse practitioner specializations (June 2023 starts on; earlier, $630) | $785 |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | $960 |
On top of tuition, course-based quarter programs carry a $185 program fee each quarter, non-refundable seven days after the term starts. Nurse practitioner practicum courses add an $80 clinical fee per quarter credit.
Scorecard’s $13,140 is its published tuition and fees figure for 2025-26, the same in-state and out-of-state. College Navigator lists that series under undergraduate expenses ($12,762 for 2024-25) and puts average graduate tuition at $10,361, plus $524 in fees, for 2024-25. Ask Walden for the total credits in your program before you compare it with another school.
Federal aid for graduate students is loans, under the July 2026 limits
For 2026-27, Pell pays up to $7,395 a year, but usually only to undergraduates who have not earned a bachelor’s degree. Once you hold one, federal aid for a Walden master’s or doctorate is mostly Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and these rules set how much.
| Your situation | Federal loan rule |
|---|---|
| Most master's and doctoral programs | Up to $20,500 a year. Grad PLUS is no longer available to new graduate borrowers. |
| Nursing master's (MSN) or DNP | Up to $50,000 a year for now, because a court order has the Department treating them as professional degrees. That may change. |
| Studying part-time | The yearly limit is cut in proportion to your course load. 66% of Walden's graduate students were part-time in fall 2024. |
| Borrowed for the same program before July 1, 2026 | The old limits may continue for up to three academic years or the rest of the program, whichever is shorter (the interim exception). |
Walden’s financial aid office sets your actual loans. Our guide to how much you can borrow for a master’s covers the total and lifetime limits.
35% of Walden undergraduates earn an award within eight years
| Measure | Walden |
|---|---|
| Undergraduates who earned an award within 8 years (started in 2017-18) | 35% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time undergraduates, fall 2019) | Not meaningful (1 student) |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting | $58,407 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting | $54,715 |
| Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing | $83,334 |
| Graduates’ median federal loan debt (school-wide) | $20,834 |
| Undergraduates with a Pell Grant (2024-25) | 64% |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25) | 70% |
The 8-year rate is the one to read. It counts degree-seeking undergraduates who started in 2017-18, part-time and transfer-in students included. Neither Scorecard nor College Navigator publishes a completion rate for Walden’s graduate students.
Scorecard’s 6-year rate counts only first-time, full-time undergraduates, and Walden’s fall 2019 group was one student, so it says nothing about your odds.
The school-wide debt figure hides a wide spread by degree. In the fields table below, nursing, social work and mental and social health master’s graduates and nursing doctoral graduates owe far more; education master’s graduates owe about the same ($20,500). The two are different Scorecard measures.
Walden settled a DBA class action for $28.5 million in 2024
Four Black and female students sued Walden as a class action over its Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program, in Carroll v. Walden University (federal district court in Maryland, case 1:22-cv-00051-JRR). Judge Julie Rubin granted final approval of a $28.5 million settlement on October 17, 2024.
The lawsuit alleged that Walden misrepresented the DBA’s true cost by disclosing the minimum number of capstone credits, when students often completed more before they finished. It also alleged that Walden targeted Black and female students. Walden denied both claims, and the court’s order says the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability.
| Part of the settlement | What the settlement site says |
|---|---|
| Who was covered | Black and female students who enrolled in the DBA from August 1, 2008 to January 31, 2018 and were charged for more capstone credits than Walden’s stated minimum, with further conditions |
| The money | $21,175,000 set aside for class members, shared by extra capstone credits; $7,125,000 for attorneys’ fees and costs |
| Claims | Closed January 15, 2025; new claims are not accepted |
| What Walden must do | For at least four years, show the DBA’s median time and median cost on its website and in enrollment agreements, and warn in enrollment agreements that the DBA may take up to 8 years |
Walden’s tuition handbook now shows those figures. Graduates of the DBA from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2025 took a median 4.8 years and were charged a median $79,477 in tuition and fees. The figures count only graduates, not students who left or are still enrolled.
Nursing master’s degrees lead Walden’s awards, 3,695 in 2023-24
These are Walden’s eight largest fields by awards in 2023-24, from Scorecard’s field-of-study file. Every credential is offered fully online.
| Field and credential | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (master's) | 3,695 | $122,823 | $60,965 |
| Social Work (master's) | 1,197 | $63,559 | $68,334 |
| Mental and Social Health Services (master's) | 888 | $60,034 | $75,167 |
| Education, General (master's) | 683 | $64,694 | $20,500 |
| Nursing (graduate certificate) | 466 | Not published | Not published |
| Nursing (bachelor's) | 437 | $106,892 | $13,373 |
| Nursing (doctoral) | 350 | $132,421 | $87,663 |
| Business Administration (master's) | 320 | $82,853 | $41,000 |
Field names are shortened from the federal Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) categories Scorecard uses. “Nursing” is Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing. Earnings cover graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19, in 2024 dollars; debt covers graduates who finished in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
If you are weighing a counseling or social work master’s, compare accredited online counseling programs on Scorecard’s earnings and debt by field (that page uses the June 2026 release).
Who Walden fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You want a graduate degree online. 40,297 graduate students enrolled in fall 2024, and 66% of them studied part-time.
- You want nursing. The nursing master’s had 3,695 awards in 2023-24, with median earnings of $122,823 four years after finishing.
- You are an adult learner. 90% of undergraduates were 25 or older in fall 2023.
Watch-outs
- Most undergraduates had no Walden award after eight years. That was 65% of undergraduates who started in 2017-18.
- Some graduate degrees carry far more debt. Median federal debt was $75,167 for the mental and social health master’s and $87,663 for the nursing doctorate, against $20,834 on Scorecard’s separate school-wide measure.
- Doctoral time adds cost. DBA graduates took a median 4.8 years, and each quarter credit costs $715 at the 2026 rate.
Check your own aid before you apply to Walden
Walden’s averages describe other students. The aid check applies the 2026-27 or 2027-28 federal rules, depending on when you start, to your income and family, takes about two minutes, and shows the result before any email or school contact. If you already hold a bachelor’s degree, it shows your graduate loan limit and no Pell.
To compare on the same measures, see Capella University (32% undergraduate eight-year rate, $9,772 median debt) or University of Phoenix (36%, $26,090), both from College Scorecard’s October 2026 data.
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 data, Walden’s own handbook and the court-approved settlement notice, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid stack before you apply to Walden
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Check my aidWant 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: Walden University (UNITID 125231)
- College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary, October 15, 2026 release (cohort years)
- NCES College Navigator: Walden University (enrollment, distance education and graduate tuition, fall 2024; age, fall 2023)
- Walden University handbook: undergraduate tuition (rates from February 23, 2026)
- Walden University handbook: master's tuition (rates from February 23, 2026)
- Walden University handbook: doctoral tuition and DBA median time and cost
- Walden University handbook: program fees
- Carroll v. Walden University, No. 1:22-cv-00051-JRR (D. Md.): court-ordered settlement notice and FAQ
- Carroll v. Walden University: Order approving class action settlement (October 17, 2024)
- Covista (formerly Adtalem Global Education): Adtalem Global Education Becomes Covista (February 5, 2026)
- Covista: our institutions
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
- StudentAid.gov, Federal Pell Grants (undergraduates without a bachelor's degree)
- StudentAid.gov, Interest rates and fees for federal student loans (graduate annual limit)
- StudentAid.gov, One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Important Definitions (Grad PLUS, loan limits)
- Federal Student Aid, GENERAL-26-42: professional degree programs under the court order (updated Oct. 23, 2026)
- Federal Student Aid, FAQs: Reducing Annual Loan Limits for Less-than-Full-Time Enrollment (August 2026, PDF)
Related Resources
Capella University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Capella's graduate tuition averaged $15,092 for 2024-25; FlexPath bills a flat fee per 12-week session. 32% of 2017-18 undergrads earned an award in 8 years.
University of Phoenix Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
Phoenix tuition was $9,552 for 2024-25 and its average net price $13,520. It is for-profit; 28% finish within 8 years and graduates owe $31,553.
How much can you borrow for a master's in 2026?
New graduate borrowers can take $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total in federal loans. Grad PLUS closed July 1, 2026. What that covers and how to fill the gap.