Carnegie Mellon Announces New CMU Pathway Program

CMU commits to meet student needs with financial aid offer that includes a tuition- or loan-free undergraduate education

PITTSBURGH, Nov. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Carnegie Mellon University President Farnam Jahanian announced the launch of the CMU Pathway Program, a pivotal student affordability initiative beginning at the start of the 2025-26 academic year.

In the CMU Pathway Program, all new and returning undergraduate CMU students at the Pittsburgh campus whose families earn less than $75,000 annually will be able to attend CMU tuition-free while undergraduates whose families earn less than $100,000 annually will be able to attend CMU without borrowing any federal student loans.

To be eligible for the CMU Pathway Program, a student must:

• have typical family assets and an annual family income that falls below the income thresholds for a tuition-free ($75,000) and federal loan-free ($100,000) CMU education
• be a new or returning undergraduate enrolled at our Pittsburgh campus; and
• be either a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident of the United States

"The CMU Pathway Program is a powerful investment in our students and the latest milestone in our ongoing efforts to expand access and affordability across our university community," said President Jahanian. "We believe that family finances should never prevent the brightest students from chasing their dreams and pursuing a world-class education at Carnegie Mellon University. And now, thanks to the CMU Pathway Program, we are one extraordinary step closer to achieving this goal." 

In addition to launching this new program, Carnegie Mellon has already reached the following milestones:

• Met and continues to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for all undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents, regardless of their family income. 
  
  
• Bolstered the institutional investment in undergraduate financial aid by over 86% in the last 10 years – from $76 million in fiscal year 2015 to $141 million in fiscal year 2024.
  
  
• Reduced the share of students borrowing federal loans from 52% in 2019 to 28% in 2024 and cut their total debt burden at graduation by nearly 30%, from $25,936 per student to $18,200 per student, in that same five-year span.
  
  
• Launched other targeted access and affordability initiatives – the Tartan Scholars program for undergraduate students and the CMU Rales Fellows program for graduate-level STEM students – aimed at removing financial barriers for high-achieving students.

For more information about these access and affordability efforts and the CMU Pathway Program, visit CMU's Student Financial Services site.

About Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon is a private, internationally-ranked research university with acclaimed programs spanning the sciences, engineering, technology, business, public policy, humanities and the arts. Our diverse community of scholars, researchers, creators and innovators is driven to make real-world impacts that benefit people across the globe. With an unconventional, interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial approach, we do the work that matters.

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SOURCE Carnegie Mellon University