SNHU Costs $354 a Credit in 2027. What 4 Students Really Pay

For years, the number on Southern New Hampshire University’s online tuition page barely moved: $330 a credit. The 2026-27 schedule, which covers terms through June 2027, now lists $354 a credit for undergraduates and $659 for graduate students. That puts a 120-credit online bachelor’s at $42,480 in tuition and one three-credit course at $1,062, about 7% more than the old rate.

Almost nobody pays that sticker total, though, and almost nobody pays the same thing. The Southern New Hampshire University cost for a given student depends on three things the price list doesn’t show: how many credits you bring, which reduced rate you qualify for, and who else is helping pay. The fastest way to see it is to price real-world profiles from start to finish. The four below are hypothetical, but every rate in them comes from SNHU’s own 2026-27 figures.

Four students, one price list

The spread runs from roughly $19,000 to $42,000 for the same kind of degree. Credits carried in matter more than anything else on the bill.

Maya: no college credit, two courses a term

Maya is 34, works full time in a dental office and wants a bachelor’s in healthcare administration. She has no prior college credit, so all 120 credits are billed at $354.

• Tuition: 120 credits x $354 = $42,480
• Pace: SNHU builds its online cost-of-attendance budget on 24 credits a year, which works out to five years for Maya
• Books and materials: SNHU budgets $816 a year, or about $4,080 across five years
• Sticker total: about $46,560

The swing factor for Maya is federal aid. The maximum Pell Grant stayed flat at $7,395 for 2026-27, according to the U.S. Department of Education. A student who qualified for the full award at that pace would see about 87% of an $8,496 tuition year covered by a grant she never repays. Her school’s financial aid office sets the actual award, and a household income well above the Pell range would leave her paying most of the $42,480 herself or through loans.

One more lever: dropping to one course a term doesn’t change the per-credit price, but it stretches the degree to roughly ten years. Under the federal changes that took effect for the 2026-27 award year, annual student loan amounts are now prorated for less-than-full-time students, so a slower pace can also mean smaller loans each year.

Darnell: an associate degree already in hand

Darnell finished a 60-credit associate degree at a community college that partners with SNHU. That one fact halves his bill before any discount.

• Credits remaining: 60
• Tuition at full rate: 60 x $354 = $21,240
• With a 10% community college partner discount: $19,116
• Time to finish: about two and a half years at 24 credits a year

SNHU accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward a bachelor’s, and its credit evaluation is free. If Darnell can document another 30 credits through exams, professional certifications or workplace training on SNHU’s approved lists, his remaining tuition drops to $10,620 at the full rate. That is the single biggest discount on the whole price list, and it is available to anyone with the paperwork.

One caution: credits that transfer as general electives don’t always count toward a specific major’s requirements. Ask for the evaluation to show which requirements each credit satisfies, not just the total accepted.

Sgt. Ortiz: active duty, paying with Tuition Assistance

SNHU offers a reduced rate to active-duty service members, National Guard, Selected Reserve and spouses of active-duty members. Its 2026-27 cost-of-attendance sheet budgets $6,000 for a 24-credit military undergraduate year, which is $250 a credit, and its MBA page lists $470 a credit for active-duty graduate students.

That $250 figure is no accident. Federal military Tuition Assistance generally pays up to $250 per semester hour, with annual limits set by each branch. For an undergraduate who stays within that annual limit, the per-credit charge can be covered in full.

• Credits remaining: 90, assuming 30 credits come from military training and prior courses
• Tuition at the military rate: 90 x $250 = $22,500
• Out of pocket for tuition: potentially $0, if every course falls inside the branch’s annual Tuition Assistance limit
• Still yours to budget: books and any courses taken beyond the annual limit

Graduate students don’t get the same clean match. At $470 a credit, an MBA course runs $1,410, so roughly $660 per course falls outside a $250-per-hour Tuition Assistance payment. Veterans, who aren’t on SNHU’s list of groups eligible for the military rate, usually pay through GI Bill benefits instead; the school’s VA benefits office can confirm how those apply.

Priya: a 30-credit MBA under the new federal loan limits

SNHU’s online MBA requires 30 credits, or ten courses, and runs on 10-week terms. At $659 a credit, that is $19,770 in tuition. The program page also warns that students without a business background may need one or two foundation courses, which would add $1,977 each and push the total to $23,724.

Priya is starting in 2027, and that matters more than it used to. Under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, new graduate borrowers lost access to Grad PLUS loans on July 1, 2026, and unsubsidized graduate loans are capped at $20,500 a year and $100,000 in total. A 30-credit MBA fits inside one year’s cap. With two foundation courses finished in a single year, Priya would be about $3,200 short and would need savings, an employer, or a schedule that spreads the courses across two award years.

Her best source of money is probably her employer. Employers can pay up to $5,250 a year in education benefits tax-free under Section 127 of the tax code, and many of SNHU’s corporate partners add a tuition discount, often 10%, on top. Federal employees get 15% off through the Federal Academic Alliance. SNHU applies whichever discount helps most; they generally don’t stack.

If you want the Manchester campus instead

The campus in Manchester, New Hampshire, is priced on a different sheet altogether. SNHU’s 2026-27 cost of attendance lists two undergraduate tracks, and the gap between them is wide.

Add books, travel and personal spending and SNHU’s full cost-of-attendance budget reaches $46,950 a year for the face-to-face track and $38,760 for Experience More. Campus students without their own coverage also face a $2,519 annual student health plan. On the other side of the ledger, SNHU says 94% of its full-time students were awarded grant or scholarship aid, so an 18-year-old’s family should run the school’s net price calculator before reacting to any of those totals. Ask admissions exactly how Experience More’s coursework is delivered, since the lower rate reflects a different program format.

Charges the per-credit rate leaves out

• Retaken courses. A failed or withdrawn course is billed again at the full rate. For an online undergraduate that is another $1,062.
• Foundation and prerequisite courses. Common in graduate programs and some technical majors, and each one is priced like any other course.
• A laptop and software. SNHU’s budget for online students doesn’t list a technology line, but you will need a reliable computer and connection.
• Living costs while you study. SNHU’s online cost-of-attendance sheet includes housing and food estimates that federal aid can help cover, which is why the official totals look far larger than tuition alone.
• Conferral fee. Campus students graduating in 2026-27 are charged $100.

What you won’t pay: an application fee. SNHU charges none for undergraduate or graduate programs.

SNHU cost questions the four profiles leave open

Work out your own number in three lines

Every profile above comes from the same short formula. Run it with your own figures before you talk to an admissions counselor, and you will know whether the number they quote makes sense.

Credits left  = degree credits - credits SNHU accepts
Tuition       = credits left x your rate ($354, $250 military, $659 graduate)
Your share    = tuition + about $816 a year for books - grants, employer aid and Tuition Assistance

If the first line is still a guess, stop there. Get the free credit evaluation in writing first, because no discount on SNHU’s list is worth as much as the credits you already own.

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Pricing method: prices were researched in November 2026 for 2027 planning and may change. Tuition, fees and budgets come from SNHU’s published 2026-27 online tuition page, program pages and cost-of-attendance sheet; Pell and loan figures come from the U.S. Department of Education and NASFAA’s summary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The four student profiles are hypothetical examples, not real students or quotes. Confirm current rates, discounts and aid with SNHU and a financial aid professional. See our disclaimer.