Announcing the CMU Pathway Program

November 20, 2024

Dear Members of the CMU Community,

I am pleased to announce a transformative milestone in Carnegie Mellon University’s ongoing access and affordability efforts. Following a significant expansion of financial aid, undergraduates 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.

Carnegie Mellon will officially launch this initiative — known as the CMU Pathway Program — at the start of the 2025-2026 academic year.

Students who qualify for the CMU Pathway Program fit the following profile:

  • 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;
  • are a new or returning undergraduate enrolled at our Pittsburgh campus; and
  • are a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident of the United States.

The CMU Pathway Program is one of several access and affordability efforts that Carnegie Mellon has implemented in recent years with the goal of ensuring that deserving, talented and high-achieving students have a pathway to affording and attending CMU for their undergraduate journey — regardless of their socioeconomic background or family resources.

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

  • Bolstered our investment in undergraduate financial aid by more than 86% in the last 10 years — from $76 million in fiscal year 2015 to $141 million in fiscal year 2024.
  • Met and have continued to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for all undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, regardless of their family income.
  • 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. Both programs pair institutional financial aid with an array of customized mentoring, networking and academic support.

I am grateful to our academic and administrative leadership — especially Provost and Chief Academic Officer Jim Garrett and Chief Financial Officer Angela Blanton — for realizing these milestones on behalf of our students. It is worth repeating that our institutional commitment to enhancing access and affordability extends to students from all backgrounds, and I look forward to advancing this important work together.

I invite you to learn more about our suite of access and affordability initiatives — and read about the CMU Pathway Program in greater detail — on our Student Financial Services website.

Sincerely,


Farnam Jahanian
President
Henry L. Hillman President’s Chair