Costs and Financial Aid

Evergreen’s MES degree is one of the nation’s most affordable environmental master’s degrees. We also offer financial aid to help you pay for your degree.

Estimated Yearly Tuition and Fee Costs by Residency
and Full or Part-time degree track options for the 2022-2023 academic year in MES

Item Full-time
WA Resident
Part-time
WA Resident
Full-time
Nonresident
Part-time
Nonresident
Total $12,549 $10,109 $27,114 $21,761
Tuition $11,661 $9,329 $26,226 $20,981
Mandatory Fees $888 $780 $888 $780

The Washington State Legislature and Evergreen's Board of Trustees set tuition rates annually. Tuition is subject to change without notice. The rates listed here are estimated costs for an academic year (Fall, Winter, and Spring quarters only).

A full-time MES student takes 12 credits per quarter for 2 years. A part-time student takes 8 credits per quarter for 3 years. Students who take a different number of credits other than 12 or 8 will be charged per credit, see the tuition rates webpage for details. For financial aid purposes, 8 credits per quarter is considered full-time and 4 credits per quarter is part-time. To stay eligible for federal aid, you must take at least 4 credits per quarter.

Find out how residency rules apply for tuition.

Use this tuition calculator to get more details on costs for a specific quarter. 

Financial Aid

Consider an internship or assistantship to supplement your aid while gaining valuable experience. Many paid internship opportunities are available.

There are currently no assistantships available that provide tuition waivers. Paid internships provide an hourly stipend.

There are many ways for you to offset the cost of your degree, including scholarships, need-based grants, paid internships, and loans.

Federal Loans & Evergreen Need Grants

Federal and private loans, Tuition Waivers and Evergreen Need Grants are awarded by the Financial Aid Office. Follow the process on the Financial Aid website. Evergreen’s school code for the FAFSA is 008155.

The college offers a limited number of Evergreen Need Grants to Washington state resident graduate students with high need. You need to file your Financial Aid Application by January 25th to meet the February 1, 2023 deadline. Complete your FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid: financial aid application for eligible US citizens) or WASFA (Washington Application for State Financial Aid: financial aid application for eligible undocumented students) to be considered. The Financial Aid office will notify you if you receive this award.

FAFSA applications received after February 1st will not be considered for Evergreen Need Grants or available tuition waivers, but will still be considered for scholarships and loans. WASFA eligible students will only be reviewed for Washington State funding resources and are not eligible for federal loan aid. Students who submit their WASFA and meet the February 1st deadline will be considered for the Evergreen Need Grant, tuition waivers, scholarships and fellowships. 

All on-time FAFSA and WASFA applicants will be considered for partial tuition waivers based on financial need. For questions about the FAFSA or WASFA, student loans, or Evergreen Need Grants, please contact the Evergreen Financial Aid Office at finaid@evergreen.edu or (360) 867-6205. For specific questions about MES scholarships please contact MES Assistant Director Averi Azar at averi.a.azar@evergreen.edu.

The Financial Aid office will calculate your eligibility for Financial Aid based on your Cost of Attendance. The Cost of Attendance includes all financial estimates for the funding you will need beyond your tuition and fees such as room and board, books and supplies, transportation, etc. These are included to ensure that you will have enough aid available to be able to attend college. You do not need to accept the full amount of any student loan aid you are awarded and can request only the amount you need to cover your tuition and fees.

Depending on your situation, you can also appeal to increase your cost of attendance to be eligible for additional financial aid.

If you go into public service: the federal government forgives student loans to recipients who work for at least 10 years in public service!

MES Scholarships and Fellowships

Students who apply to MES during the First Round application cycle (September 2 - December 30th, 2022), and complete the 2023-2024 MES Scholarship Application are guaranteed priority consideration for MES-specific scholarships and fellowships. All students are eligible for $20,500+ in loans if they fill out the FAFSA.

External Scholarships and Fellowships

There are many funding resources for graduate students outside of MES and The Evergreen State College. Students are welcome to apply to many external funding resources that may fit their academic and/or professional needs. Check out our Indigenous Scholarships I 2023-2024 Academic YearExternal Fellowships & External Grant-Funding Organizations pages to learn more about the funding resources available to help you on your academic path!