--- title: American Public Universities Are No Longer the World's Most Expensive description: After major changes to the university system in the UK authors: - name: Denver Nicks url: https://money.com/author/denver-nicks/ at_money_since: 2015 articles: 60 covers: - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/DenverNicks - https://plus.google.com/105122198911201917932 former_staff: true published: '2015-11-24T22:07:49.000Z' modified: '2024-04-02T04:18:27.000Z' section: Education tags: - College - pubdesk - public university - Students - United Kingdom word_count: 206 canonical: https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![563963169](https://img.money.com/2015/11/563963169.jpg) The most expensive public universities in the world are now in the United Kingdom, not the United States, according to a new [report](http://www.keepeek.com/Digital-Asset-Management/oecd/education/education-at-a-glance-2015_eag-2015-en#page2) out Tuesday from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. In the 2013-2014 school year, students in the UK paid an average of $9,000 USD in tuition, more than students in any other country from among the 25 that provided data. Responsibility for the UK’s high cost rests with reforms in the university system there—the cost of public university in the UK doubled in 2012 (and nearly tripled at some institutions) after the government slashed state support, shifting the burden of paying for tertiary education from state coffers to students. Public university was free for UK students until 1998. ![](https://content.money.com/wp-content/themes/money2018/img/newsletter/money-homepage-newsletter-120.png) NEWSLETTER: COLLEGE\_PLANNERSign up for **COLLEGE\_PLANNER** and more [View Sample](https://money.com/subscribe/) The shift rocketed the UK to a spot above the United States, where students pay an average of $8,200 USD a year to attend public universities. Students seeking affordable public education in the OECD countries may have it better in Austria, Belgium, Colombia, Italy and Switzerland. Tuition for a bachelor’s degree at a public university is under $2,000 USD in all five countries. In a handful of countries, including Norway, Sweden and others, students pay no tuition fees. [![Best college education image](https://content.money.com/wp-content/themes/money2018/img/college-site-banner-01.png)](https://best-colleges.time.com/money/search-colleges/?xid=cm-mcpTop200Widget) *[Check out Money’s 2015-16 Best Colleges](https://money.com/best-colleges/)* ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Education", "item": "https://money.com/education/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Colleges and Universities", "item": "https://money.com/colleges-and-universities/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "American Public Universities Are No Longer the World's Most Expensive" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/", "name": "American Public Universities Are No Longer the World's Most Expensive", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2015-11-24T22:07:49.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-04-02T04:18:27.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "American Public Universities Are No Longer the World's Most Expensive", "articleSection": "Education", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2015/11/563963169.jpg", "width": 468, "height": 367, "caption": "563963169" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Denver Nicks", "url": "https://money.com/author/denver-nicks/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/denver-nicks/#author", "image": "https://img.money.com/2012/09/09_1165862081.jpg?quality=85&w=640&h=640&crop=1", "sameAs": [ "https://x.com/DenverNicks", "https://plus.google.com/105122198911201917932" ] } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2015-11-24T22:07:49.000Z", "description": "After major changes to the university system in the UK", "abstract": "After major changes to the university system in the UK", "@id": "https://money.com/american-public-universities-are-no-longer-the-most-expensive/", "inLanguage": "en-US", "dateModified": "2024-04-02T04:18:27.000Z", "wordCount": 206, "keywords": [ "College", "pubdesk", "public university", "Students", "United Kingdom" ], "about": [ { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Education", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education" ] }, { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Higher education", "sameAs": [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higher_education" ] } ] } ] } ```