Our Lady of the Lake University has announced a five-year “no-cost master’s program.”
Christopher Lee/Staff Photographer
Abel A. Chavez, PhD, president of Our Lady of the Lake University, said the new master’s program goes “beyond expectation” of five-year plans at other universities.
Christopher Lee/Staff Photographer
Staff are seen on campus at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio on Thursday, September 12, 2025.
Christopher Lee/Staff Photographer
Our Lady of the Lake University announced a “no-cost master’s program” Wednesday, a major development after the school eliminated over a dozen academic programs last year in the wake of a decade-long enrollment decline.
The West Side campus will offer a five-year plan to students earning a bachelor’s degree in one of 34 fields. Students can then graduate in a year with a master’s in business administration, cybersecurity, cybersecurity management, nonprofit management or social work.
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The pilot program will initially serve no more than 30 students, including three online learners, admitted on a first-come, first-served basis when it starts in the fall. The program is designed to expand opportunities for OLLU students and place graduates quickly in the workforce “with a free master’s degree.”
To be eligible, students must qualify for financial assistance such as a federal Pell Grant, which normally requires a household income under $60,000 for a small family; maintain at least a 3.0 GPA; stay continuously enrolled; and complete undergraduate work in four years. They’ll go on to earn a master’s in one year, instead of two, but must finish academic work within 12 to 18 months.
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“This is probably the biggest moment for us this spring, to develop this brand new initiative,” said Alan Silva, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “It really fits into our whole plan for increasing workforce readiness for our students and putting them into a career pathway.”
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OLLU officials said the program goes beyond “promise” programs that waive tuition in the first years of college and “3+2” or “4+1” plans that require students to pay for graduate coursework.
Teresa Niño, OLLU’s vice president for marketing, communications and engagement, said the new initiative will enable students to get a license for social work or an MBA as an “extra step” toward a lasting career.
“The fact that you could get a graduate degree free of charge, that’s really helpful to students who are looking at university costs being too expensive,” she said.
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OLLU’s program allows 34 eligible undergraduate fields to participate, including biology, mass communications, criminal justice, English, history, math, psychology, computer information systems, economics, marketing, special education, health and social work.
“Today, we take our commitment to our families one monumental step, by ensuring that access, completion, and advanced credentials are attainable and linked to meaningful livelihoods based on values,” said Abel Chávez, OLLU president since 2022. “Our latest innovation, the no-cost master’s program, goes beyond access, and beyond expectation, to deliver a master’s finish for those who are ready to go further, faster.”
Students will still incur costs for books and fees but will have graduate tuition removed as a financial barrier through the bundling of costs for the two degrees. Funding for the program comes from scholarships, grants and discounts. Normal graduate tuition fees for 2026-27 at OLLU are $1,031 per credit hour for a master’s degree. The typical cost per semester is an estimated $17,600 for a commuter student and $23,500 for a resident student.
“In this program, they’re really getting the free tuition at the end, once they get past the bachelor’s degree,” said Edie Cogdell, chief financial officer at OLLU.
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The program’s five master’s degrees are among the university’s most popular and attainable within 18 months, including one in social work that turns out graduates who help traditionally underserved children and families. OLLU also selected those degrees based on student and workforce demand, officials said. Three online social work students will be included in the program at a reduced 50% graduate tuition rate.
The program prioritizes students eligible for Pell grants and the Texas Tuition Equalization Grant, providing opportunities for first-generation and traditionally underserved college students. The university said it hopes to expand the accelerated program in future years to other master’s degrees and make it available to more students.
OLLU has begun registration for the program and is reaching out to prospective students who signed up for undergraduate classes before it was announced to see if they’re interested in the five-year option. Rosa Hernandez, associate director of undergraduate recruitment, is the primary point of contact for applications or questions.
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Last year, the university eliminated 16 academic degree programs, including English, chemistry, math, music, sociology and Mexican-American Studies, after its enrollment gradually fell from 3,334 students in 2015 to about 1,800 in 2025. Colleges and universities across the nation have struggled to maintain enrollment amid long-term declines in the U.S. birthrate, lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and other factors.
The university was founded in 1895 by the Congregation of Divine Providence, a women’s religious order that remains the university’s sponsoring organization and has representatives on its board of trustees. A federal funding designation for Hispanic-Serving institutions grew out of a conference held at the West Side campus in 1986.
It offers 47 undergraduate and graduate academic majors and programs, including 14 master’s degrees.
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“We are here for the long term, and we are thinking long term about creating sustainable pipelines and pathways for Our Lady of the Lake University to not only survive but really thrive for the next 130 years,” Chávez told the San Antonio Express-News in September.