Universities across the Dallas-Fort Worth region are launching free tuition programs to help more North Texans afford higher education.
The University of North Texas announced this month it would cover tuition for incoming students whose families make $100,000 or less starting this fall. Texas Christian University will roll out a similar program this year for families who make $70,000 or less.
University leaders say the programs will help Texans, many of whom hadn’t previously thought about college as a possibility, get a degree without going into debt.
Each university’s program is structured differently, but they generally guarantee a school will pay what’s left on a student’s tuition bill after federal or state grants have been applied.
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Efforts to give more Texans access to higher education comes amid state initiatives aimed at increasing post-secondary credentials. Texas is on track to have more than 1.8 million job openings annually between 2022 and 2032, many of which will require education beyond high school, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
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Here’s which North Texas universities offer a free college tuition program.
University of North Texas
Starting this fall, the North Texas Promise program will cover the full cost of tuition and fees for eligible incoming first year-students whose families make $100,000 or less.
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Students must be Texas residents and graduates of a high school in the state. They must be either eligible for the Pell Grant or rank in the top 25% of their high school class and have a financial need. The program will cover four years of tuition.
Students who meet the criteria will automatically be considered for the program.
Average tuition and fees at the public university are estimated to be around $12,000 for the 2025-26 school year, according to UNT’s website.
University of Texas System
Students whose families make less than $100,000 annually get free tuition and waived fees at any of the academic universities in the University of Texas System, such as UT Dallas and UT Arlington.
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Students must be Texas residents and full-time undergraduate students. Each institution administers its own version of the program.
To qualify for UTD’s program, Comet Promise, students must also have demonstrated financial need and be enrolled at least three-quarter time. The program is only available for students working on their first bachelor’s degree.
Average tuition for a full-time UTD student is estimated to be between $14,600 and $16,500 this school year.
UTA’s program, Blaze Forward, requires students to also be eligible for the Pell Grant and the TEXAS Grant programs and to enroll full time.
Average tuition and fees for a full-time, in-state student at UTA is estimated to be around $12,200 for the 2025-26 school year, according to the school’s website.
Students who meet the criteria will automatically be considered for UTD’s and UTA’s programs.
Texas Woman’s University
Texas residents who have demonstrated financial need, are Pell Grant eligible and enroll as a full-time student can have their tuition and fees covered at Texas Woman’s University.
The public university’s zero tuition guarantee will pay the gap of tuition not covered by the Pell Grant and other gift aid, such as state grants and institutional grants.
Tuition and fees for an in-state student taking 12 credit hours is estimated around $21,000 for the current school year, according to TWU’s website.
Texas Christian University
Texas students whose families make $70,000 or less annually will be able to get free tuition at TCU starting in fall 2026.
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TCU for Texans will provide tuition and assistance for food and housing to eligible incoming first-year students. Students must be Texas residents and eligible for the Pell Grant.
Tuition at the private school is estimated to cost $63,500 for the 2025-26 school year, according to TCU’s cost estimator. Housing and food for an on-campus, full-time student is estimated to be $18,020 for the year.
Texas Wesleyan University
First-time college students from Texas who qualify for the full Pell Grant get free tuition at Texas Wesleyan University. The university will cover any tuition not covered by the grant.
Full-time tuition at the Fort Worth private school is estimated around $36,700 for the 2026-27 school year, according to its website.
Dallas County Promise Grant
The coalition — made up of school districts, universities and employers — provides last-dollar grants to eligible high school seniors, filling the gap between what a student’s state and federal financial aid covers and the cost of tuition at select colleges.
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Seniors must attend a participating high school, submit a Promise Path form by Feb. 4 and apply to a participating partner college. Students’ families must also make less than the partner college’s family income limit.
The 10 partner colleges include Southern Methodist University, Dallas College, UTD, TWU, UNT, UNT Dallas, UTA, Tarleton State University, East Texas A&M University and Midwestern State University.
The DMN Education Lab deepens the coverage and conversation about urgent education issues critical to the future of North Texas.
The DMN Education Lab is a community-funded journalism initiative, with support from Bobby and Lottye Lyle, Communities Foundation of Texas, The Dallas Foundation, Dallas Regional Chamber, Deedie Rose, Garrett and Cecilia Boone, Judy and Jim Gibbs, The Meadows Foundation, The Murrell Foundation, Ron and Phyllis Steinhart, Solutions Journalism Network, Southern Methodist University, Sydney Smith Hicks, and the University of Texas at Dallas. The Dallas Morning News retains full editorial control of the Education Lab’s journalism.