DETROIT — Michigan’s only public, urban research university is expanding access to higher education for Michigan residents by raising the eligibility threshold for its Wayne State Guarantee tuition pledge. Families that earn $80,000 a year or less and have $50,000 or less in assets will now qualify for the Guarantee. It is also available to students who qualify for the Pell Grant.  

First announced in 2023 in partnership with the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, the Wayne State Guarantee covers the full cost of tuition and standard fees with a combination of federal, state and other Wayne State University scholarships and grants. The Guarantee is renewable for up to four years.  

Rasing the previous income threshold from $70,000 to $80,000, which takes effect at the start of the 2025-26 school year for incoming freshmen, will be a boon to thousands of families across Michigan. According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures, the median household income in Michigan is $71,149 annually. With the new income threshold, Michigan families earning the median household income will now be eligible for the Wayne State Guarantee.  

“Broadening the Wayne State Guarantee reflects our commitment to offering students throughout the state of Michigan the best chance possible to earn a college degree at a world-class university, recognized as one of top 100 public universities in the country and improve their lives,” said Charles Cotton III, vice provost for enrollment management at Wayne State University. “As the state’s top urban research institution, we realize that keeping college affordable is critical to our mission of producing the career-ready graduates who will make up Michigan’s workforce of the future. We are excited about the opportunities this increase will provide.” 

As of fall 2024, 2,080 undergraduate students at WSU have benefited from the tuition pledge program. Increasing the threshold and making more families eligible for the Guarantee reflects Wayne State’s ongoing commitment to advancing social mobility as part of the WSU Prosperity Agenda. The Guarantee is one of several programs WSU has introduced over the years to help reduce the costs of higher education, along with efforts such as the Heart of Detroit tuition pledge. 

In the last two years, about 60 percent of incoming first-year undergraduate students at Wayne State have attended the university tuition free. In total, the university awards more than $183 million annually in scholarships, grants and other forms of gift aid to students, contributing to Wayne State’s national recognition among top-tier universities in social mobility rankings.