Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about University of the People

I heard that University of the People has no physical campus, or offices in the US. Should I be worried?

Our processing office is in Pasadena, California, where staff members handle much of the University’s administration. Because we are an online university, we don’t have a physical campus–instead, our students study from six continents (sorry, Antarctica!) in over 200 countries and territories. We also have staff and volunteers from diverse backgrounds working in several countries around the world, helping us to be a truly international institution.

If you’re tuition-free, why are you charging fees? And what’s the deal with scholarships?

University of the People’s mission is to offer affordable, quality, online, degree programs to any qualified student. We do our best to keep fees as low as possible to ensure that our doors are open to all applicants. But like all universities, we have operating costs we must cover. “The average cost for out-of-state students at public colleges comes to $24,513” for 2024-25. At UoPeople there is no cost for instruction, books, or traditional campus costs. However, to keep our mission alive we do ask for a one-time application fee and minimal assessment fees per course to help fund general university operations and provide excellent services to our students.

To help support students who cannot afford even these fees, the university does offer scholarships. These scholarships are available thanks to the generosity of our many and diverse donors who support students as well as university operations. These donors include top foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Oak Foundation; corporations including Google, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft, and numerous private individuals.

We work to provide scholarships to students in need – in particular, we have several scholarships dedicated to helping refugees, the Simone Biles Legacy Fund aimed at helping foster students, and many more.

I’m concerned about UoPeople‘s accreditation.

As of February 2025, University of the People is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC), a respected regional accrediting body. This regional accreditation was earned thanks to the hard work of our faculty, staff, learners, and leadership. WASC accreditation means increased credibility for our learners in the global market. This landmark achievement speaks for our strong commitment to providing quality higher education to our learners worldwide. 

Nationally, UoPeople is accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), an accrediting agency recognized by both the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. DEAC specializes in distance education, meaning UoPeople has been evaluated for the quality of its online programs, faculty qualifications, and student support services.  

As a fully online, tuition-free American institution accredited by two different bodies, it has always been UoPeople’s aim to give learners enhanced academic and professional opportunities that can help them accomplish their goals, no matter their personal circumstances. Being both regionally and nationally accredited means UoPeople students benefit from greater recognition of their degrees by employers and other institutions, making it easier to transfer credits or pursue advanced degrees.  

UoPeople’s academic leadership hails from Oxford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, NYU, UC Berkeley, Princeton University, INSEAD, etc. UoPeople has academic partnerships with NYU and the University of Edinburgh, under which qualified students can apply to continue their studies at those universities. These partnerships testify to the high quality of the programs offered at UoPeople and the regard in which these leading institutions hold our academic standards.

Can I begin my degree at UoPeople and transfer to another university?

Just as UoPeople cannot guarantee that it will accept credits transferred from another university, a student’s ability to transfer from UoPeople to another institution is at the sole discretion of the institution to which the student hopes to transfer. Similarly, it is at the discretion of other institutions whether or not accept a UoPeople graduate for further degree studies.

It may help to know that many of our students and graduates have gone on to continue their education at universities around the world, including the University of Auckland (New Zealand), the University of Nairobi (Kenya), Carnegie Mellon University

Who’s behind you? Who are the professors teaching at your university? 

Some of the best educators in the world have joined UoPeople to help make education accessible and affordable. Our academic leadership comes from Oxford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, NYU, UC Berkeley, Princeton University, and INSEAD, among other institutions. You can learn more about this on our website: https://www.uopeople.edu/student-experience/quality/academic-leadership/

In addition, the university is guided by its prestigious President’s Council, comprising current and former leaders of top universities around the world. You can read more about them here: https://www.uopeople.edu/about/leadership/presidents-council/

We are so proud of and thankful for the many volunteers who have invested their time in helping us provide high-quality education to our students every day.

UoPeople is supported by the generosity of individuals and foundations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Foundation Hoffmann, The Ford Foundation, and many more. UoPeople’s supporters make its work possible, and further the mission to offer accessible, affordable, quality, online, degree-granting educational programs to any qualified student.

How valuable is your degree? Can I use it to get a job at prominent companies? 

UoPeople offers high-quality, accredited degree programs, and our graduates have used the education they receive to progress in their careers through promotion and new employment opportunities. Many of our students and graduates work at top international companies and organizations such as Google, IBM, Apple, Dell, Microsoft, Amazon, and even the United Nations. You can see their LinkedIn profiles, here – https://www.linkedin.com/school/328489/alumni/. But don’t just take our word for it! Check out our ‘Ask me anything’ page where you can speak directly with some of our students and graduates to hear more about their experiences.