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Invest in Your Future

By enrolling in our graduate-level program, you'll be investing in your professional growth to prepare for the next wave of Generative AI solutions. We know this is a significant investment. Not just for you, but for your family as well.  

Carnegie Mellon alumni are eligible for a scholarship to the Graduate Certificate in Generative AI & Large Language Models worth up to 20% of tuition. Indicate your alumni status within the application to be eligible.

So, what is the investment per course?

Below is a tuition breakdown for the 2025/2026 academic year:

Semester Course Units Investment

Fall 2025

Large Language Model Systems

12 units

$8,484

Spring 2026

Multiomodal Machine Learning

12 units

$8,484

Fall 2026

Large Language Models: Methods and Applications

12 units

$8,484

Total Investment

$25,452

Additional Course-Related Expenses

  • Large Language Models: Methods and Applications - in order to complete homeworks and activities, students will need to sign up for Amazon Web Services (AWS) or an equivalent service that offers access to A10g or similar GPUs. The AWS cost to complete assignments will range from $150-300 and will vary based on your usage. In addition, students will need to sign up for the OpenAI API. The cost to complete the assignments via OpenAI will be up to $25. Instructions for accessing both services will be provided when the class begins.
  • Multimodal Machine Learning and Large Language Model Systems - AWS and/or OpenAI or other services may be required for these courses with fees up to $300 per course. More details will be available as you get closer to the course start date.

University Fees

  • A technology fee of approximately $245 will be assessed each semester (subject to change).

The rates above are for the 2025/2026 academic year only.

  • If the program is not completed within that time frame, tuition may increase slightly for the following academic year.

CMU provides a monthly payment option, managed by Nelnet Campus Commerce, designed to help students spread out tuition payments into manageable monthly installments. This plan also offers the ease of online enrollment. Should you be admitted and choose to join us, we recommend registering for this plan early to fully benefit from the range of payment options available.

Payment Plan in Action

Meet Jesse - he plans to start the program in the Fall. Here's an example of what his tuition breakdown could look like with a payment plan:

FALL

Description

Tuition or Fee

Course: Large Language Model Systems

$8,484

Technology Fee

$245

Cloud Computing & AI Tools Fee

$300

Payment Plan Enrollment Fee

$45

Remaining Tuition & Fees Due

$9,074

20% Down Payment - Due Aug. 20

$1,814.80

Payment #1 - Due Sept. 1

$1,814.80

Payment #2 - Due Oct. 1

$1,814.80

Payment #3 - Due Nov. 1

$1,814.80

Payment #4 - Due Dec. 1

$1,814.80

By taking advantage of the monthly payment plan option, Jesse can break tuition into smaller installments that he can pay throughout the semester. 

Please note: Nelnet payment plans do not carry over from one semester to the next. Therefore, students must re-enroll and establish a new payment plan at the beginning of each semester. 

Students pursuing a graduate certificate are not eligible to receive federal financial aid. However, private loans are a viable alternative to consider with competitive interest rates and borrower benefits. See FastChoice, a free loan comparison service to easily research options.

Using your company's tuition reimbursement benefits can help significantly offset the cost of tuition, especially if you start in the Fall and your tuition benefits restart every calendar year.   

Tuition Benefits in Action

Meet Casey - she plans to start the program in the Fall. Her company provides $5,000 in tuition reimbursement per calendar year. Here’s an example of what her tuition breakdown could look like with tuition reimbursement benefits:

FALL

Description

Tuition or Fee

Course: Large Language Model Systems

$8,484

Technology Fee

$245

Cloud Computing & AI Tools Fee

$300

Tuition Reimbursement

-$5,000

Remaining Tuition & Fees Due

$4,029

SPRING

Description

Tuition or Fee

Course: Multimodal Machine Learning

$8,484

Technology Fee

$245

Cloud Computing & AI Tools Fee

$300

Tuition Reimbursement

-$5,000

Remaining Tuition & Fees Due

$4,029

FALL

Description

Tuition or Fee

Course: Large Language Models - Methods & Applications

$8,484

Technology Fee

$245

Cloud Computing & AI Tools Fee

$325

Remaining Tuition & Fees Due

$9,054

As you can see, Casey is maximizing her tuition reimbursement benefits across two calendar years, resulting in a personal contribution of $17,112. She can also use the payment plan to spread the cost out even further.

Make a Case To Your Employer

If your employer is hesitant about supporting the program, be sure to highlight the value and benefits of completing an online certificate at Carnegie Mellon. You can share that our program: 

  • Consists of three transcripted, credit-bearing courses (not just continuing education units) taught by expert Carnegie Mellon professors from the nationally-ranked School of Computer Science.
  • Teaches you the latest advances in large language model systems, machine learning, natural language processing, and system research.
  • Prepares you to design and implement scalable systems for large language models and teaches you how to efficiently train them with huge data sets, which is critical for advancing AI.
  • Trains you to determine the best model for a given task by evaluating the pros and cons of different models.
  • Empowers you to solve sophisticated engineering problems with modern hardware and software stacks that can accommodate the scale of large language models.
  • Is delivered completely online, which means you can take classes on your own time while maintaining your normal work schedule.

Not sure how to approach your employer? Need specific documents to proceed with enrollment? Contact a Program Specialist for assistance. If you’re ready to make more data-informed decisions, we’re here to help you make that a reality.

The Graduate Certificate in Generative AI & Large Language Models is eligible for CMU tuition remission. Review the CMU tuition remission policy to check your eligibility.

Carnegie Mellon University provides services to veterans and their dependents who are eligible for Veterans Education Benefits under the Montgomery G.I. Bill®, Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, and Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program. Please note, our online graduate certificates are not currently eligible for the Yellow Ribbon program. 

The process starts with an application directly to Veterans Affairs and once approved, you will provide your Certificate of Eligibility to the Carnegie Mellon Veterans Affairs Coordinator. Contact Information and additional details about the process can be found here.

Students eligible for GI Bill funding may receive scholarship awards prior to full GI Bill funding confirmation. Scholarship awards will be adjusted to reflect GI Bill funding and cannot exceed the cost of tuition/fees.