The UC Board of Regents approved tuition raises for two graduate professional degree programs at UCLA at its Wednesday meeting.

The academic and student affairs committee voted to increase tuition for UCLA’s master of fine arts in design media arts and master of music programs, as well as UC San Diego’s master of urban and regional planning program. The Regents held its bimonthly meeting Tuesday and Wednesday at the Meyer and Renee Luskin Conference Center.

Staff from the three graduate programs addressed the board, explaining the need for professional degree supplemental tuition – a fee applied on top of tuition for certain specialized professional programs within the UC. They cited a need for PDST to maintain the quality of the programs, as well as to keep student-to-faculty ratios low, improve facilities and expand career counseling resources.

Lionel Popkin, the interim dean of the school of the arts and architecture, said the DMA MFA program’s request to implement PDST stemmed from concerns about outdated facilities and technology used by students.

James Bass, a professor and chair of the department of music performance, education and composition, said the program needs PDST because it is resource intensive and highly individualized.

“Our program seeks to maintain excellence, access, and competitiveness amid rising instructional and operational costs and a difficult budgetary climate,” Bass said. “We propose to assess PDST to address these challenges, as well as to enhance student financial aid, support student attendance at conference and professional travel performances, which will help them obtain employment after graduation and to create a new career guidance counselor position, which would provide students with professional preparation, postgraduate mentoring and outcomes tracking.”

Bass said his department held a town hall and issued a survey to students to gauge opinions on the tuition raise, adding that the response was largely positive – especially with regard to the program enhancements that PDST could create.

The UC previously outlined in 1994-95 that PDST plans may be proposed if they align with the UC’s commitment to access and affordability. For the affected professional graduate programs, this policy results in a 3% tuition increase per year until the 2030-31 academic year for the UCLA students in the two master’s programs.

UCSD’s master of urban and regional planning program – which the Regents approved PDST for – is a two-year professional degree program that plans to begin admitting students for the 2027-28 academic year.

This decision comes in the wake of the Regents’ November vote to approve up to 5% yearly tuition hikes for new students under the Tuition Stability Plan, which allows the UC to adjust tuition on a yearly basis to account for inflation.

[Related: UC Regents amend, renew progressive tuition increases for new students]

The Tuition Stability Plan focuses on inflation-related tuition increases and does not account for specific programmatic needs.

Teesha Sreeram, a student observer for the committee, said she believes the Regents should not shift the burden of academic programs’ financial needs onto students.

“These programs have legitimate programmatic needs – and that departments are under real financial pressure,” said Sreeram, a fourth-year sociology student. “However, shifting those pressures onto graduate students through professional degree supplemental tuition raises serious concerns about affordability, access and long term equity across the UC system. Graduate and professional students are already navigating rising tuition, escalating housing and living costs and limited grant-based financial aid.”