UC Irvine Cuts MBA Tuition to $99,000 to Slip Under New Federal Loan Cap

UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business is cutting tuition on its Flex MBA program by $30,000 and its Executive MBA by $48,000 starting this fall — a reduction of up to 38%.

The school is openly framing the move as a response to new federal graduate borrowing limits that take effect July 1, 2026. However, this move raises more questions than answers.

Why it matters: At the new $99,000 price tag, Merage's Flex MBA squeaks in just below the $100,000 lifetime aggregate cap on federal graduate borrowing established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The school's pitch: "University of California MBA is priced within reach of government loan limits — making a world-class degree not just aspirational, but truly attainable." This is one of the first explicit examples of a business school repricing a degree around the new federal lending rules.