WASHINGTON — Harvard University said on Monday (March 17) it would make tuition free for undergraduate students from families earning less than US$200,000 (S$270,000) a year and would also cover health insurance, housing and other expenses for those earning less than US$100,000.

The offer will take effect in the 2025-26 academic year, the university said in a statement.

The Ivy League school, which in the past offered free tuition to undergraduates from families earning less than US$85,000 a year, said it wanted to make the educational institution affordable to more students, especially those who came from middle-income families.

Tuition and fees, including housing and food, at Harvard College, the university's undergraduate programme, cost more than US$82,000 in the 2024-25 academic year, according to the school's website.

The tuition offer may help Harvard arrest or reverse a decline in the racial diversity in its student body since the US Supreme Court in June 2023 rejected affirmative action as a means to admit more people of colour.

"Putting Harvard within financial reach for more individuals widens the array of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives that all of our students encounter, fostering their intellectual and personal growth," Harvard University President Alan Garber said in a statement.

Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusiveness initiatives at universities, forcing them to create new ways to retain students of different races and backgrounds.

The offer, which follows similar moves at other prominent universities, will enable about 86 per cent of US families to qualify for financial aid, the university added.

Real median household income was US$80,610 in 2023 in the US, according to the US Census.

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Source: Reuters