Worked example · South Dallas
Two years at Dallas College, then two years at the University of North Texas at Dallas
This page compares published tuition and fees only. Housing, food, books, transportation, parking, course and lab fees, and financial aid are omitted because mixing them in without a family's FAFSA is how directories invent savings. This is a published-price map, not a named state program.
Siblings: Austin ACC → Texas State / UT Austin · Houston HCC → Texas State · Dallas College → UNT Denton · Alamo Colleges → UTSA · TCC → UNT Denton · EPCC → UTEP · SPC → Texas Tech · Del Mar → TAMU-CC · TJC → UT Tyler · AC → WTAMU · STC → UTRGV · TSC → UTRGV · LC → TAMIU · MCC → TAMUCT · LIT → LU · OC → UTPB · VC → TAMUV · TC → TAMUT · Vernon → MSU · Cisco → ASU · Blinn → TAMU · GC → UHCL · CTC → TAMUCT · AC → SFA · LSC → SHSU · ACC → TXST (San Marcos) · NCTC → TWU · Ranger → Tarleton · PJC → ETAMU · San Jacinto → UHCL · TCC → UTA (Arlington) · Dallas College → UT Dallas · Blinn → Prairie View A&M · Alamo → A&M–San Antonio · HCC → UH–Downtown · HCC → Texas Southern · SJC → UH · LSC → UH · Collin College → UT Dallas · Kilgore College → UT Tyler · Grayson College → UNT (Denton) · WCJC → UH (Sugar Land) · Navarro College → ETAMU.
The question
A South Dallas / Dallas County resident wants a public bachelor's. Path A: eight semesters at the University of North Texas at Dallas, Fall 2026 Undergraduate Traditional Resident, 15 credit hours, Total Tuition and Fees. Path B: complete about 60 transferable semester hours at Dallas College at the published Dallas County / In-District rate, including Core Curriculum and — where it exists — a Field of Study, then finish two years at UNT Dallas. Does Path B show a lower published tuition-and-fee total?
We pair Dallas College with UNT Dallas because UNT Dallas sits at 7300 University Hills Blvd in South Dallas and is the only public four-year university in the City of Dallas. Dallas College campuses serve Dallas County. UNT Dallas sets its own transfer criteria — context and link-out only. Read UNT Dallas's pages directly. PathMax does not guarantee admission: no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. Dallas College → UNT Denton and Dallas College → UT Dallas are separate sibling maps that use the same Dallas County rate with different receiving universities.
South Dallas / Dallas County is inside Dallas College's Dallas County pricing, so the published Dallas County (In-District) rate is the default cell on this page — the same convention as the Richardson and Dallas College → UNT Denton siblings. Out-of-County is an alternate row. Out-of-State / Out-of-Country is a warning row. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under Texas Education Code §61.834. It does not reserve a UNT Dallas seat. Admission is not guaranteed. Do not merge that language with TEC §51.8035. 2+2 is not a named state program.
Published rates used
South Dallas / Dallas County residents pay Dallas College Dallas County rates. Check residency with Dallas College.
| Item | Published figure | How we use it |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas College, Dallas County resident (In-District), 15 credit hours | $1,485 per semester | Default cell. Official $99 per credit hour × 15 = $1,485. Published 12-hour Dallas County check $1,188 ($99 × 12). Dallas College does not itself print a 15-hour total on the pages we fetched; 15-hour and 60-hour math is pack arithmetic: $1,485 × 4 = $5,940 (same as $99 × 60). Spring 2025+ rates still on the Cost page (Updated July 9, 2026). |
| Dallas College, Out-of-County (other Texas), 15 credit hours | $2,535 per semester | Alternate only. Published $169 × 15 = $2,535. Illustration: Out-of-County 2+2 = $2,535 × 4 + $4,799.90 × 4 = $10,140 + $19,199.60 = $29,339.60 (gap $9,059.60). Not the South Dallas / Dallas County default cell. |
| Dallas College, Out-of-State / Out-of-Country, 15 credit hours | $3,750 per semester | Warning only. Published $250 × 15 = $3,750. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
| University of North Texas at Dallas, Fall 2026 Undergraduate Traditional Resident, 15 credit hours, Total Tuition and Fees | $4,799.90 per semester | Default receiving-university cell. Official Fall table: $750 state tuition + $3,169.65 board-designated tuition = $3,919.65 tuition; mandatory fees $250 + $330 + $30.25 + $75 + $75 + $120 = $880.25. Two years = $4,799.90 × 4 = $19,199.60; eight semesters = $4,799.90 × 8 = $38,399.20. This is the Traditional plan, not the higher optional Focus Fixed plan. |
| University of North Texas at Dallas, Fall 2026 Undergraduate Non-Resident, 15 credit hours, Total Tuition and Fees | $11,219.90 per semester | Warning only. Official Fall table: $7,170 state tuition + $3,169.65 board-designated tuition + $880.25 fees. Not the default Texas-resident cell. |
Footnote only — not default cells: UNT Dallas Focus Fixed (Texas Resident only) 15 SCH $5,053.55 on the official Fall table. That plan is optional and higher than Traditional. Incoming freshmen and transfers with 90 or fewer transfer hours may opt in; it is not the default sticker. Course, lab, and other fees beyond the table Total are omitted. The Focus page's $875-fee examples are stale against the live Fall table and are not printed here.
Sources retrieved October 22, 2026: Dallas College; Dallas College; Dallas College; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting. All sources
Dallas College → UNT Dallas versus eight UNT Dallas semesters
| Map | Published tuition & fees |
|---|---|
| Dallas College Dallas County 60-hour path ($1,485 × 4 = $5,940) + 2 UNT Dallas Traditional Resident years ($4,799.90 × 4 = $19,199.60) | $25,139.60 |
| 8 UNT Dallas Traditional Resident semesters at the same Fall 2026 15 SCH line ($4,799.90 × 8) | $38,399.20 |
| Difference in these published lines | $13,259.60 lower on the 2+2 map — a sticker difference, not a savings guarantee |
Sources retrieved October 22, 2026: Dallas College; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting. All sources
What has to be true for the sticker gap to be real
- The Dallas College Dallas County / In-District $1,485 semester actually applies. South Dallas / Dallas County is the default. Out-of-County 15 hours is $2,535. Out-of-State / Out-of-Country 15 hours is $3,750. Check residency with Dallas College.
- UNT Dallas admits you as a transfer student. Texas Direct is a THECB pathway / Texas Direct Transfer Degree (associate) under TEC §61.834. It does not reserve a UNT Dallas seat. Admission is not guaranteed by PathMax — no seat, major, scholarship, timeline, or savings promise. UNT Dallas sets its own transfer criteria. Read UNT Dallas's pages directly. Do not merge that credit / associate language with TEC §51.8035.
- The hours apply to the major. Use a completed Field of Study when THECB says it is complete. Computer Science, Biology, English, Architecture, and Engineering are not completed Texas Direct blocks on the THECB table we last fetched — do not treat them as one. See Texas Direct.
- You stay on the UNT Dallas Fall 2026 Traditional Resident $4,799.90 cell. The optional Focus Fixed resident 15 SCH $5,053.55 plan is higher. Course, lab, and extra-semester charges can raise the UNT Dallas line above $4,799.90.
- You do not add extra semesters at university rates. Extra semesters erase the sticker gap.
What we omitted on purpose
This table is sticker tuition and mandatory fees only. Housing, food, books, transportation, parking, course and lab fees beyond the published table Total, installment fees, cost-of-attendance living averages, College Scorecard, and aid/scholarship dollar effects are omitted. This is arithmetic on published price lists, not a quote from a bursar.
Sources retrieved October 22, 2026: Dallas College; Dallas College; Dallas College; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting; University of North Texas at Dallas Student Accounting; University of North Texas at Dallas; Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board; Texas Constitution and Statutes. All sources
Directory pages stay free. Published by Plain Steps. Optional $19 Texas Direct 2+2 worksheet.