$100m gift makes Yale School of Music tuition-free for admitted students

Students admitted to the Yale School of Music in the United States receive a full-tuition award and a fellowship, thanks to a $100 million donation made by Stephen Adams and his wife, Denise Adams, in 2005. The contribution allowed the school to remove tuition fees for its students, a policy that continues more than two decades later.The donation was initially made anonymously, and the couple's identities were not publicly revealed until 2008. According to Yale, the money not only made tuition-free education possible but also helped improve academic programmes and facilities at the school.For students pursuing graduate studies in music, tuition fees can be a major financial burden. A November 2005 report by The Washington Post described how students at leading American music conservatories often had to take on debt or give music lessons to meet their tuition and living expenses.