The current study examines how nonresident tuition among public research universities has converged toward a national average over the 1987-2006 time period in the USA. Using dynamic fixed-effect panel modeling estimated via GMM (and instrumental variables fixed-effect model to account for endogeneity), we inquire (1) how do competitive market forces and state higher education governance structures influence nonresident tuition rates at public universities and (2) to what extent is conditional convergence of nonresident tuition rates at public universities occurring. We find that over the past 20 years, there has been a rapid convergence in nonresident tuition at public research universities to a national average, shaped by external market forces such as the demand for education and price competition among neighboring states, tuition for residents, the distribution of higher education appropriations internal to states, and the state higher education governance structures. Nonresident tuition has increased at a faster pace in states with low nonresident tuition as compared to states with high nonresident tuition. Our results have implications for higher education policy guidance as they reveal how a tendency toward "privatization" in certain aspects and segments of public higher education has been constrained in states in which higher education is more regulated via consolidated governing boards.