• Home
  • Military Discounts
    • Military & Veteran Discount List
    • Local Military & Veterans Discounts
    • Apple Military Discount
    • Veteran & Military Cell Phone Discounts
    • Gym and Health Club Discounts
    • Veterans Day Deals & Discounts
    • Veterans Day Free Meals
  • Benefits
    • 10 Veterans Benefits You May Not Know About
    • Top Military Spouse Benefits
    • Medal of Honor Benefits
    • Purple Heart Benefits
    • Veterans Health A to Z
  • Housing & Home Ownership
    • 2021 BAH Rates
    • BAH Calculator
    • VA Loan Limits by County
    • VA Home Loan Guide
    • 5 Benefits of a VA Loan
    • VA Home Loan Tools
  • Money & Finance
    • 2021 Defense Budget
    • 2021 Military Pay Charts
    • 2021 BAS Rates
    • 2021 Military Pay
    • COLA Watch 2022
    • Military Pay Calculator
    • Military Pay Dates
    • VA Disability Rates
  • Jobs
    • Veteran Friendly Employers
    • Military Spouse Employment Preference
    • Veterans Employment and Training Service (VETS)
    • Security Clearance Jobs After the Military
  • Education
    • Veteran Friendly Colleges
    • Online Colleges with Military Discounts
    • Veteran Friendly Colleges Guide
    • Military Spouse Career Advancement Accounts (MyCAA)
    • Monthly Housing Allowance (MHA) for the GI Bill
    • Forever GI Bill
    • School Search
  • Resources
    • How to Get a Veterans ID Card
    • Veterans ID on Driver’s License or ID Card by State
    • Military ID Cards
    • Military Calendar
    • State Veteran’s Benefits

Military Benefits

Military Benefits Information for US Military, Active Duty, Reserve, National Guard, Military Spouses and Military Family

You are here: Home / Education / Tips on Using Your GI Bill For Graduate School

Tips on Using Your GI Bill For Graduate School

by MilitaryBenefits

Due to the GI Bill’s outstanding education benefits, veterans interested in continued schooling often ask whether they can use their GI Bill benefits for graduate school. In this article, we’ll explain how veterans can use their GI Bill to pay for graduate school and the ancillary benefits this program provides.

Tips on Using Your GI Bill For Graduate SchoolSpecifically, we’ll cover the following topics:

  • GI Bill History and Overview
  • Using the GI Bill to Pay Graduate School Tuition
  • Graduate School Monthly Housing Allowance with the GI Bill
  • GI Bill Book Stipend for Graduate Students
  • Final Thoughts

Find GI Bill®-Approved Colleges For Military and Veterans

{Sponsored} Search schools to find affordable tuition, military & vet trusted colleges and online or hybrid classes. Get Started Today!

GI Bill History and Overview

Though commonly referred to as the GI Bill, these outstanding education benefits actually began with the 1944 passage of the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act. While this bill included other benefits (e.g. VA home loan predecessor program), it also launched the initial version of the veteran education program we now know as the GI Bill.

This education program has gone through a variety of changes since its 1944 inception, including major changes following the September 11th, 2001 attacks. Today, the Post-9/11 GI Bill is the most commonly used – and comprehensive – education benefit available to veterans.

And, in addition to providing veterans the ability to pay for school or job training, the Post-9/11 GI Bill can also be used to pay for graduate school.

Using the GI Bill to Pay Graduate School Tuition

Broadly speaking, using the GI Bill to pay graduate school tuition follows the same process as using these benefits to pay for undergraduate studies. Veterans first need to apply directly with the Department of Veterans Affairs to confirm their eligibility.

Once the VA confirms GI Bill eligibility via a Certificate of Eligibility (COE), the benefits received by veterans will vary depending on:

  • Which school they attend
  • The amount of active-duty service time completed after September 10, 2001
  • The number of credits or training hours they’re currently taking

This final factor – number of credits – constitutes the major difference between using the GI Bill for undergraduate and graduate programs.

As an undergraduate, your training time recognized by the VA directly correlates to your enrolled class hours. From 0 to 2 hours counts as ¼ time for the VA, while 12 hours and above qualifies as full-time. As such, an undergraduate only taking 6 credit hours will not receive his or her full GI Bill benefits.

However, as a graduate student, the VA pays benefits based on the status your university reports.  In other words, if you’re taking three credit hours, but your graduate program reports that as full-time, the VA will pay your full GI Bill benefits.

For this reason, eligible veterans should discuss with their specific graduate programs what they consider to be a full-time student, as enrolling in fewer credit hours will result in the receipt of less than full GI Bill benefits.

Assuming full-time status and 100% GI Bill benefits, veterans enrolled in graduate school will receive the full cost of public, in-state university tuition and fees with their GI Bill. And, while the VA caps the rate for attending out-of-state, private, and foreign schools, it adjusts those caps each year.

Furthermore, veterans attending one of these more expensive universities for graduate school have the ability to apply for Yellow Ribbon benefits, as well, to bridge the gap between GI Bill funding and actual tuition.

Graduate School Monthly Housing Allowance with the GI Bill

In addition to tuition and fees, the GI Bill also provides veterans a monthly housing allowance.  This tax-free stipend proves critical to most veterans attending graduate school, as these students are often older and need to support families while enrolled.

Monthly housing allowance amounts received by veterans fall into three categories:

  • Domestic, in-person graduate programs: For veterans enrolled in “brick and mortar” graduate programs within the United States, monthly housing allowance amounts are adjusted based on the location of the school (not the veteran’s home). In other words, a student will receive a higher monthly housing allowance if attending a graduate school in San Francisco or New York than most other places, as the cost of living in those cities is so high.

NOTE: The above monthly housing allowance amounts are pegged to the Department of Defense’s basic allowance for housing, or BAH, amount for E-5s with dependents, an amount you can quickly look up for your university’s location with a BAH calculator.

  • Exclusively online graduate programs: Veterans also have the ability to use their GI Bill benefits to attend graduate school exclusively online. For these students, the VA will pay half the national average housing allowance for E-5s with dependents, currently $916.50/month.
  • Approved foreign universities: For veterans attending approved graduate programs outside of the United States, the VA provides a flat GI Bill monthly housing allowance of the national average for E-5s with dependents, currently $1,833/month.

Lastly, service members should note that graduate students currently on active duty, spouses using transferred GI Bill benefits, and students enrolled on a half-time or less basis do not qualify for the monthly housing allowance.

GI Bill Book Stipend for Graduate Students

Though often overlooked, the GI Bill offers a final benefit for veterans attending graduate school.  Due to the expensive nature of graduate school textbooks, the Department of Veterans Affairs expanded the Post-9/11 GI Bill to include an annual book stipend.

Specifically, veterans enrolled in graduate school can receive an annual, tax-free stipend of up to $1,000 to offset the costs of books. The VA pays a pro rata share of this stipend at the beginning of every enrolled semester, providing veterans the ability to actually use these funds to pay for books.

Final Thoughts

For veterans attending graduate school, the GI Bill offers incredible benefits. In addition to the tuition and fees, the VA’s monthly housing allowance and book stipends provide veterans critical financial assistance in their pursuit of graduate degrees.

And, as the above article illustrates, using your GI Bill for graduate school is not limited to traditional programs. Veterans can also use these benefits to attend online-only and overseas graduate programs, providing a breadth of options for the pursuit of further education, regardless of a veteran’s unique situation.


About The AuthorMaurice “Chipp” Naylon spent nine years as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps. He is currently a licensed CPA specializing in real estate development and accounting.


Related Articles
How To Use Your GI Bill For Grad School Tips to Maximize Your GI Bill Benefits
Post 9/11 GI Bill Overview Which GI Bill is Better?
GI Bill & Private Schools GI Bill Certificate of Eligibility

Filed Under: Education

Comments

Popular Articles

New VA Loan Limit Rules

VA Disability Rates

2021 Military Pay

Military Pay Calculator

2021 BAH Rates

Connect With Us

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • youtube
Military Benefits Logo

Company

  • About
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Add a Discount
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Disclosure
  • Unsubscribe
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Military Discounts
  • Benefits
  • Housing & Ownership
  • Money & Finance
  • Employment
  • Education
  • Resources

Join Our Military Benefits Newsletter!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Connect With Us

  • facebook
  • instagram
  • pinterest
  • twitter
  • youtube
MilitaryBenefits.info Copyright © 2021

Disclaimer: This is a private website that is NOT affiliated with the U.S. government, U.S. Armed Forces or Department of Veteran Affairs. U.S. government agencies have not reviewed this information. This site contains information about GI Bill benefits, VA loans, news and services for military veterans and is not connected with any government agency. GI Bill® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). If you would like to find more information about benefits offered by Veteran Affairs, visit the official site for veterans benefits at Veterans Affairs. The appearance of U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) visual information does not imply or constitute DoD endorsement.

Advertiser Disclosure: Our website contains some affiliate marketing links, which means we may get paid commission on sales of those products or services.