VA Chapter Benefits
As a Veteran, you may be eligible for several types of VA education and training benefits.
Montgomery GI Bill® - Active Duty (Chapter 30)
If you are currently in service, you may be eligible after two years of active duty. If separated from service, you may be an eligible veteran if:
- Entered active duty for the first time after June 30, 1985
- Received a high school diploma or equivalent before the end of your first obligated period of service
- Received an honorable discharge
- Continuously served for three years or two years if that is what you first enlisted for or two years if you have an obligation to serve four years in the Selected Reserve AND entered Selected Reserve within a year of leaving active duty.
Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program (Chapter 31)
This program assists Veterans with service-connected disabilities to prepare, find, and keep suitable jobs. Veterans are eligible if they:
- Have received, or will receive an honorable or other than dishonorable discharge
- Have a VA service-connected disability rating of 10% with a serious employment handicap or 20% or more with an employment handicap
- Apply for VR&E services
The Post 9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33)
Eligible individuals include those who serve on Active Duty at least 90 aggregate days after September 10, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days of continuous service. (Individuals must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible). To be eligible for 100% of the benefit, veteran must have served an aggregate of 36 months of continuous service after September 10, 2001.
Survivors' & Dependents' Educational Assistance (Chapter 35)
Education benefit for eligible spouses and dependents. To be eligible, you must be the dependent of one of the following:
- A veteran who died, or is permanently and totally disabled, as the result of a service-connected disability. The disability must arise out of active service in the Armed Forces.
- A veteran who died from any cause while such service-connected disability was in existence.
- A service member missing in action or captured in the line of duty by a hostile force.
- A service member forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power.
- A service member hospitalized or receiving outpatient care for a VA determined service-connected permanent and total disability may be eligible for DEA benefits.
Montgomery GI Bill® - Selected Reserve (Chapter 1606)
An education program that provides up to 36 months of education benefits to members of the Selected Reserve. You may be considered an eligible reservist or National Guard member if:
- After June 30, 1985, you signed a six-year obligation to serve in the Selected Reserve, AND
- You completed your Initial Active Duty for Training (IADT), AND
- You got your High School Diploma or GED before you completed your IADT, AND
- You are in good standing in a drilling Selected Reserve Unit.
Fry Scholarship (Chapter 33)
The Marine Gunnery Sergeant John David Fry Scholarship (Fry Scholarship) provides Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to the children and surviving spouses of Service members who died in the line of duty while on active duty after September 10, 2001. Eligible beneficiaries attending school may receive up to 36 months of benefits at the 100% level. To be eligible:
- Children and surviving spouses of an active duty member of the Armed Forces who died in the line of duty on or after September 11, 2001.
Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship
The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship is a provision of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 (Forever GI Bill). This provision provides up to nine months of additional Post-9/11 (Chapter 33) VA education benefits (not to exceed $30,000) to eligible undergraduate students training in the high demand fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Veteran applicants for the scholarship will receive a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) with the amount of additional entitlement added. To certify courses to the VA under the STEM scholarship program, a copy of the STEM COE will need to be provided to the UWF MVRC at mvrc@uwf.edu. Students approved for the STEM Scholarship must do a monthly verification of attendance with the Department of Veteran Affairs at STEM.VBABUF@va.gov. For additional information, contact the MVRC at mvrc@uwf.edu or 850.474.2550.
