VA Education Benefits in 2026: Veterans, active-duty service members and some family members can get help from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to pay for college, job training and other education. The money is not limited to a normal four-year college. It can also help with vocational courses, apprenticeships and some career training programs.
The program you can use depends on your military service, discharge status and the kind of training you want to take. In some cases, a spouse or child can also receive education benefits through a veteran or service member.
Chapter 1606 VA Benefits: Who Can Qualify and How to Apply
The Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) helps eligible veterans who served after September 10, 2001. Those with at least 36 months of qualifying service can usually get 100% of the benefit. It can help pay tuition, housing, books and some training costs.
For the 2026-27 school year, VA benefit rates apply from August 1, 2026, to July 31, 2027. The amount depends on your service and school.
The Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD) helps eligible veterans who meet service and other requirements. The Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR) is for certain Reserve and National Guard members and can provide up to 36 months of education benefits.
Students in certain science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields may qualify for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship. It gives eligible Post-9/11 GI Bill users or Fry Scholarship recipients up to 9 months of extra benefits or $30,000, whichever comes first.
Another newer option is VET TEC 2.0. It is designed for eligible veterans and some active-duty service members who want training for high-tech jobs. Approved programs can cover areas such as computer programming, software, data processing and information sciences. The program can help with tuition, housing and books.
For the 2026-27 period, VA says private VET TEC 2.0 schools can receive up to $29,920.95 for net tuition and mandatory fees. The program is limited to 4,000 paid participants each fiscal year.
VA education benefits can also help some family members. DEA (Chapter 35) may support eligible spouses and children of veterans who died, are missing or have a permanent total service-connected disability.
The Fry Scholarship can help certain children and surviving spouses of service members who died after September 11, 2001. It can cover tuition, housing, books and supplies. Eligible service members may also transfer up to 36 months of unused Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to a spouse or child with Defense Department approval.
Chapter 1606 VA Benefits 2026: New Rates, Eligibility, and What to Expect
Some veterans with both MGIB and Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits may now qualify for up to 48 months of combined benefits under recent rules.
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