Office of the Dean of Students -> Veteran and Military Affiliated Services -> Military Tuition Assistance

Military Tuition Assistance

Federal Military Tuition Assistance

Military Tuition Assistance (TA) is a benefit paid to eligible members of the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. The Department of Defense (DoD) limits TA to $250 per semester credit hour and $4,500 per year. Each military branch can establish their own specific eligibility criteria and limits to manage their TA funds. DoD pays TA directly to the university.

All students who intend on using TA must contact the Student Veteran Advisor in the Veteran and Military Affiliated Services office to ensure your program/major and courses are loaded into the appropriate service-specific TA systems.

Service-specific TA information is available at the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force/Space Force, and Coast Guard education portals.

Using TA

Obtain approval to use TA from your Educational Services Officer (ESO), military counselor, or Service prior to enrolling.

Email a copy of your approved TA Authorization form to Veteran and Military Affiliated Services. Include your full name and UTEID.

Veteran and Military Affiliated Services will process your TA authorization in accordance with established procedures.

Using Military TA with Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR (Chapter 1606))

Active Duty Service members and National Guard and Reserve AGRs may not receive standard Chapter 30 benefits for the same courses for which they receive TA from the military (with the exception of Top-up). If a student takes several courses, the student cannot receive Chapter 30 benefits for the courses for which TA is paid, but the student can receive Chapter 30 benefits for the courses for which TA isn’t paid.
Former Active Duty Service member, who earned Chapter 30 benefits while on Active Duty and are currently M-day members of the National Guard or Reserve, may receive standard Chapter 30 benefits for the same courses for which they receive TA from the military National Guard and Reserve (AGRs cannot).

Paying Tuition

Students using State TA are responsible for paying all charges by the published tuition deadlines. After the semester is over, the state will pay the university the approved TA amount (provided you followed all steps) and the university will refund that amount to the student in accordance with the institutional refund policy.

Policy on Return of Unearned Tuition Assistance

The Department of Defense (DoD) Memorandum of Understanding requires The University of Texas at Austin to return unearned Military Tuition Assistance (TA) funds on a prorated basis through 60% of an academic course. The university will not return any TA funds once a student completes 60% of an academic course.

We recommend that students contact the Veteran and Military Affiliated Services office before withdrawing from a TA funded academic course to determine how this policy could impact TA and potential repayment obligations of the student.

How We Calculate Unearned Tuition Assistance

The university will use the class day the withdrawal was submitted and divide that number by the number of days in the term to determine the percentage of course completion and the amount the university must return to the military branch.

Example: The student enrolled in a course that is 111 days in length and submitted the withdrawal on the 45th class day. The university determines the percentage of earned TA by performing the following calculation: 45 divided by 111 equals 40.5%. Therefore, the student earns 41% of the authorized TA, and 59% of the authorized TA is returned to the military service.

Withdrawal Due to a Military Service Obligation

The University of Texas at Austin will work with the affected service members to identify solutions that will not result in student debt for the returned portion of Tuition Assistance as a result of a military service obligation. Contact Veteran and Military Affiliated Services for assistance.

State Tuition Assistance

Funded by the State of Texas, the State Tuition Assistance Program is an education benefit that provides money for college to eligible members of the Texas Military Department pursuing their educational and career goals. This benefit is available to active drilling members (not AGR) of any of the 3 following Texas components:

Texas Army National Guard (TXARNG)
Texas Air National Guard (TXANG)
Texas State Guard (TXSG)

Visit the Texas Military Department website for additional information and to apply.