Veteran Services FAQs

In order to use Veteran Education Benefits towards a program, the program must be listed on WEAMS (Web Enabled Approval Management System). If the program is not listed, it has not been approved by the VA for education benefits.

• For the on-campus undergraduate programs:
  On-campus UMASS Admissions for Active Military and Veterans

• For the online undergraduate programs:
  UWW/University+ Admissions for Active Military and Veterans

Please apply for your VA Education Benefits on the va.gov website. It may take the VA up to 30 days to review your application. Once approved, the VA will send you a Certificate of Eligibility (COE).

Please email a PDF copy of your COE to @email.

Refer to the Education Benefits Process tab for the types of VA Benefits.

Once we have your COE on file, to use your VA Education Benefits, please complete the required Certification Request Form.

For undergraduates students:

• 12 credits — Fall and Spring semesters
• 4 credits — Winter, Summer session 1, and Summer session 2
• Non-standard sessions will need to be calculated

For graduate students:

• 9 credits — Fall and Spring semesters
• 3 credits — Winter, Summer session 1, and Summer session 2
• Non-standard sessions will need to be calculated

The MHA is based on the zip code of the school, unless you are taking fully online courses. For fully online courses, MHA is based on 50% of the national MHA average. Note: Active-duty service members and their spouses aren't eligible for MHA.

The GI Bill Calculator tool shows the current Full-Time MHA rate for UMASS Amherst: GI Bill Comparison Tool | Veterans Affairs (va.gov).

There are many VA policy changes regarding eligibility for VA Benefits with Study Abroad. VA Benefits cannot be used for Study Abroad programs affiliated with a third-party entity.

Please email @email with your questions regarding Military Tuition Assistance.

Withdrawing from a course after the Add/Drop period may result in debt to the VA. For questions regarding withdrawing courses, please contact @email.

Also see: How Your Reason for Withdrawing from a Class Affects Your VA Debt | Veterans Affairs.

There are five types of University Withdrawals (Personal, Medical, Academic, Financial, and Military/Active Duty). Please let our office know if you plan on withdrawing for the semester. To formally withdraw from the semester, please follow the process on the Dean of Students Office webpage:
Withdrawing from UMass | Dean of Students Office | UMass Amherst.

All students planning to return to UMass after a University withdrawal must complete the re-enrollment process in SPIRE: Re-Enrollment Information | University Registrar.