Prospective Students: Veterans Benefits

Undergraduate Admission to UC San Diego occurs once per year, and you can only be admitted for the fall quarter. To be considered for admission for a particular fall quarter, you must submit your application the November prior (e.g., submit application in November 2024 to be admitted for Fall 2025). If you have not yet applied for admission, please check out the UCSD Office of Undergraduate Admissions website and send any questions about applying to our Admissions staff.

Graduate admission deadlines vary by departmental program. Please visit the UCSD Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Affairs (GEPA) website for more information.

Military personnel and veterans are required to apply on the same timeline as all other applicants.

The application fee cannot be waived for military-connected applicants.

We recommend you separate from active-duty service prior to your first fall quarter at UC San Diego – it is not feasible to attend UCSD full-time while working full-time as an active duty service member. The vast majority of UCSD degrees will require in-person attendance each quarter you attend.

Contact the Department of Veterans Affairs at 1-888-442-4551 (press zero to connect to a representative) to inquire about your eligibility for federal benefits like the Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill® and the Chapter 35 Dependents Educational Assistance program.

Federal benefits  can be activated online through the VA’s website: How to Apply for GI Bill and Related Benefits.

The state of California Department of Veterans Affairs (CalVet) offers the CalVet College Fee waiver to dependents of disabled veterans. Contact your local California County Veterans Services Office (CVSO) for assistance in applying. 

Once you're a matriculated student, you may contact the Student Veteran Resource Center to see if they are currently hiring students for VA Work Study positions. Normally, this occurs once annually.

Keep in mind that VA work study positions may be available at other VA-approved locations, such as the VA hospital. We recommend the VA Education and Training hotline for information on possible locations.

Every academic year, UCSD submits their entire General Catalog to the VA for approval. Please contact vao@ucsd.edu if you are a prospective student and want to confirm that the degree program you interested in is approved. 

As a result of recent legislation, students can get an exemption from the non-resident supplemental tuition (NRST, or out-of-state tuition) simply by using the Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill®, the Chapter 35 DEA program, or the Chapter 31 VRE program for at least the first quarter at UCSD.

As long as you do not take a break longer than a quarter (a 2-quarter break will reset the exemption) the exemption will remain applied to your account even if you stop using the benefit or it is exhausted.

As the YRP is designed to help defray the cost of out-of-state tuition, it is no longer necessary within the University of California system.