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).

Graduate admissions deadlines vary by departmental program. 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 servicemember. UCSD does not offer hybrid schedules for its degree programs.

Contact the VA at 1-888-442-4551 (press zero to connect to a representative) to inquire about your eligibility.

Federal benefits (like Chapter 35 DEA and Post 9/11 GI Bill®) can be activated online through the VA’s website: How to Apply for GI Bill and Related Benefits

Once you're a matriculated student, you may contact the Student Veteran Resource Center to see if they're hiring VA work-study student 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, our degree programs are approved by the VA and published on their WEAMS (Web-Enabled Approval Management System) website:

• Go to the WEAMS website and enter University of California San Diego
• The Program Type is Institutions of Higher Learning
• Once you search, go to the Programs tab.
• Under Institutions of Higher Learning: Description, you’ll find all degree programs listed.
• If you don't see your program, reach out to VAO at vao@ucsd.edu for assistance.

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.