Veterans Benefits

The Post-9/11 GI Bill provides financial support for education and housing to individuals with at least 90 days of aggregate service on or after September 10, 2001, or individuals discharged with a service-connected disability after 30 days. You must have received an honorable discharge to be eligible for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Your tuition and related fee payments from the VA will be prorated if you are eligible for less than 100 percent; this includes housing and book stipends. This chapter provides up to 36 months of education benefits. Tuition and related fees will be paid directly to Berklee and credited to a student's account. A monthly housing stipend (BAH) will be paid directly to a student at the end of each month that the student is enrolled (e.g., if the term starts September 1, the student will receive a housing stipend at the end of September). Students may view the Basic Allowance for Housing rates online at the Defense Travel Management Office. The stipend for books will be mailed to the student at the beginning of the semester with a maximum allowance of $1,000 annually.

The Post-9/11 GI Bill is a registered trademark of the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Berklee College of Music's campus in Boston participates in the Yellow Ribbon program. Veterans entitled to the maximum benefit (based on service requirements under the Post-9/11 GI Bill) or their designated transferees may receive funding under this program. Active duty service members and their spouses are not eligible for the program. Berklee allocates up to $5,000 annually to 35 eligible Yellow Ribbon recipients. The Yellow Ribbon funding is limited and not guaranteed. The VA matches this allocation, which brings the total annual amount to $10,000. This program is only awarded in the spring semester of an academic year.

The Montgomery GI Bill provides up to 36 months of education benefits, which are generally payable for 10 years following your release from active duty.

To determine eligibility for any veterans benefit, please contact the Veterans Affairs Regional Office at 888-442-4551 or visit the VA website. GI Bill benefits are determined and paid solely by the Veterans Affairs Regional Office.

There are a number of other benefits that students may be eligible to receive. Benefits are typically paid directly to the student, and amounts vary per chapter. In order to find out what benefits you may be eligible to receive, contact the Department of Veteran Affairs—GI Bill.

1. Apply for your Certificate of Eligibility.
2. Submit the Student Veteran/Dependent Eligibility Form and attach your Certificate of Eligibility.
3. The Berklee Military Affairs team will confirm receipt of it.
4. After registering for courses each semester, you will be required to submit a Berklee VA Certification Request Form.
5. Benefits will be calculated and awarded to your student account if you qualify for Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) or Veteran Readiness and Employment (Chapter 31) benefits. If you qualify for Chapter 30, 35, or 1606, benefits are paid out to you by the VA each month and not awarded on your student account.
6. The Berklee VA Certifying official will certify your enrollment prior to the semester and then again after the add/drop period.

Benefits are subject to change based on your enrollment status and eligibility. 

Have questions? Please explore our Veterans Benefits FAQ for more information or contact military@online.berklee.edu.

Berklee College of Music complies with Readmission Requirements for Service Members as outlined in Section 484C of the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 1965 (HEOA). The HEOA provides that an institution may not deny readmission to a service member of the uniformed services for reasons relating to that service. In addition, a student who is readmitted under this section must be readmitted with the same academic status the student had when they last attended the institution. Academic status is defined by a student’s grade level, and whether or not the student was in a degree or non-degree/certificate program at the time of separation.

This policy applies to service in the military branches, whether voluntary or involuntary, on active duty in the Armed Forces, including service as a member of the National Guard or Reserve, for a period of more than 30 days under a call or order to active duty of more than 30 days. Berklee College of Music will readmit such a student as long as the following conditions are met:

• The student gives advance notice (written or verbal) of the call to active duty or, upon seeking readmission, submits a written verification that such service was performed, requiring their absence.
  • Berklee College of Music and Boston Conservatory students should provide this verification to the Berklee Financial Aid Department via email at onestop@berklee.edu.
  • Berklee Online students should provide this verification to the Berklee Online Military Affairs Team via email at military@online.berklee.edu
• The absence from school for active duty does not exceed five years.
• The student submits a notification of intent to reenroll within three years after the completion of service or within two years after recovery from an illness or injury incurred during service.
• The student’s separation from service was not dishonorable.

Tuition and Fees

A returning student will be charged the same tuition and fees in effect during the last academic year the student attended Berklee College of Music, unless veterans’ education benefits or other service member education benefits will pay the amount in excess. Returning students ​​lock in their old rate for the year they return only. For subsequent academic years, the returning student may not be charged tuition and fees in excess of what other students in the program are charged.

Readmission Requirements

A returning student will be permitted to reenroll in the next class(es) scheduled in the same academic program, unless the student requests a later date of reenrollment or agrees to a different program. A returning student will be readmitted into the same academic program the student was enrolled in prior to the military service obligation. If the exact Berklee College of Music program no longer exists, the student must be admitted to the program that is most similar, unless the student requests or agrees to admission to a different program. Returning students will be reenrolled with the same enrollment status, number of completed credit hours, and academic standing as the last academic year of attendance.

If Berklee College of Music determines that a returning student is not prepared to resume the program or is unable to complete the program, Berklee College of Music must make reasonable efforts to enable the student to resume or complete the program at no additional costs to the student. If such efforts are unsuccessful or place an undue hardship on Berklee College of Music, the college is not required to readmit the student.

In accordance with federal regulations, returning students who receive a dishonorable or bad conduct discharge from the Armed Forces (including the National Guard and Reserves) are not eligible for readmission under this policy. However, service members who receive dishonorable or bad conduct discharge may remain eligible for readmission even though they will not be entitled to the benefits outlined in this policy. The returning student may be required to provide supporting documentation.

For Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) benefits, the 2025-2026 tuition/fee cap is $29,920.95. If you used up the majority of your benefits in the fall, your spring amount may be smaller because you have less eligibility left.

Chapter 33: Most students at Berklee with veterans benefits receive Post-9/11 GI Bill® (Chapter 33) benefits. These students can receive up to $29,920 for the 2025–2026 academic year to cover tuition and mandatory fees, if a student is eligible and the anticipated award is posted to the student account before the billing deadline. Chapter 33 recipients also get a housing stipend sent directly to the student, which is not reflected in the student’s account.

Chapter 35: The VA asks Berklee to send the student’s credit load and then sends the student a monthly stipend for books and housing expenses. This money does not come to Berklee, and our only responsibility is to send the VA the student’s current credit load.

Chapter 31: This is also known as vocational rehab. These students work with a case manager at the VA. They typically pay the full amount of all tuition and mandatory fees. Student Financial Services posts an estimated aid award at the beginning of each term and then sends the VA an invoice. We currently have five vocational rehab students at Berklee.

Yellow Ribbon: Only Chapter 33 recipients with 100 percent eligibility qualify for Yellow Ribbon status, and only students attending in-person courses are eligible. Students can only qualify if they have exhausted their yearly benefit (used up $29,920.95). Berklee allocates up to $5,000 annually to eligible Yellow Ribbon recipients. The VA matches our allocation, which brings the total amount up to $10,000. This is generally awarded in the spring semester of an academic year. We can award up to 35 students.

Yes. VA benefit recipients should never get a late fee. Any late fees that a VA benefit recipient receives are automatically waived due to the slow nature of the VA process.

Sometimes students have less eligibility for VA benefits than they originally expected. Berklee’s role is to post an anticipated VA award assuming your benefits are up to date. If your veterans benefits are used up, your family will get a letter from the VA, and the VA will generally send less than Berklee anticipated. It is the family’s responsibility to keep track of their benefits usage because Berklee is not made aware when a student’s benefits are about to run out.

Have you been enrolled in at least 12 credits since the week before classes started? Berklee lets the VA know how many credits you are enrolled in right when the semester starts, and this affects the amount of your stipend. If you were not enrolled full-time, generally we wait until you complete your registration to let the VA know how many credits you are taking. Then you’ll get your stipend as usual.

No, your eligibility for veterans benefits does not vary from school to school. However, tuition and fees vary greatly from school to school, which can affect how much you pay out of pocket each year.

No. If you are receiving Chapter 33 Post 9/11 GI Bill benefits at 100 percent and use up your yearly cap, you are considered for Yellow Ribbon. There is no application process. However, there are only 35 spots available for Yellow Ribbon funding. If all 35 spots are being utilized by students, then you will be placed on the Berklee Yellow Ribbon waiting list. 

Right before the first day of classes, we tell the VA how many credits you are enrolled in at the time, and then after the add/drop deadline, we go back and fix the credit amount (if necessary) and bill the VA for your tuition and fees (if you have Chapter 31 or 33 benefits).

Before the add/drop deadline, we enter tuition and fees as $0 so that the VA knows to send you the books and housing stipend, and that we will come back later to confirm tuition and fees.