Missouri veteran education benefits
Stars rate how much each state offers veterans themselves for college, training and exam fees (family-only programs don't count): 5 = free public-college tuition for most resident veterans, no disability rating needed; 3 = partial grants or narrower eligibility; 1 = little or nothing beyond federal benefits. How we rate
$50/credit-hour tuition cap at public colleges for honorably discharged combat-zone vets; nothing for non-combat vets.
Checked Oct 7, 2026. State benefits change often. Confirm the details with the state agency before you apply.
Verify on the official page means we could not fully confirm that detail on the agency's own page.
For veterans
Missouri Returning Heroes' Education Act (RSMo 173.900)
- What it covers
- Public colleges must cap tuition at $50 per credit hour for undergraduate programs (certificate, associate, bachelor's) and at 30% of tuition and fees for graduate (master's/doctoral, not professional) programs.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Served in armed combat in a combat zone (IRS-recognized zones; combat badges/ribbons/expeditionary medals or imminent danger/hostile fire pay documented on DD-214); Reserve/Guard count if called to full-time active service 30+ consecutive days; honorably discharged; registered/eligible Missouri voter or current Missouri resident; keep a 2.5 cumulative GPA (undergrad).
Missouri National Guard State Tuition Assistance
Verify on the official page
- What it covers
- Up to 39 semester hours per fiscal year at up to the University of Missouri-Columbia rate.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Current Missouri National Guard members.
For spouses and children
Wartime Veteran's Survivor Grant (RSMo 173.234)
- What it covers
- Grant for tuition and other costs (amount not captured) at Missouri institutions; statute limits to 25 recipients per year.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Child (under 25) or spouse of a Missouri-resident post-9/11 combat veteran who died or was injured from combat action, or became 80%+ disabled from combat injuries after 9/11; DD-214 showing combat pay exclusion, imminent danger or hostile fire pay.
If you left the service 15 to 20 years ago
Returning Heroes has no discharge-date limit and no rating requirement; it applies to combat-zone service in any era (incl. Iraq/Afghanistan before 2006). Non-combat veterans get nothing beyond residency rules.
Who to contact
- State veterans agency
- Missouri Veterans Commission (MVC)
- Education office
- Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development (DHEWD) – veteran programs
- State Approving Agency (approves schools and programs for the GI Bill)
- Missouri State Approving Agency – Veterans Education (Department of Elementary and Secondary Education)
Sources we checked
- dhewd.mo.gov/ppc/grants-scholarships/returning-heroes-act
- dhewd.mo.gov/ppc/grants/war-time-vet-survivor
- dese.mo.gov/adult-learning-rehabilitation-services/veterans-education
- myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Benefit-Library/State/Territory-Benefits/Missouri
Federal benefits such as the GI Bill and VR&E are separate. See the FAQ and the GI Bill programs.