Montana 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
Tuition waiver at all MUS campuses (incl. graduate) for honorably discharged MT vets whose VA benefits are used up or expired; tuition only, last-dollar.
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
MUS Honorably Discharged Veterans Tuition Waiver
- What it covers
- Last-dollar waiver of remaining in-state TUITION (not fees; not flat-fee courses) after all other grants/scholarships, at Montana University System campuses; undergraduate or graduate.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Montana resident (BOR Policy 940.1); Honorable discharge (general under honorable conditions not accepted) for active duty other than training; must have elected VA education benefits (Title 38 or Title 10) but those benefits have EXPIRED or been EXHAUSTED; apply by the 3rd week of the first semester; satisfactory progress; must have an outstanding tuition balance.
Montana National Guard Tuition Waiver
- What it covers
- Last-dollar in-state tuition waiver, undergraduate or graduate.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Current Montana National Guard members.
For spouses and children
War Orphans Waiver
- What it covers
- Undergraduate tuition only (no fees) at MUS campuses; cannot combine with other waivers.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Children age 25 or under whose parent served on active duty in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq or Afghanistan conflicts, was a Montana resident at entry, and was killed in action or died of combat-related injury/disease/disability; student a Montana resident.
Surviving Dependents of Montana National Guard Members Waiver
Verify on the official page
- What it covers
- Tuition waiver at MUS campuses.
- Who qualifies and limits
- Spouse/child of a MT Guard member killed in the line of duty on state active duty.
If you left the service 15 to 20 years ago
Built for long-separated vets: requires that federal VA education benefits have expired or been exhausted (a 2006 separatee's Montgomery GI Bill typically expired after 10 years). Requires a fully Honorable discharge and Montana residency. Tuition only, last-dollar.
Who to contact
- State veterans agency
- Montana Veterans Affairs Division (Department of Military Affairs)
- Education office
- Montana University System – Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (tuition waivers)
- State Approving Agency (approves schools and programs for the GI Bill)
- Montana State Approving Agency (Department of Labor and Industry)
Sources we checked
- mus.edu/Prepare/Pay/Waivers/index.html
- wsd.dli.mt.gov/saa/
- myarmybenefits.us.army.mil/Benefit-Library/State/Territory-Benefits/Montana
Federal benefits such as the GI Bill and VR&E are separate. See the FAQ and the GI Bill programs.