The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Education Service provides benefits and resources to help US service members, Veterans and their eligible dependents pay for their education.
If you are eligible for VA educational assistance, you may be able to use your Post-9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) or Survivors and Dependents Education Assistance (Chapter 35) benefits at the University of Aberdeen.
The University of Aberdeen (UoA) is approved by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to process VA Benefits for students studying on campus in Aberdeen. Eligibility for GI Bill benefits is determined by the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
As a foreign school, there are some important exceptions to the use of your benefits at the University of Aberdeen including the specific programme of study that you'll be studying with us, needs to be approved by VA.
- Ineligible Programmes
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The VA will not grant programme approval for the following:-
- Any element of online, blended or distance learning
- Certificate and Diploma Programmes
- Any programme that includes placement/study abroad
- VA education benefits cannot be used for student exchange programmes or programmes including study abroad
- Courses which require completion of practical training are not approved for the use of VA education benefits, this includes work placement years.
- Any programme studied at a partner institution including joint, double, or dual programmes such as Qatar, SCNU, IDI
- Yellow Ribbon Benefits
- MSc Health Data Science (due to placement)
- MSc Counselling/ MSc Person Centred Counselling (due to placement)
- MSc Physician Associate Studies (due to placements & work on wards)
- Applying for Benefits
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Register with https://www.va.gov/education/ to determine your eligibility for benefits and to check if your programme of study is on the VA approved list for the University of Aberdeen.
If the programme is showing on VA systems as approved, follow the guidance for in the How to use your VA benefits at the University of Aberdeen section.
- How to plan for studying at the University of Aberdeen
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It is important that you contact us (usaloans@abdn.ac.uk) as soon as your Certificate of Eligibility letter is sent to you, as the VA will not inform the University of Aberdeen. In addition, to receive VA funding for studying overseas, the programme of study you are applying for needs to be approved by the VA. The list of programmes already approved at the University of Aberdeen can be found in the Current Approved Programmes section below.
It is important to note that while some programmes may have similar names and/or content, each specific programme must be individually approved.
Please note that if studying a degree that lasts multiple years, you'll need to confirm before each year of study that you want to continue using your VA benefit entitlement.
- Current Approved Programmes (updated 11 June 2025)
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Undergraduate
List of undergraduate programmes approved or pending approval by the VA
Column 1 lists approved Master of Arts programmes, Column 2 lists approved Bachelor of Science programmes, Column 3 lists programmes pending approval by the VAMA/BMus BSc/ BEng Pending Approval MA Anthropology BSc Animal Behaviour MA Anthropology & International Relations BSc Biochemistry MA Archaeology BSc Biological Sciences MA Art History - Theology & Religion BSc Conservation Biology MA Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies BSc Environmental Science MA Criminology & Sociology BSc Marine Biology MA Economics & International Relations BSc Microbiology MA English BSc Neuroscience with Psychology MA English with Creative Writing BSc Physiology MA Film & Visual Culture and History BSc Zoology MA History MA History - Language & Linguistics BEng Mechanical Engineering (with Oil and Gas Studies) MA Psychology MA Psychology with Counselling Skills MA Sociology Bachelor of Music (BMus) Postgraduate Taught
Table listing postgraduate taught programmes that have been approved or pending approval by the VA
Column 1 lists approved MSc programmes, Column 2 lists approved other postgraduate masters programmes, column 3 lists programmes pending approvalMSc Other PG Masters Pending Approval MSc Archaeology MBA (Business Administration) MSc Archaeology of the North MLitt Creative Writing MSc Bioarchaeological Science MLitt Medieval and Early Modern Studies MSc Biomolecular Archaeology MLitt Viking and Medieval Nordic Studies MSc Biotechnology and Bioinformatics MSc Cybersecurity LLB Accelerated MSc Cultural Heritage LLM General Law MSc Data Science LLM Human Rights & Criminal Justice MSc Geographical Information Systems Masters in Theology (MTheo) MSc Geophysics MSc Human Nutrition DPLP Diploma in Professional Legal Practice (Chapter 31 only) MSc Information Technology MSc Information Technology with Cybersecurity MSc Immunology MSc International Business Management MSc International Relations MSc Marketing MSc Medical Physics MSc Microbiology MSc Osteoarchaeology MSc Peace and Conflict Studies MSc Planetary Sciences MSc Renewable Energy Engineering MSc Robotics and Artificial Intelligence MSc Sociology MSc Strategic Studies & International Law MSc Subsea Engineering MSc TESOL Postgraduate Research
Table listing postgraduate research programmes that have been approved or are pending approval by the VA
Column 1 lists programmes that have been approved, column 2 lists programmes that are pending approvalApproved Pending Approval MRes Social Anthropology (1 year) PhD Archaeology PhD Divinity PhD Philosophy - What do to if the programme you want to study is not listed above?
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If your programme of study is not listed on the VA website as approved, we can request approval provided that you hold an offer to study at UoA. You must contact us at usaloans@abdn.ac.uk as early as possible to ask us to proceed with the programme approval process.
The VA advise that their approval process is taking up to 6 months for new programmes to be added to their approved list. We strongly advise that you do not start your programme of study until the VA has granted approval.
Without formal VA programme approval, you will become liable for tuition fee payment at the start of your studies. The delay in processing new programme approvals is not restricted to the University of Aberdeen - all Foreign Schools are experiencing the same delays and difficulties.
You can use private or Federal loans to pay your tuition if your programme is not approved on time. Any additional funds paid to your tuition fees can be refunded to you when your VA benefits are received by the University of Aberdeen.
- How to use your VA benefits at the University of Aberdeen
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Step 1 - Check your eligibility for VA funding.
Step 2 - Submit your application on the VA Website. If your application is approved, the VA will send you a Certificate of Eligibility letter.
Step 3 - Check whether the programme you plan to study is listed in our Currently Approved Programmes above. If not, please see the guidance in What do to if the programme you want to study is not listed above? section.
Step 4 - Ensure that your programme of study is 100% based in Aberdeen and does not include any off-campus periods for placements/study abroad or online elements. If you are unsure please email usaloans@abdn.ac.uk and we can liaise with the relevant teams.
Step 5 - Securely submit your Certificate of Eligibility (issued by VA) via https://zendto.abdn.ac.uk/ to usaloans@abdn.ac.uk . Include your SSN and UoA applicant/student ID number in the message.
Step 6 - If your programme is approved by the VA and you have completed the UoA registration process, we will submit a Certification of Enrolment using VA systems. It is important to note that Certifications can take several weeks to process through the VA at peak times.
Please note that if studying a degree that lasts multiple years, you'll need to confirm before each year of study that you want to continue using your VA benefit entitlement.
You must notify usaloans@abdn.ac.uk if you make any changes to your study pattern, programme of study or attendance.
- How and when will the funds be received?
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Once your attendance at the University of Aberdeen has been confirmed at the start of the academic year, we will submit an enrolment certificate to the VA.
The VA does not provide a timeframe of when students will receive their funding once the enrolment certificate has been submitted. Due to data protection laws, the VA will never share your funding details with the University of Aberdeen. As such, we will not be able to assist you if you have specific queries about your funding.
If you have any questions about the payment of your benefits, you will need to contact the VA directly.
The VA can only pay your personal maintenance benefits into a US bank account. It will be your responsibility to transfer them to a UK bank account so that you can access them while at the University of Aberdeen.
If you receive financial support for tuition, your tuition payments will be made directly to the University of Aberdeen by the VA. They will convert the GBP amount into USD using the rate provided by Convera at the time the funds are received.
You will be regarded as personally responsible for tuition fee payment and your tuition fee charge invoiced to you directly. The VA will pay tuition fees directly to the University after the Certificate of Enrolment has been processed:-
- Payment released in 2 instalments for Undergraduate and PhD students
- Payment released in 3 instalments for Postgraduate Taught students
There is a maximum dollar value that the VA will pay for tuition and after conversion to £GBP, the value that they pay may not cover the full cost of your tuition charges. In all cases, where there is a shortfall it is your responsibility to pay the outstanding balance. You can track the payments through https://www.abdn.ac.uk/epayments/
- How much funding could you receive?
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The GI Bill Comparison Tool (new window) can help you estimate how much you could receive. To find out exactly what you are entitled to, please contact the VA directly.
Chapter 33 benefits may include financial support for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and housing.
The VA sets a maximum value for the tuition fee contribution each year. Further information about benefits can be found here https://www.va.gov/education/benefit-rates/post-9-11-gi-bill-rates/future-rates/
- 2024/25 - The rate is capped at $28,937.09
- 2025/26 - The rate is capped at $29,920.95
Chapter 35 benefits are a monthly payment made directly to the dependent (spouse or child) of a US Veteran. They do not cover tuition fees.