Program Overview
The Virginia Military Survivors and Dependents Education Program (VMSDEP) provides education benefits to spouses and children of military service members killed, missing in action, taken prisoner, or who have been rated by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs as totally and permanently disabled or at least 90 percent permanently disabled as a result of military service. The Virginia Department of Veterans Services (DVS) is responsible for managing the program and collaborates with the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and Virginia’s public colleges and universities to assist spouses and children of qualified military service members and Veterans in attaining their educational goals. Please visit the VMSDEP website for eligibility requirements and the online application.
Program Highlights
Students are required to submit enrollment information in the VMSDEP portal each term in order to use the tuition and fees waiver. We encourage program participants to submit the term information as soon as the portal opens for the term. Student information is extracted from the portal weekly, and the waiver is then manually processed. Tier 2 students are eligible for a one-time stipend each semester. The stipend is validated after the add/drop date to ensure the correct number of credits is reported. The Stipend will be disbursed to the student account and available for refund if there is no outstanding balance. Please note this is approximately 8 weeks after the beginning of the term.
Enrollment Open/Close Dates
| Terms | Open | Close (Due by) |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | July 01 | October 31 |
| Spring (Winter credits hours are combined with Spring) | November 01 | March 31 |
| Summer | April 01 | June 30 |
Notes
- Financial Aid: As a state benefit, the VMSDEP will be included as a financial resource in your overall financial aid package (the waiver does not appear on the original financial aid offer) and may reduce state grants, university grants or scholarships, federal loans, federal work-study, and private loans. The VMSDEP tuition and fees waiver lowers the cost of attendance when calculating federal financial aid packaging. Financial aid packages will be adjusted once the waiver is applied.
- Retroactive Waivers: Mason will not process retroactive VMSDEP requests. We strongly encourage students to update the VMSDEP portal prior to the first day of class and no later than the publicized close enrollment dates noted above. Student information must be on the semester roster in the VMSDEP portal by the last day of the current term in order for the waiver to be applied to that term. If the term has closed in the portal, please contact vmsdep@gmu.edu for assistance.