Military Spouses Education

So, your spouse is hard at work with a military career, but you're looking for something different. A college degree is in the cards for you, but what sorts of options are available to you? You know that there are serious benefits out there to help your spouse with college when the time comes, but can they help you? The simple answer is: yes, they can. Not only can the military help you with education-related expenses, but it is a built-in support organization with plenty of resources to help you accomplish your college goals.

Active Duty Spouses

For spouses of active duty personnel looking into learning new skills to further their career, the military has put together the Military Spouse Career Advancement Account (CAA) project. This is a program designed to provide "portable career opportunities for military spouses." In other words, it offers help with career training in high-growth trades-like education, health care, and information technology-with credentials that will remain valid in many states. With that kind of training and certificate, the typical military move won't derail your whole career.

CAA covers education and training expenses of up to $3,000 per year, for up to two years, but not everyone is eligible. Are you? You might be if you:

1. Are married to an active duty service member, stationed with a minimum of one year left at a participating CAA installation site.
2. Have a high school diploma, GED, or any comparable level of secondary education that would normally grant entry to certification and credentialing programs.
3. Are not concurrently obtaining tuition assistance granted by the U.S. Department of Labor, such as the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) or Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA). Unaffiliated means of assistance, such as Pell Grants or scholarships or federal financial aid, are not only unaffected but encouraged as a tuition supplement.

If you meet the criteria, then CAA could be your pathway to an education that can travel with you anywhere.

Veteran Spouses

Benefits don't stop when your spouse leaves the armed forces-to the contrary; there are education resources available for both veterans and their dependents.

The Survivors' and Dependents' Educational Assistance (DEA) program was created to provide education and career training opportunities to spouses and dependents of military veterans. The program offers up to 45 months of tuition assistance for those that qualify, to be used on your choice of traditional college, distance learning, certification programs, or on-the-job training and apprenticeships.

That said, there are rigid guidelines to determine whether or not you qualify. Do you? You may, if you are the son, daughter, or spouse of:

1. A veteran who has died or is permanently and totally disabled or dead as a result of their active service in the Armed Forces.
2. A veteran who died from any cause while already suffering from a service-connected disability.
3. A service member who went missing in action or was captured in line of duty by a hostile force.
4. A service member who was forcibly detained by a foreign government or power.
5. A service member who is hospitalized or receiving treatment for a service-connected disability for which he or she is likely to be discharged.

If you meet one of those scenarios, then the DEA may be your path to higher education.

State Benefits

In addition to military-based benefits, your state may offer benefits of its own to help military dependents on the road to higher education. What benefits those are varies greatly from state to state, from scholarships and grants to full tuition wavers at state universities, so it is well worth looking into your options.

Scholarships

Even beyond benefits, there are avenues for tuition assistance for the spouses of service members. Federal financial aid is an option, as are Pell grants and student loans. Then, there are scholarship applications. Some are general, but others are geared toward specific needs.

Some scholarships, in fact, are geared specifically toward military spouses. The NMFA Joanne Holbrook Patton Military Spouse Scholarship Program is just one of many. Though most are only supplemental and will not provide for full tuition, anyone in school knows that every little bit of financial aid helps, and the time spent on applications is well worth the possibility of extra funding toward your future.