Veterans Alliance is privately owned and operated to serve veterans. We are not affiliated with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Alliance — Veterans Alliance
← All Maryland benefits
educationstate

Maryland National Guard Tuition Assistance — a 50% Waiver and an $8,500 Reimbursement

Two programmes sit under the statute's authorisation. The State Tuition Waiver covers up to 50% of tuition at Maryland partner schools for actively drilling Guard members. The State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement programme reimburses tuition and fees, capped at $8,500 per fiscal year, and requires at least two years remaining on contract from course completion, grades of C or better, and submissions within 45 days of both the start and the end of the semester.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

Two programmes sit under the statute's authorisation. The State Tuition Waiver covers up to 50% of tuition at Maryland partner schools for actively drilling Guard members. The State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement programme reimburses tuition and fees, capped at $8,500 per fiscal year, and requires at least two years remaining on contract from course completion, grades of C or better, and submissions within 45 days of both the start and the end of the semester.

What it's worth: Up to 50% of tuition waived at partner schools, or up to $8,500 a year reimbursed

  • The statute authorises assistance equal to 100% of the cost of in-State tuition for regularly scheduled credit courses and sets no dollar ceiling of its own. The operating programmes below are what is actually paid.
  • The State Tuition Waiver waives up to 50% of tuition at Maryland partner schools for actively drilling Guard members. Letters are issued by the education office on 667-296-4144.
  • The State Tuition Assistance Reimbursement programme reimburses tuition and fees ONLY — not books or other costs — capped at $8,500 per fiscal year.
  • It requires at least two years remaining on contract measured from course completion, and grades of C (2.0) or better.
  • Submission is in two parts, within 45 days of the semester start and within 45 days of the semester end. Missing either window loses the reimbursement regardless of the result.
  • The statute says the Department "may" provide the assistance. It is authorised rather than owed.

Who is entitled to it

  • You are the serving member.
  • Your home is in Maryland.

Not sure whether that describes you?

Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.

How to claim it

Deadline: Before the term — the Department sets the closing date each semester
  1. 1Count your remaining obligation first. The statute requires at least 24 months remaining on the enlistment or commission, so a member inside their final two years cannot start here.
  2. 2Check the institution is one the statute names: a University System of Maryland campus, a community college, Morgan State University, St. Mary’s College, or a public vocational-technical or trade school.
  3. 3A private institution or private trade school only counts where it waives at least 50% of its tuition for the member — that condition sits in the statute, so ask the school before you enrol.
  4. 4Know the service you are buying with it: 2 further years of active membership after an undergraduate, vocational or trade course, and 4 further years after a graduate or professional one.
  5. 5If your unit is disbanded you are not automatically in breach — the statute lets you satisfy the obligation by transferring to another unit.
  6. 6Understand the clawback. If you are discharged for a reason designated by the Adjutant General, the tuition assistance for that semester must be repaid to the Department within 30 days.
File with
The Maryland Military Department, through your unit
Documents you will need
proof of guard membership · enrollment verification
Each term
Assistance attaches to a semester, and the statute contemplates repayment of a semester’s assistance on discharge.
CorrectionThe 24-month test is about time left to serve, not time already served. A long-serving member close to the end of their commitment is the person most likely to be refused, which is the reverse of what seniority usually buys.
Worth knowingA private college can be an eligible institution here, but only if it waives at least 50% of its tuition for the member. That is a condition on the school, not on you — and it is worth asking the admissions office in writing before you commit.
Known gapThe statute sets no annual or lifetime cap and names no application window. The Military Department publishes those operating rules on a page we could not read this session, so ask your unit education office what the current cap and deadline are before you plan a degree around this.

Sources

Why only one source type: The statute carries the eligibility test, the 100% figure, the list of eligible institutions, the post-course service obligation and the 30-day repayment rule. The Military Department’s own tuition assistance page returned HTTP 403 to every request we made this session, so we publish the statute and no operating figure it does not state.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.