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Minnesota National Guard Tuition Reimbursement
A tuition grant for a Guard member serving satisfactorily, benchmarked to the University of Minnesota’s lower-division liberal arts rate, running to 144 semester credits — and extended for deployment, injury or death in service.
Verified August 23, 2026
What this benefit is
A tuition grant for a Guard member serving satisfactorily, benchmarked to the University of Minnesota’s lower-division liberal arts rate, running to 144 semester credits — and extended for deployment, injury or death in service.
What it's worth: Up to 100% of tuition, benchmarked to the University of Minnesota rate, to 144 semester credits
- The statute sets the maximum as the greater of two things: up to 100% of the cost of tuition for lower division programs in the College of Liberal Arts at the Twin Cities campus of the University of Minnesota, or 100% of the actual tuition charged at a Minnesota public postsecondary institution.
- Because the benchmark tracks the University’s published rate, the cash value moves every time that rate moves. We publish the formula rather than a dollar figure that would be wrong within a year.
- The lifetime limit is 208 quarter credits or 144 semester credits, which is the constraint that actually binds a member taking a second degree.
Who is entitled to it
- You are the serving member, or the spouse or dependant of one killed in active service.
- You are enrolled at, or applying to, a postsecondary institution.
- Your home is in Minnesota.
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: Per term — the Guard sets the closing date each semester- 1Confirm you are "serving satisfactorily" — that is the statutory phrase, and it is the test the Guard applies rather than a formal enlistment milestone.
- 2Enrol at a postsecondary institution, including a vocational or technical school; the statute reaches those as well as degree programmes.
- 3Keep the proof of completion. The statute conditions the grant on proof that the coursework was satisfactorily completed, which is a different thing from proof of enrolment.
- 4If you completed a service contract that included federal active service after 11 September 2001, your eligibility extends by two years plus a period equal to the length of that active service. Ask for the extension rather than assuming the window closed.
- 5If you separated because of a service-connected injury or disability, the extension is eight years from separation.
- 6A spouse or dependant under 24 of a member killed in state or federally funded active service qualifies in their own right — a family should raise this even when the member never used it.
- 7Watch the credit ceiling. Eligibility ends once grants total the equivalent of 208 quarter credits or 144 semester credits.
- File with
- The Minnesota National Guard education office, through your unit
- Documents you will need
- proof of guard membership · enrollment verification · transcript or grade report
- Each term
- The statute requires proof of satisfactory completion of coursework, so each term is proved on its own.
CorrectionThe reimbursement is not fixed at a dollar amount. It is pegged to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities lower-division liberal arts tuition, or to 100% of actual tuition at a Minnesota public institution, whichever is greater — so a figure copied from a guide two years old will understate or overstate it.
Worth knowingThe same section authorises up to $1,000 in additional awards to highly qualified enlistees, capped at 25 such awards a year. It is a separate discretionary thing from the tuition grant, and worth asking your recruiter or education office about by name.
Worth knowingThe statute also carries a reenlistment and commissioning bonus in subdivision 1b, with a proportionate recoupment if the term is not completed. If you are weighing a reenlistment, the bonus and the tuition grant are separate levers.
Known gapThe Guard’s own education page points to circulars and guides rather than stating the current rate, the application window or the graduate treatment. Ask the Guard education office for the circular in force this term before planning a programme around a number.
Sources
- authority · statuteMinn. Stat. §192.501 — Financial incentives; tuition and textbook reimbursement
- operating · published policyMinnesota National Guard — Education
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.