§3320 Edith Nourse Rogers Stem Scholarship

Summary

The VA will give extra STEM scholarship money to certain people who have or had GI Bill education benefits. To get it, a person must have used (or be about to use within 180 days) all their GI Bill benefits, apply for the scholarship, and be studying or trained in specific science, technology, engineering, math, health, agriculture, or other national‑need fields. That includes people enrolled in a 120‑credit undergraduate program (or a dual program that includes that degree) who have finished at least 60 credits, people who already have a relevant degree and are in required clinical training or seeking a teaching certificate, and people with a graduate degree in a relevant field who are in required clinical training. “Covered clinical training” means the clinical training needed to get a license to practice in a state or local area. People who get these extra benefits may also receive school payments under GI Bill rules, but they may not transfer these extra benefits to someone else and these extra payments do not count against the usual GI Bill time limits. The VA will pay the normal monthly GI Bill rate for up to 9 months, but no one can get more than $30,000 from this scholarship. If money is limited, the VA will first help those who need the most credits and then give priority in this order: undergraduates in the listed fields; people seeking teaching certificates; dual‑degree students; undergraduates in required clinical training; then graduates in required clinical training. Total program funding limits are $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; $75,000,000 for each fiscal year 2020 through 2022; and $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2023 and each later year. If the VA adds a new eligible field, it must tell Congress at least 90 days before using that field to make people eligible and must include any labor‑market analysis used.