Post GI Bill Overseas Schools

Approximately a third of the countries that house schools covered by the GI Bill are located in Europe. Currently, the GI Bill covers 27 countries, including several dozen schools each in France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Scandinavia. In addition, the GI Bill covers over 100 schools in Germany and nearly 150 in the United Kingdom, including the prestigious University of Oxford. Students looking for an education in Greece, Russia or Eastern Europe will find a smaller range of schools to choose from, but they still have opportunities to study in such cities as Moscow, Athens, Warsaw and Prague.

Veterans looking for schooling in Asia do not have the wide diversity of options available in Europe. The GI Bill still covers around 50 schools spread through China, Japan and South Korea, and a scattered few in India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. However, the GI Bill does offer over 300 schooling options in the Philippines, giving it the largest number of supported institutions of any country outside of the United States. In addition, a large number of schools in Australia and New Zealand are represented, as well as a few schools elsewhere in the Pacific.

The GI Bill offers coverage for over 150 Canadian universities, giving veterans a wide range of options north of the border. The GI Bill also can finance attendance at schools in all Central American countries, including several dozen in Mexico. The Bill covers a few universities in South American countries with the exceptions of Paraguay, Venezuela, Guyana and Suriname. Schooling options elsewhere in the world are highly limited. Only 12 African schools are covered by the GI Bill, and these are spread over five countries. And of the 24 Middle Eastern schools covered, half are located in Israel, either in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. The rest are found in Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

To determine whether the school and program you are interested in is covered by the GI Bill, use the Weams Institution Search on the Department of Veterans Affairs website. The search tool allows you to browse schools by country; the specific entries for each school show which of that school's programs are covered by the GI Bill.

Depending on which GI Bill applies to you, you may have a limited time-frame in which to use the GI Bill for your education. If you are covered by the Montgomery GI Bill, you have 10 years from your date of discharge to use its funding. If you are covered by the Post 9/11 GI Bill, that limit is extended to 15 years. When you apply for GI Bill funding for a foreign school, that school is required to send a formal request to the Department of Veterans Affairs, including your personal information and information about the school.