Unlocking STEM Opportunities: A Guide to the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship

The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, a provision of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act (Forever GI Bill®), offers enhanced educational benefits to students pursuing degrees in high-demand Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. Recognizing that these fields often require more extensive training and credit hours, this scholarship provides crucial support to eligible Veterans and dependents.

What is the Rogers Scholarship?

The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship, or Rogers Scholarship, offers up to nine additional months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to eligible veterans and dependents for an additional maximum payout of $30,000. The Rogers Scholarship is designed for STEM students and those seeking a teaching certification. VA awarded the first Rogers STEM Scholarships in November 2019.

A Legacy of Service: Edith Nourse Rogers

The scholarship is named after Edith Nourse Rogers, a dedicated advocate for Veterans who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1925 to 1961. As one of the first women elected to Congress, she championed the cause of Veterans throughout her distinguished career.

Who Is Eligible for the Rogers Scholarship?

Recipients of the Post-9/11 GI Bill or the Fry Scholarship who are running out of education benefits, but who are pursuing a degree or professional training in a STEM-related field or teaching, may qualify for additional benefits by applying for an Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

To determine eligibility, the VA considers several factors, including enrollment status, degree requirements, and remaining GI Bill benefits. At least one of these must be true. Not all applicants receive a scholarship. VA prioritizes those with 100% coverage under the Post-9/11 GI Bill and those with the most time left to complete their degree.

Read also: Paying for Rogers State

You may be eligible for this scholarship if you're currently enrolled in an undergraduate STEM degree program or if you have a STEM degree and you're working toward a teaching certification.

Eligibility Criteria for Undergraduate STEM Degree Programs

If you're working toward a STEM degree, you must meet all of these requirements:

Be enrolled in an eligible undergraduate STEM degree program that requires at least 120 standard semester credit hours (or 180 quarter credit hours) to complete. You’re enrolled in a qualifying undergraduate STEM degree program that requires at least 120 standard semester credit hours (or 180 quarter credit hours) to complete.
Have completed at least 60 standard credit hours (or 90 quarter credit hours) toward your degree. You’ve completed at least 60 standard credit hours (or 90 quarter credit hours) toward your degree.
Have six months or less of your Post-9/11 GI Bill (or Fry Scholarship) benefits left. Have 6 months or less of your Post-9/11 GI Bill® (or Fry Scholarship) benefits left. To find out how much of your benefits you have left, check your statement of benefits.

Eligibility Criteria for Teaching Certification Programs

If you're working toward a teaching certification, you must meet all of these requirements:

Have earned an eligible post-secondary degree in a STEM field. You’ve earned a qualifying post-secondary degree in a STEM field.
Have been accepted or are enrolled in a teaching certification program. You’ve been accepted or are enrolled in a teaching certification program.
Have six months or less of your Post-9/11 GI Bill (or Fry Scholarship) benefits left. Have 6 months or less of your Post-9/11 GI Bill® (or Fry Scholarship) benefits left.

Eligibility Criteria for covered clinical training program for health care professionals

All of these must be true:

You’ve earned a qualifying degree in a STEM field.
You’ve been accepted or are enrolled in a covered, post-graduate clinical training program for health care professionals (this training must not be part of a graduate degree program).
You have 6 months or less of your Post-9/11 GI Bill (or Fry Scholarship) benefits left. To find out how much of your benefits you have left, check your statement of benefits.

Important Considerations

The Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship allows some eligible Veterans and dependents in high-demand fields to extend their Post-9/11 GI Bill® or Fry Scholarship benefits.
Dependents using transferred GI Bill benefits aren't eligible for this program, but those receiving benefits under the Fry Scholarship program are.
Note: You can’t use the Rogers Scholarship for graduate degree programs. You can use the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM scholarship only for an undergraduate degree program, a teaching certification, or a covered training program for health care professionals.

Qualifying STEM Fields

The Rogers Scholarship is designed for STEM students and those seeking a teaching certification, so you must be enrolled in a program for, or have earned a degree in, one of the following areas or a related area:

Read also: Programs at Whiddon-Rogers

Agriculture science or natural resources science program
Biological or biomedical science
Computer and information science and support services
Engineering, engineering technologies or an engineering-related field
Health care or related program
Mathematics or statistics
Medical residency
Physical science
Science technologies or technicians

See the full list of degrees that VA considers to be STEM fields of study for purposes of the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship.

Scholarship Amount and Duration

If we approve your application, you’ll get up to 9 months of added benefits (or $30,000, whichever comes first). The Rogers Scholarship offers up to nine additional months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to eligible veterans and dependents for an additional maximum payout of $30,000.

How to Apply

You can apply for the Rogers Scholarship online right now.

What Happens After Applying?

We usually make a decision about each scholarship within 30 days. We award scholarships on a monthly basis. This is also called a decision letter. Bring this COE to the VA certifying official at your school. We’ll ask if you’d like to receive updates about your VA STEM benefits by text message. To participate, respond “yes” within 7 days of receiving this message. You can also use STEMText to verify your attendance each month. We’ll send you a text message each month asking if you attended your STEM courses. To verify, just respond “yes.”Go to our STEMText video (YouTube) to learn moreNote: If you need to update your primary phone number, call us at 888-442-4551 (TTY: 711). ET.

Additional Information and Considerations

Priority will be given to individuals who are entitled to 100% of Post-9/11 GI Bill® benefits and to those who require the most credit hours.
The Chapter 33 rates for private or foreign schools apply to the STEM scholarship as well. We update these rates each academic year. Review the current rates for Chapter 33 benefits
Can I take part in the Work Study Program while I’m using the STEM scholarship? Yes. If you have a STEM scholarship, you’re now eligible to apply for the Veterans Work Study Program. Learn about the Work Study Program and find out how to apply
The Yellow Ribbon Program may not be used with this extension. Yellow Ribbon may not be used with this extension. No. You can’t use the Yellow Ribbon Program with this scholarship. Schools can provide Yellow Ribbon funding, but we can’t match it.

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