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Mission

Veteran Services is dedicated to providing a welcoming environment for veterans, reservists and their dependents. We provide assistance in obtaining the educational benefits to which they are entitled. Veteran Services is responsible for submitting entitlement requests for new and continuing students to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, answering questions from veteran students or dependents concerning educational benefits, and providing resources and programs to assist veterans in navigating their transition to civilian and student life.

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We're Here to Help

This site was developed in an effort to facilitate your understanding of the process required to use your veterans' educational benefits at UC Merced.

The key to using veterans' benefits at UC Merced is communicating with the Veteran Certifying Official. If you don't find the information you need or have further questions, please contact the Veteran Services at veteranservices@ucmerced.edu or 209-228-7641.

 

Beginning January 2026, the Veteran Services Office will offer walk-in support at the Students First Center for students who wish to speak with the UC Merced VA Certifying Official regarding questions about their VA education benefits.

Walk-in hours are:

  • Tuesdays: 12:30–4:30 p.m.
  • Wednesdays: 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Location: Students First Center, Administration Building

If you are unable to attend during walk-in hours and would like to schedule an in-person appointment, please email veteranservices@ucmerced.edu.

 

Announcements

VA beneficiaries must verify their enrollment each month in order to receive benefit payments. Monthly enrollment verification is required for students using any of the following benefits:

  • Post-9/11 GI Bill
  • Montgomery GI Bill Active Duty (MGIB-AD)
  • Montgomery GI Bill Selected Reserve (MGIB-SR)
  • Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA)

 Please note that a beneficiary must verify their enrollment for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to begin processing the monthly benefit. Once verified, payment processing can take five to seven calendar days.  

 

During verification, the VA will ask you to confirm the following information:

  • Your credit hours or clock hours
  • The start and end dates of your enrollment for the month

 

To verify enrollment, the following options are available:

  • Text: To verify via text, beneficiaries can opt-in when they begin using their benefits to receive a monthly text message from VA to confirm their enrollment. This is the fastest way for students to verify their enrollment and receive their payments. If you need to update your phone number, or if you don’t want to verify your enrollment by text anymore, call the Department of Veteran Affairs at 888-442-4551, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.
  • Email: If beneficiaries choose not to opt into text verification, they will receive monthly enrollment verification messages by email.
  • Online: You can verify your enrollment through Ask VA. In your message, be sure to include the dates of your enrollment in school or training through the online tool.
  • Phone: Call Department of Veteran Affairs at 888-442-4551 (TTY: 711), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET.

 

Important Reminder

Before verifying your enrollment each month, ensure you have submitted your Veteran Enrollment Card for the semester to the UC Merced Veteran Services Office so your initial certification can be processed. We recommend submitting the card after registering for classes and no later than 30 days after the start of the semester.