Last Updated October 16, 2020

We all know that veterans make great coders: discipline, collaboration, and technical skills are all synonymous with the military. Until 2017, the GI Bill, which covers education benefits for veterans, was slow to cover code schools, accelerated learning programs, or online education. However, with the enactment of the Forever GI Bill in August 2017, it's becoming easier for coding bootcamps to be approved for the GI Bill. Below, we break down which coding bootcamps accept the GI Bill, which coding bootcamps are part of VET TEC, and which schools offer scholarship opportunities to help send veterans to programming bootcamps. From $500 automatic scholarships to 90% off of the cost of tuition, if it’s a scholarship for veterans, we’ve got it covered on this comprehensive list.

Want to hear from coding schools like Flatiron School, Turing School, and Operation Code about their thoughts on using the GI Bill for coding education? Check out our podcast on The GI Bill and Coding Bootcamps: Why (and How) It Works!

Coding Bootcamps Accepting the GI Bill:

1. As of July 2015, Skill Distillery is VA-Approved and began accepting the GI Bill. 
2. As of June 2016, Galvanize acceptes the GI Bill for their 6-month bootcamp in Boulder and Denver, Colorado.
3. As of July 2016, Codeup accepts the GI Bill at their campus in San Antonio, Texas.
4. As of July 2016, Nashville Software School accepts the GI Bill at their Nashville campus.
5. As of August 2016, Sabio is partnering with Antioch University to offer the Certificate in Web Development, makes veteran benefits available in Los Angeles, California.
6. As of August 2016, Code Fellows is certified by the Veterans Association to accept the GI Bill.
7. As of October 2016, Turing School accepts the GI Bill at their campus in Denver, Colorado.
8. Code Immersives in New York City to accepts the GI Bill.
9. Deep Dive Coding is eligible for GI Bill benefits at their campus in Alburquerque, New Mexico.
10. As of January 2017, SecureSet Academy accepts the GI Bill at their Colorado Springs campus.
11. As of February 2017, Wyncode is approved to accept the GI Bill in Miami, allowing veterans to fully fund their education
12. As of June 2017, PDX Code Guild in Portland is eligible to accept the GI Bill.
13. As of September 2017, DevPoint Labs in Salt Lake City accepts the GI Bill as part of their partnership with the University of Utah.
14. As of November 2017, Coding Dojo accepts the GI Bill at its Seattle campus.
15. As of November 2017, devCodecamp accepts the GI Bill at their Milwaukee campus. DevCodeCamp also offers free housing to veterans. 
16. As of November 2017, Cincy Code IT accepts the GI Bill at their Cincinnati campus. 
17. As of November 2017, We Can Code IT accepts the GI Bill at their Cleveland campus.
18. As of January 2018, The Software Guild accepts the GI Bill at their Louisville campus.
19. As of January 2018, Code Platoon accepts the GI Bill at their Chicago campus.
20. As of January 2018, Big Sky Code Academy accepts the GI Bill.
21. As of January 2018, BoiseCodeWorks accepts the GI Bill. 
22. As of February 2018, General Assembly accepts the GI Bill at their NYC and Washington, DC campuses for select courses.
23. As of February 2018, V School accepts the GI Bill at their Salt Lake City campus.
24. As of March 2018, Tech Elevator's Cleveland campus accepts the GI Bill.
25. As of May 2018, DevLeague accepts the GI Bill for their Honolulu campus.
26. As of May 2018, Metis accepts the GI Bill for their New York City campus.
27. As of May 2018, Eleven Fifty Academy accepts the GI Bill for their JavaScript, .Net, iOS, and Android bootcamps.
28. As of January 2019, We Can Code It accepts the GI Bill for their Java Developer Bootcamp
29. As of September 2019, Claim Academy has been approved for the GI Bill.
30. As of March 2020, Wyncode has been approved for the GI Bill.
31. As of 2020, Evolve Security Academy has been approved to accept the GI Bill for their in-person (Chicago) Bootcamp.

Coding Bootcamps That Accept VET TEC:

VET TEC is a high-tech training pilot program that doesn’t use GI Bill benefits and pays a monthly housing stipend to students in the program. VET TEC stands for Veteran Employment Through Technology Education Courses. In other words, veterans can attend a coding bootcamp for free without using any GI Bill benefits! You can see which coding bootcamps are preferred and non-preferred partners with VET TEC here.

Which Coding Bootcamps Give Automatic Veteran Discounts?

These 14 code schools offer automatic discounts for any veterans or military personnel who are accepted to their programs:

1. CodeCore offers a $500 (CAD) scholarship for all veterans. Only Canadian citizens are eligible.
2. Code Platoon is a nonprofit, veteran-only coding bootcamp offering 16 weeks of intense, in-person instruction with scholarships of $10,000 to $13,000 for all veterans and military spouses.
3. Coder Camps awards 20% of tuition to those in active duty and those who are veterans.
4. The Dev Masters offers scholarships up to 10% off of tuition to all persons with a military background and veterans.
5. DigitalCrafts offers $1000 - $1500 scholarships for veterans.
6. Launch Academy offers a $500 scholarship to any veteran, female or person of an ethnic minority group underrepresented in the software engineering field.
7. LearningFuze offers $600 discounts for women and US military members.
8. Metis offers a $3000 scholarship to put towards tuition for all women, underrepresented minorities, and veterans or members of the US military.
9. Momentum offers a $1,000 discount to military veterans. 
10. NexGenT offers 20% off their base tuition of $12,500 for military veterans.
11. NPower offers a free full-time, 14-week cyber security course with a 12-week paid internship; and a free full-time, 12-week, full stack web development course for active military personnel and veterans in New York City and Dallas, Texas.
12. RefactorU offers a 20% tuition discount ($2,700 value) to successful applicants of the Intensive Web Development Bootcamp who are either current or former U.S. military personnel (including their spouses). RefactorU also accepts to GI Bill! 
13. The Software Guild $2000 Veterans Who Code Award is available to eligible military personnel who are admitted into The Software Guild’s full-time online coding bootcamp program or Louisville on-ground program.
14. Thinkful offers veterans a $1200 discount for their web development bootcamp .  
15. V School - V School offers $1400+ women, minority, military and hardship scholarships.
16. Wyncode offers $500 discounts for veterans.

Which Coding Bootcamps offer Scholarship Programs for Veterans?

These coding bootcamps offer limited scholarships for select groups of veterans and military personnel- expect to apply for these unique scholarships!

V School Veterans in Tech Scholarship

The Scholarship: covers 100% of tuition and includes free laptop rental and free veteran housing during in-class skill-building

The application process: Applicants apply for scholarship through V School website and speak with a V School representative. Scholarship to be applied to the web development program. Scholarship is available to veterans of any branch of the Armed Forces of the United States and military spouses.

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V School Military & Veterans Fund

The Scholarship: covers 100% of tuition for the web development course plus lifetime career veteran membership

The application process: Applicants apply for scholarship through V School website and speak with a V School representative. Scholarship to be applied to the web development program. 

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Bloc Veterans Scholarship in Software and Design

The Scholarship: $500

The Application Process: Bloc reviews and awards two scholarships for veterans weekly. Scholarships can be applied to the tuition of any Bloc program. Applicants fill out a few short essays about their background and plans for the tech skills they will acquire. In addition, scholarship winners are asked to keep a blog of their time at Bloc.

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Coding Dojo Military Retraining

The Scholarship: $1500

The Application Process: Coding Dojo offers a limited number of partial scholarships for veterans participating in onsite bootcamps. A separate scholarship application is available after completing the general admission application.

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Code Fellows Diversity Scholarship Fund

The Scholarship: Up to 70% of tuition

The Application Process: Women, U.S. military veterans, and minorities who are underrepresented in tech are welcome to apply for Diversity Scholarships after applying to Code 201, Code 301, or Code 401. Scholarship applications are due 3 weeks before the start of class.

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Operation Code

Operation code has partnered with a number of coding bootcamps to offer military/veterans discounts:

• Flatiron School: $500 off Learn's monthly tuition for first 50 veterans to sign up
• Bloc.io: $1000 tuition credit for all veterans enrolled in the Web Developer Track
• Launch School: Two full scholarships for one male and one female student
• Thinkful: $400 off tuition for veterans enrolled in the Web Development Career Path program

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Code Platoon Scholarships

The Scholarship: Up to $15,500 (full tuition)

The Application Process: ​Scholarship awards are typically $12,500, ensuring no student will ever pay more than $3,000 to attend Code Platoon. Code Platoon also offers full scholarships, valued at $15,500, for transgender veterans, women veterans, and people of color. Transitioning service members may be eligible to participate in Code Platoon through the Department of Defense ​Skillbridge​ program. Veterans and military spouses with VA educational benefits, including GI Bill, VET TEC, and Vocational Rehabilitation may use those to pay for their training with Code Platoon.

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FURTHER READING:

• Coding Bootcamp Cost Comparison
• Guide to VET TEC
• This podcast on The GI Bill and Coding Bootcamps
• How to Pay for a Coding Bootcamp
• Exclusive Coding Bootcamp Scholarships