If your GI Bill is about to run out or is already gone, you are enrolled in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) program, or you have a STEM degree and are trying to get a teaching certification, you may want to investigate a new GI Bill program coming this fall.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications for the Edith Nourse Rogers STEM Scholarship program, also known as the Rogers Scholarship, on Aug. 1. This program offers up to nine additional months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits on top of those currently available for an additional maximum payout of $30,000.

You must be enrolled in a program for or have earned a degree in one of the following areas:

• 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

Priority will be given to those whose GI Bill has run out and need the most credit hours to complete their degree or obtain their teaching certification. Dependents using a transferred GI Bill aren't eligible for this program, but those receiving benefits under the Fry Scholarship program are.

You need to have completed at least 60 semester or 90 quarter hours towards your degree. And if your GI bill has not run out already, it must run out within 180 days for you to be eligible.

Also, the Yellow Ribbon Program is not applicable with this program.

Edith Nourse Rogers was a Congresswoman from Massachusetts who wrote and co-sponsored the original GI Bill legislation in 1944. She also was instrumental in the formation of the Women's Army Corps (WACs) in 1943.

The Rogers Scholarship was created as a part of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, also known as the "Forever GI Bill."

You can apply for the scholarship or get more information on the VA's website.

By Jim Absher