In order to be certified for VA educational benefits, students must be enrolled in courses that are required for their program. VA approved programs and their required degree courses can be found here. Academic Programs
Your academic load is based on the number of units you are enrolled in throughout the whole semester. Depending on your educational level (Undergrad or Graduate), the following are requirements needed for each semester.
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
12–19 units |
8 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Three-quarter Time |
9–11 units |
6 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Half Time |
6–8 units |
4 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Less than Half Time |
1–5 units |
1–3 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
12–19 units |
8 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Three-quarter Time |
9–11 units |
6 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Half Time |
6–8 units |
4 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Less than Half Time |
1–5 units |
1–3 units of all upper-division or graduate-level courses |
Important!
Each session has its own unit calculation in relation to the start and end dates covering a portion of weeks in the 10-week Summer term. If you have questions about your enrollment, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Veterans Services Center team at veterans@sfsu.edu. Please note that we can only provide a review of your enrollment. To verify the percentage of benefits you will receive for each session and in total, you will need to contact a VA education benefits representative: https://www.va.gov/education/. Please note one in-person unit needs to be taken for the duration of Summer term to receive full-time benefits throughout.
R1 and R3 Sessions
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
4 or more units |
3 or more units** |
Three-Quarter Time |
3 units |
2 units** |
Half Time |
2 units |
-- |
Less Than Half Time |
1 unit |
1 unit** |
R2 Session
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
6 or more units |
4 or more units** |
Three-Quarter Time |
4-5 units |
3 units** |
Half Time |
3 units |
2 units** |
Less Than Half Time |
1-2 units |
1 unit** |
R4 Session
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
7 or more units |
5 or more units** |
Three-Quarter Time |
5-6 units |
4 units** |
Half Time |
3-4 units |
2-3 units** |
Less Than Half Time |
1-2 units |
1 unit** |
Summer term covered by each session
| Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8 | Week 9 | Week 10 | |
| R1 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
|
|
|
|
| R3 |
|
|
|
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
| R2 |
|
|
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
|
| R4 |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
X |
Academic Status |
Undergraduate Units |
Graduate* Units |
Full Time |
2.5 or more units |
2 or more units |