UNG Scholarship

 Georgia Military Service Scholarship (GMSS)

Every year, we award 42 Georgia high school students full scholarships to attend the University of North Georgia (UNG) and participate in the Corps of Cadets—the Boar’s Head Brigade. On average, we only receive 70 to 80 qualified applicants each year! We’re extremely interested in your college-bound Georgia-resident students who might be considering military programs in college. You may know that we’re one of only six federally-designated senior military colleges in the nation, located in Dahlonega–home to the mountain phase of Army Ranger School, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, site of the first major U.S. gold rush, near the Appalachian Trail. The Georgia Military Service Scholarship (GMSS) pays for tuition, fees, room, meals, books, and uniforms for eight semesters; about $85,000 over four years. In addition to the $85,000 scholarship, recipients receive pay and benefits as Soldiers in the Guard, and many are paid for occupying leadership roles in the Corps of Cadets. Most scholarship recipients earn $30,000 to $50,000 over four years more than what they need for college. Applicants who are offered the scholarship enlist in the Georgia Army National Guard, participate in the Corps of Cadets at UNG, earn a bachelor’s degree of their choice, and upon graduating, commission into the Georgia Army National Guard as part-time second lieutenants. Annual compensation is about $8,500. We have a Guard unit on our campus for GMSS recipients and other Guard Soldiers who are cadets: so for the first two years, there is no need to commute to weekend drills. After two years, they enter the Simultaneous Membership Program and shadow Guard lieutenants in their Guard units. GMSS recipients are not deployable while in college. After college, recipients incur an eight-year service obligation (same for all military commissions). The first four years of that commitment is in the Guard. After that, they may request to transition to the regular Army, or serve their remaining two-year active commitment in the Guard. It is not necessary to enlist in the Guard to apply for the scholarship. However, recipients who accept scholarship offers will enlist before receiving benefits. The scholarship application is open now for your seniors. Detailed information and application instructions are at ung.edu/cadet/scholarships, then select “UNG Military Scholarship.”