Uber Education Benefits: Online Degrees for Uber Drivers

Uber offers one of the most generous education benefits available to gig workers in the United States — 100 percent tuition coverage at Arizona State University Online for qualifying drivers and couriers or a direct family member, delivered through the ASU and Uber Education Partnership that launched nationwide in 2019. The benefit has produced more than 1,100 ASU graduates as of the partnership’s five-year anniversary in 2024, and in fall 2024 expanded to include Barrett, The Honors College at ASU. For drivers who meet the eligibility requirements, this is functionally a full-ride scholarship to a large public research university, transferable to a spouse, child, sibling, or parent.

The honest framing this article needs up front: the Uber education benefit is generous but the eligibility bar is genuine. Drivers need Uber Pro Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status plus 2,000 lifetime completed trips, and they need to maintain that status to keep the benefit active. Drivers below Gold status, or drivers with fewer than 2,000 lifetime trips, are not eligible — though the program is often overlooked by drivers who do qualify. This guide walks through exactly how the benefit works in 2026, what the eligibility requirements actually look like in practice, what the tuition coverage includes and excludes, and what options exist for drivers who do not qualify (or who want to pursue a degree or school outside ASU Online). For broader context on evaluating employer-funded online programs, our Complete Guide to Earning an Accredited Online Degree as an Adult Learner covers the full decision framework for working adults balancing school with income-earning work.

What the ASU and Uber Education Partnership Actually Is

The ASU and Uber Education Partnership launched as a pilot in November 2018 across eight cities and expanded nationwide the following year. According to Uber’s official education benefits page, qualifying drivers and couriers receive 100 percent tuition coverage toward an online undergraduate degree at ASU Online, with the option to transfer the benefit to a direct family member. The program is modeled on the Starbucks College Achievement Plan (ASU’s longer-running corporate partnership with Starbucks), but with the significant addition that Uber drivers can pass the benefit to a family member — a feature the Starbucks program does not generally offer outside of veteran partners.

Four structural features of the program matter for any driver evaluating whether to use the benefit:

• Tuition is 100 percent covered at ASU Online up to 135 credits for an undergraduate degree — enough for any bachelor’s program including programs that require additional coursework beyond the standard 120 credits.
• More than 80 undergraduate degree programs are available, covering business, communications, computer science, engineering, health sciences, liberal arts, social sciences, and more.
• The benefit covers ASU CareerCatalyst English Language Learning courses (8 fluency levels, 8-week courses) and a 5-course entrepreneurship program for drivers not pursuing a full degree.
• Barrett, The Honors College is included in the benefit as of fall 2024, making Uber one of the few employer programs in the country that funds honors-college-level undergraduate education.

The partnership is exclusive — ASU is the only university in the benefit. Drivers who want to pursue a degree at a different online university need to fund it through federal financial aid, personal resources, or other means. This is a meaningful limitation for drivers whose target school or target program is not available at ASU Online, but for the 80+ programs ASU does offer, the benefit is about as generous as any employer tuition program in the country.

Eligibility: The 2,000 Trip and Uber Pro Status Requirements

Uber’s eligibility structure is tied to its Uber Pro rewards program, which sorts drivers into four status tiers (Blue, Gold, Platinum, Diamond) based on points earned from trips over a rolling three-month period. Per Uber’s official help center documentation, the eligibility rules are straightforward but strict:

Requirement	Detail
Uber Pro status	Must be Gold, Platinum, or Diamond (Blue status is not eligible)
Lifetime completed trips	2,000 or more
Status maintenance	Must maintain Gold or above to keep coverage active
Grace period	If status drops below Gold, a 3-month grace period allows coverage to continue while regaining eligibility
Quality standards	Must uphold all Uber driver/courier quality standards
Driver or courier	Both rideshare drivers and Uber Eats couriers qualify
FAFSA requirement	Annual FAFSA filing required for undergraduate students
Transferability	Benefit can be transferred to spouse, domestic partner, child, sibling, parent, legal guardian, or dependent

Two details in the eligibility structure deserve particular attention. First, the 2,000 lifetime completed trips requirement is not trivial. A driver averaging 15 trips per week reaches 2,000 trips in approximately 2.5 years of consistent driving. Drivers who are new to the platform or who drive occasionally will not qualify until they hit that threshold. Second, the Uber Pro status tiers are based on points earned over a rolling three-month period, which means drivers who step back from full-time driving for school, family, or other reasons can lose status and ultimately lose eligibility. The three-month grace period is useful but finite.

For drivers who do qualify and want to maintain eligibility while pursuing a degree, the practical implication is that they need to continue driving at approximately the Gold-status pace throughout their studies. Gold status typically requires driving several hundred points worth of trips per three-month cycle, which translates to roughly 15-20 hours of driving per week for most markets. For a working adult balancing driving and school, this is an ongoing commitment, not a one-time qualification hurdle.

What the Benefit Covers — and What It Doesn’t

The tuition coverage is genuinely comprehensive, but like all employer education programs it has specific boundaries that drivers should understand before enrolling.

Fully covered

• Tuition for up to 135 credits toward an undergraduate degree at ASU Online.
• Mandatory program fees associated with tuition for covered courses.
• ASU CareerCatalyst English Language Learning courses (8-week, non-credit continuing education format).
• ASU CareerCatalyst Entrepreneurship course series (5-course program).
• Earned Admission track fees for drivers or family members not initially admissible to ASU.

Not covered

• Textbooks and required course materials (approximately $650 per semester at ASU Online).
• Computer equipment, technology services, internet access, or other personal learning infrastructure.
• Annual income taxes on the value of the tuition coverage above $5,250 per calendar year.
• Graduate degrees (the benefit is undergraduate-only, with the exception of the CareerCatalyst non-credit programs).
• Degrees at any university other than Arizona State University Online.

The tax treatment is worth understanding clearly. Under IRS Section 127, employer-provided education assistance up to $5,250 per calendar year is tax-free to the employee. Because Uber’s ASU tuition coverage will typically exceed $5,250 per year for a full-time or near-full-time ASU Online student, the value above that threshold is treated as taxable income and reported on the driver’s 1099. For a driver whose ASU tuition coverage totals $15,000 in a calendar year, approximately $9,750 of that value is taxable. Depending on the driver’s tax bracket, the effective tax cost is roughly $1,500 to $2,500 per year — a real but manageable expense that drivers should plan for.

Combining the tuition coverage with federal financial aid can substantially reduce or eliminate the out-of-pocket expenses that are not covered by the Uber benefit. The FAFSA is required annually for program participation, and Pell Grant funding (up to $7,395 for 2025-26) can cover textbooks, technology, and other costs that Uber does not fund directly.

For a complete guide to filing FAFSA as an online student, including the fields that matter most for gig workers with variable income, see FAFSA for Online Students: What to Know Before You Apply.

ASU Online Programs Available Through the Uber Benefit

ASU Online offers more than 80 undergraduate degree programs eligible for the Uber tuition benefit. Arizona State University is a public R1 research university (HLC-accredited) consistently ranked among the top public research universities nationally, and ASU Online has been ranked #1 in online bachelor’s programs by U.S. News & World Report for multiple years. For a full review of ASU Online’s accreditation, outcomes, and program strengths, see our ASU Online college review.

The 80+ eligible programs span most major academic fields. The most popular programs for working adults pursuing the Uber benefit tend to be concentrated in a few areas:

Business and Management

BA in Business (Business Administration, Communication, Global Leadership, Information Security, Public Service, Sustainability tracks), BS in Business Analytics, BS in Business Data Analytics, BS in Global Management, BS in Management, and BS in Marketing are all available online. ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business holds AACSB accreditation — a credential held by only the top 5 percent of business schools worldwide — which is meaningful for graduates entering corporate job markets where employer degree-prestige matters.

Technology and Engineering

BS in Information Technology, BS in Software Engineering, BS in Computer Information Systems, BA in Digital Audiences, and BS in Engineering Management are available online. ASU’s engineering programs are ABET-accredited (the standard for engineering program quality), which makes them stronger credentials for drivers targeting engineering or technology careers than most for-profit online alternatives.

Communications and Liberal Arts

BA in Communication, BA in English, BA in History, BA in Political Science, BA in Psychology, BA in Sociology, BA in Liberal Studies, and many other humanities and social sciences programs are available online. For drivers pursuing education, social work, or law school pathways, these programs provide a bachelor’s foundation at zero tuition cost.

Health Sciences

BS in Health Sciences, BS in Public Health, BA in Health Care Coordination, and BS in Medical Studies are available online. These programs are strong launching points for drivers interested in healthcare careers, though most clinical healthcare roles (nursing, PT, OT) require post-baccalaureate programs that Uber’s benefit does not cover.

For drivers whose target career is specifically in nursing, ASU Online does offer RN-to-BSN programs for already-licensed nurses, but not pre-licensure nursing. For context on online nursing programs broadly, see our guide to accredited online nursing programs for working adults.

The Family Member Transfer — One of the Strongest Features

The transferability of the Uber education benefit to a direct family member is the single feature that distinguishes this program from most employer tuition benefits. A driver who already holds a bachelor’s degree, who prefers to continue driving rather than pursue school, or who simply wants to help a family member can transfer their 100 percent tuition coverage to:

• Spouse or domestic partner
• Child
• Sibling
• Parent
• Legal guardian or legal dependent

This is meaningfully broader than most family-transfer programs. The Starbucks College Achievement Plan, for example, only allows family transfers to a qualifying family member of a veteran partner — not to any partner. Uber’s program allows any qualifying driver to transfer the benefit regardless of veteran status, which opens the benefit to a much larger pool of potential students.

For a driver whose spouse has been wanting to finish a degree, whose adult child is starting college, or whose younger sibling is looking at college options, the Uber benefit is effectively a full-ride scholarship that the driver earns on behalf of the family member. The family member enrolls at ASU Online, completes the FAFSA annually, and receives 100 percent tuition coverage as long as the driver maintains Gold status or above.

Completing a Degree Through the Uber-ASU Partnership

The practical experience of completing a bachelor’s degree through the partnership is close to what a full-pay ASU Online student experiences, with a few structural differences worth understanding. ASU Online operates on a standard academic calendar with multiple start dates per year, offers 100 percent asynchronous coursework (no live class attendance required), and provides access to ASU success coaches, tutoring, library resources, and career services that are included at no additional cost.

For drivers returning to school after a long break — which describes a significant share of Uber drivers who use the benefit — the transition back to academic work is the biggest non-financial hurdle. Our guide to returning to college after 30 covers the practical issues of balancing school with work and family, and is directly applicable to the typical Uber driver-student profile.

The Earned Admission track is worth flagging for drivers who are not initially admitted to ASU. Roughly one in five applicants to ASU through employer partnerships like Starbucks and Uber are not initially admissible due to prior academic history or GPA issues. The Earned Admission pathway lets those applicants take up to 10 ASU courses to demonstrate readiness, with the Earned Admission fees fully covered by the Uber partnership. Once an applicant completes the Earned Admission courses successfully, they are admitted to ASU and continue toward their degree under the full tuition benefit. For drivers who assumed they could not qualify because of an old transcript, this pathway is worth pursuing.

If You Don’t Qualify for the Uber Benefit: Alternative Online Degree Options

Drivers who have not yet hit 2,000 lifetime trips, drivers below Gold status, drivers pursuing a degree not available at ASU Online, or drivers who simply prefer a different school still have strong options for online education. The broader online degree market has several programs that work well for gig workers balancing driving with school — flexible schedules, asynchronous coursework, low per-credit tuition, and generous transfer credit policies. Our online program explorer tool lets you filter programs by cost, major, transfer credit policy, and flexibility to find the right fit.

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU)

SNHU is a regionally accredited (NECHE) private nonprofit with a flat $330-per-credit undergraduate rate — one of the lowest rates in the online market. SNHU offers more than 200 online programs, accepts up to 90 transfer credits toward a bachelor’s degree, runs six eight-week terms per year with monthly start dates, and delivers coursework fully asynchronously. For a driver with income that qualifies for Pell Grant funding (up to $7,395/year for 2025-26), SNHU’s $330-per-credit rate means the Pell Grant can cover roughly 22 credits of study per year — enough for a full part-time courseload without borrowing. SNHU is also part of the broader Guild network used by many employer tuition programs, which means drivers who later pick up work at Walmart, Target, or another Guild employer can continue at the same school with new employer funding.

Western Governors University (WGU)

WGU is a private nonprofit online university (NWCCU-accredited) with a flat six-month term tuition rate of approximately $4,270 and a competency-based learning model that lets students progress as fast as they demonstrate mastery. For motivated gig workers with prior learning, industry certifications, or professional experience that translates to academic credit, WGU can compress total program time dramatically. Our WGU online college review walks through the accreditation, outcomes, and fit in detail.

Purdue University Global

Purdue Global is a public nonprofit online university within the Purdue system (HLC-accredited), specifically designed for working adults. It offers generous transfer credit policies, the ExcelTrack competency-based option for accelerated progression, and brand recognition as a Purdue-system institution. For a full review, see our Purdue Global online college review.

For drivers planning an online degree with significant personal funding, understanding the total cost profile before committing is essential. See How Much Does an Online Bachelor’s Degree Cost? for a complete breakdown of per-credit rates, total program costs, and the aid and employer-benefit combinations that most reduce out-of-pocket expense.

How Uber Compares to Other Gig Worker Education Benefits

The gig economy is an emerging frontier for employer education benefits, and while Uber’s program is the most generous, several other gig platforms have introduced education offerings worth understanding for comparison.

Platform	Benefit	Eligibility	Distinguishing Feature
Uber (ASU Partnership)	100% tuition at ASU Online	Gold+ status + 2,000 lifetime trips	Transferable to family member; 80+ programs; honors college
Lyft (LyftUp)	Grants through partner organizations	Varies by program	Narrower than Uber; not a direct tuition benefit
DoorDash (Empower)	Online high school completion; some college prep	Active Dashers	Focused on HS completion rather than bachelor’s degrees
Instacart (Shoppers)	Varies; partnership-based	Varies	Less structured than Uber’s benefit

The honest read is that Uber’s education benefit is meaningfully more generous than any other major gig platform’s offering. Lyft’s LyftUp program supports drivers through grants administered by partner nonprofits rather than direct tuition coverage. DoorDash’s Empower program focuses on high school completion and upskilling rather than full bachelor’s degrees. Instacart’s benefits are narrower and less publicly documented. For a driver working across multiple platforms, Uber Pro status is the only one that unlocks full-ride college tuition.

Three Realistic Uber Driver Profiles

Marcus, Full-Time Driver — Finishing a Bachelor’s at ASU Online

Marcus has driven full-time for Uber in Chicago for four years, reaching Platinum status and more than 6,000 lifetime trips. He completed 40 credits at a community college before leaving school years ago. He enrolls in ASU Online’s BS in Business Administration, transfers in his 40 credits, and needs 80 more credits over the course of roughly 3-4 years of part-time study (3-6 credits per term while continuing to drive 30+ hours per week). Uber covers 100 percent of tuition. Marcus pays approximately $1,300 per year in textbooks and pays taxes on the portion of his tuition benefit above $5,250 — an effective annual tax cost of roughly $2,000-$2,500. He also qualifies for partial Pell Grant funding, which he uses to cover textbook and technology costs. Total out-of-pocket cost over the 3-4 year program is approximately $5,000-$8,000, compared to the $55,000-$70,000 this degree would cost at full ASU Online sticker price.

Priya, Part-Time Driver — Transferring the Benefit to Her Spouse

Priya drives part-time in Denver for supplemental income while working primarily at a corporate job that pays well. She has been driving for three years, has Diamond status, and has 3,500 lifetime trips. She already holds a bachelor’s degree and is not interested in pursuing another degree. Her spouse, however, has been wanting to finish his bachelor’s for years. Priya transfers her Uber education benefit to her husband, who enrolls in ASU Online’s BS in Computer Science. Uber covers 100 percent of his tuition. Their household pays textbook, technology, and tax costs of approximately $3,000-$4,000 per year, and Priya’s husband completes his bachelor’s in three years of part-time study while continuing his day job. Priya maintains Diamond status by continuing her weekend driving schedule throughout his program.

Sam, Gig Driver Working Below Gold Status — Enrolling at SNHU Instead

Sam drives for Uber part-time in Austin but has never consistently hit the points needed for Gold status. He has approximately 800 lifetime trips. He is not eligible for the Uber education benefit and is unlikely to become eligible given his current driving pace. He enrolls instead at SNHU’s online BS in Marketing at $330 per credit, transferring in 30 prior community college credits. His total remaining tuition is $29,700 over 90 credits. He qualifies for a partial Pell Grant that covers roughly $4,500 per year, and he pays the remaining tuition out of pocket and through federal student loans. He graduates in five years of part-time study. While his total out-of-pocket cost is meaningfully higher than it would be under the Uber benefit, he does not need to substantially change his driving pattern to qualify for anything, and SNHU’s asynchronous coursework accommodates his variable gig-worker schedule.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to keep driving after I graduate?

No. The Uber education benefit has no post-graduation driving commitment. Drivers who complete a degree are free to leave the platform immediately, continue driving, or pursue any other path. This is consistent with how ASU’s Starbucks partnership and most other major employer education programs structure their benefits.

What happens if I stop driving mid-degree?

If your Uber Pro status drops below Gold for more than the three-month grace period, you become ineligible for continued tuition coverage. ASU will not claw back tuition already paid for completed courses, but you become responsible for tuition on courses you enroll in after losing eligibility. For drivers planning to use the benefit, maintaining Gold status throughout the degree program is essential.

Can I choose any degree at ASU?

The benefit covers any of ASU Online’s 80+ undergraduate degree programs, including Barrett Honors College as of fall 2024. Graduate programs (master’s, doctoral) are not covered under the current benefit structure. The CareerCatalyst English Language Learning and Entrepreneurship courses are also covered as non-credit alternatives for drivers not pursuing a full degree.

How is the taxable portion of the benefit reported?

Because Uber drivers are 1099 contractors rather than W-2 employees, the tax treatment of education assistance differs from what most employer tuition programs look like. The $5,250 annual tax-free threshold under IRS Section 127 applies, and the value of tuition coverage above that threshold is reported as income. Drivers should consult with a tax professional familiar with gig-economy taxation to understand how this interacts with self-employment tax, estimated quarterly tax payments, and any business expense deductions they may be taking against driving income.

Can I combine the Uber benefit with federal financial aid?

Yes — and the FAFSA is actually required annually for program participation. Federal aid (including Pell Grants and other grants) is applied to tuition and fees before the Uber tuition coverage kicks in. For drivers who qualify for Pell Grant funding, this effectively stacks: Pell covers tuition first, then Uber’s benefit covers the remainder, and any excess grant funds can be applied toward non-covered costs like textbooks and technology.

What if I’m not initially admitted to ASU?

ASU’s Earned Admission program provides a pathway for applicants who do not initially meet admission requirements. Qualifying Uber drivers in this situation can take up to 10 ASU courses with Earned Admission fees fully covered by the Uber partnership. Successfully completing the courses demonstrates academic readiness and leads to full admission, after which the driver continues toward their degree under the full tuition benefit.

Can a family member use the benefit even if they are also a driver?

Each qualifying driver earns one tuition benefit that can be used by themselves OR transferred to one eligible family member. A family member who is also a qualifying Uber driver earns their own separate benefit through their own driving. The benefits are tied to individual drivers, not shared across households.

Using the Benefit to Move Forward

For qualifying drivers, the ASU and Uber Education Partnership is one of the most generous education benefits available to any working American — full tuition at a top-ranked public research university, 80+ programs, transferable to a family member, with a comprehensive support system built in. Drivers who hit the 2,000 trip threshold and maintain Gold status have access to a benefit worth tens of thousands of dollars over the course of a bachelor’s degree, and the only out-of-pocket expenses are textbooks, technology, and taxes on the value of the benefit above $5,250 per year.

The most common mistake is not using the benefit. Uber has reported that many qualifying drivers never activate the benefit, either because they assume it is too good to be true, because they have not filed FAFSA in many years and do not know where to start, or because they believe their prior academic record disqualifies them when in fact the Earned Admission pathway exists specifically for that situation. For a qualifying driver whose response to the paragraph above is ‘I didn’t know this existed,’ the next step is straightforward: visit uber.asu.edu, speak with an ASU enrollment coach at 844-369-6587, and file the FAFSA at studentaid.gov.

For drivers who do not qualify for the Uber benefit, or who want to explore online degree options at schools other than ASU, our online program explorer tool provides a filtered view of accredited online programs by cost, major, transfer credit policy, and schedule flexibility. For a complete framework on planning an online degree as a working adult or gig worker — including financial aid, transfer credit, and school selection — start with our Complete Guide to Earning an Accredited Online Degree as an Adult Learner. And for additional strategies on minimizing total debt, see How Adult Students Can Graduate With Minimal Debt.