2023 Best General Education Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia
8
Ranked Colleges
785
Degrees Awarded
$46,344
Avg Salary
It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 29,810 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 41st most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $48,719 and had an average of $23,394 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 918 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $52,474 and $25,866 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in general education. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great general education programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.
When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general education program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran satisfaction. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.
Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s”.
Top 8 Best General Education Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Virginia Commonwealth University landed the #1 spot on the list. VCU is located in Richmond, Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 93 masters’s education degrees to qualified students.
VCU also took the #3 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.Among the 29,070 students enrolled at VCU, 1 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 2 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,085. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. VCU does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Virginia Commonwealth University]](/colleges/virginia-commonwealth-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, James Madison University landed the #2 spot on the list. JMU is a public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 295 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at JMU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 842 of the 21,594 students enrolled at JMU were GI Bill® students, of which 464 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,824. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
Full JMU Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s list. Charlottesville, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s education degrees to 143 students in 2020-2021.
University of Virginia not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #1 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list.Of the 25,628 students enrolled at University of Virginia, 3 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
The undergrad student loan default rate at the school is [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Virginia - Main Campus]](/colleges/university-of-virginia-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Liberty University landed the #4 spot on the list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 41 masters’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Liberty University, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 13,282 of the 93,349 students enrolled at Liberty University were GI Bill® students, of which 8,897 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,888. On top of their other funding sources, 386 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Liberty University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Liberty University]](/colleges/liberty-university/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Longwood University landed the #5 spot on the list. Farmville, Virginia is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The public school handed out masters’s education degrees to 75 students in 2020-2021.
Longwood also made our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #7.According to our most recent data, Longwood University supports 4,841 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 0 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $0. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Longwood University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
The low undergrad student loan default rate of [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%.
Read More…
Radford University ranked #6 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s list. Radford is a medium-sized school located in Radford, Virginia that handed out 38 masters’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
Radford also took the #8 spot in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.According to our most recent data, Radford University supports 10,695 students, and 460 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 225 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,142. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
Read More…
University of Mary Washington came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s ranking. UMW is a small school located in Fredericksburg, Virginia that handed out 75 masters’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
UMW did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list.Of the 4,293 students enrolled at UMW, 47 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 39 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,578. To help with additional expenses, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
Full University of Mary Washington Veteran Student Life Report
Shenandoah University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Education for a Master’s ranking. Shenandoah University is a small school located in Winchester, Virginia that handed out 24 masters’s education degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia master’s degree vets studying education list, Shenandoah has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best General Education Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.According to our most recent data, Shenandoah University supports 4,174 students, and 222 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 133 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $16,576. On top of their other funding sources, 36 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Shenandoah University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
The school has an impressive undergrad student loan default rate. It’s only [DEFAULT_RATE_STRING]%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
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Notes and References
References
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Veteran-specific data can be found at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs.
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
Read more about our data sources and methodologies
- *Avg Salary and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top schools only.
- **GI Bill® student total includes all chapters of the GI Bill® program (e.g., Post-9/11, Montgomery GI Bill, Reserve Education Assistance Program, and Veteran Readiness and Employment)
- Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.
Credits
- Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.
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