2023 Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.

In 2020-2021, 3,904 people earned their degree in systems engineering, making the major the 160th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, systems engineering graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $89,736 and had an average of $21,799 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 227 systems engineering graduates with average earnings and debt of $89,110 and $21,627 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s” ranking looked at 2 colleges that offer degrees in a bachelor’s in systems engineering. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great systems engineering programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the systems engineering program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

More Ways to Rank Systems Engineering Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s” list to help you make the college 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. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s”.

Top 2 Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

1

University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

3 GI Bill® Students**

#1 in overall quality

YES Student Veterans Organization

Out of the 2 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Virginia - Main Campus landed the #1 spot on the list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 45 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Virginia, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.According to our most recent data, University of Virginia supports 25,628 students, and 3 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 funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of Virginia - Main Campus Veteran Student Life Report

2

George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

2,334 GI Bill® Students**

#2 in overall quality

$10,710 Average GI Bill® Award

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend George Mason University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Systems Engineering for a Master’s list. George Mason University is a large school located in Fairfax, Virginia that handed out 20 masters’s systems engineering degrees in 2020-2021.

GMU also made our “Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #2.Among the 38,541 students enrolled at GMU, 2,334 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,583 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,710. On top of their other funding sources, 42 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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 full report on veteran student life at George Mason University]](/colleges/george-mason-university/student-life/veterans/)

• Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southeast Region
• Best Systems Engineering Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans

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

Footnotes

• *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 luis gomes.