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2023 Best Religious Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region

10 Ranked Colleges
580 Degrees Awarded
$34,100 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion

With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion” ranking.

In 2020-2021, 9,470 people earned their degree in religious studies, making the major the 90th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, religious studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $34,289 and had an average of $24,431 in loans still to pay off.

Across the Great Lakes region, there were 580 religious studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $34,601 and $29,506 respectively.

This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion” ranking analyzed 10 colleges that offered a degree in religious studies. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent religious studies programs, but they also offer a lot of support to veterans and active service members.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the religious studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank Religious Studies Schools

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Since the program you select can have a significant impact on your future, we’ve developed a number of rankings, including this “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

In addition to College Factual’s rankings, you may want to take a look at College Combat, our unique tool that lets you pit your favorite schools head-to-head and compare how they rate on factors that most interest you. If you’re torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.

Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion”.

Top 10 Best Religious Studies Colleges for Veterans in the Great Lakes Region

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Wisconsin - Madison. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion. This large school is located in Madison, Wisconsin, and it awarded 34 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

UW - Madison did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 44,640 students enrolled at UW - Madison, 4 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, 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 UW - Madison Veteran Student Life Report

2

Out of the 10 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion that were part of this year’s ranking, Ohio State University - Main Campus landed the #2 spot on the list. This large school is located in Columbus, Ohio, and it awarded 4 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our great lakes region vets studying religion list, Ohio State has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 61,369 students enrolled at Ohio State, 2 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 0 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. 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 Ohio State University - Main Campus Veteran Student Life Report

3

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion list. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 8 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

UIUC did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 52,679 students enrolled at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 10 are 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. 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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, 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%.

Read More…

4
UChicago crest
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Chicago. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion. UChicago is located in Chicago, Illinois and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.

UChicago also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Our most recent data shows that 241 of the 17,834 students enrolled at University of Chicago were GI Bill® students, of which 113 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $18,948. To help with additional expenses, 58 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

With a freshman retention rate of 100%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. 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 More…

5
Notre Dame crest
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana

Out of the 10 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Notre Dame landed the #5 spot on the list. Notre Dame is a fairly large school located in Notre Dame, Indiana that handed out 3 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

Notre Dame not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Our most recent data shows that 11 of the 12,809 students enrolled at Notre Dame were GI Bill® students, of which 20 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,670. To help with additional expenses, 7 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. 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 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read More…

6

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion ranking. UWM is a large school located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin that handed out 6 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

UWM also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Of the 24,565 students enrolled at UWM, 983 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 494 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,519. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UWM does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Read More…

7

Grand Valley State University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion ranking, coming in at #7. GVSU is located in Allendale, Michigan and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 3 ’s religion degrees to qualified students.

GVSU also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 479 of the 23,350 students enrolled at Grand Valley State University were GI Bill® students, of which 198 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,686. To help with additional expenses, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

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 GVSU Veteran Student Life Report

8
DePaul crest
DePaul University
Chicago, Illinois

DePaul University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion ranking. Located in Chicago, Illinois, this large private not-for-profit school handed out 2 degrees to qualified ’s religion students in 2020-2021.

DePaul did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Among the 21,922 students enrolled at DePaul, 528 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 367 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $14,957. To help with additional expenses, 101 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

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%.

Full DePaul University Veteran Student Life Report

9

With a ranking of #9, Trinity International University - Illinois did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion list. Deerfield, Illinois is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s religion degrees to 6 students in 2020-2021.

TIU Illinois not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Trinity International University - Illinois supports 1,454 students, and 14 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 9 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,061. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Trinity International University - Illinois offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Trinity International University - Illinois]](/colleges/trinity-international-university-illinois/student-life/veterans/)

10
DePauw crest
DePauw University
Greencastle, Indiana

With a ranking of #10, DePauw University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Great Lakes Region for Religion list. DePauw University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Greencastle, Indiana. It awarded 5 ’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

DePauw also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].According to our most recent data, DePauw University supports 1,752 students, and 8 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 5 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $12,472. 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.

With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full DePauw Veteran Student Life Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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