College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate

14 Ranked Colleges
181 Degrees Awarded
$34,800 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. At College Factual, we’re committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our “Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate” ranking.

Religion/Religious Studies is the 189th most popular major in the country with 3,626 degrees awarded in 2020-2021.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate” ranking, we looked at 14 colleges that offer a degree in religion/religious studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great religion/religious studies programs and a strong support system for veterans and active service members.

Some of the factors we look at when determining these rankings are overall quality of the religion/religious studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Rankings by Degree Other Award Levels
Rankings by Location Check Out Other Locales
More Religion Rankings Other Ranking Categories

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. When you have some time, check it out - you may want to bookmark the link so you don’t forget it.

Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate”.

Top 14 Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans

1

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate. UNC Chapel Hill is a public institution located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UNC Chapel Hill also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #8.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 30,092 students enrolled at UNC Chapel Hill were GI Bill® students, of which 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. 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 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read More…

2
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, Florida

Out of the 14 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Florida landed the #2 spot on the list. Gainesville, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out doctorate’s religion degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.

UF not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #10 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.Among the 53,372 students enrolled at University of Florida, 1 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.

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%.

Read More…

3
Florida State crest
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Florida State University. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate. Located in Tallahassee, Florida, this large public school awarded 4 degrees to qualified doctorate’s religion students in 2020-2021.

Florida State also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #14.Of the 43,569 students enrolled at Florida State, 8 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 8 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,819. 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.

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 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 Florida State Veteran Student Life Report

4
UPenn crest
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Out of the 14 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Pennsylvania landed the #4 spot on the list. UPenn is a private not-for-profit institution located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UPenn also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #3.Our most recent data shows that 324 of the 26,552 students enrolled at University of Pennsylvania were GI Bill® students, of which 131 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $19,383. To help with additional expenses, 78 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

Read More…

5
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Liberty University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate. Liberty University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Lynchburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Liberty University also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #13.Among the 93,349 students enrolled at Liberty University, 13,282 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 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. In addition to receiving other benefits, 386 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Full Liberty University Veteran Student Life Report

6
University of Virginia crest
University of Virginia - Main Campus
Charlottesville, Virginia

University of Virginia - Main Campus came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate ranking. This large school is located in Charlottesville, Virginia, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

University of Virginia also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #7.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 Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $0. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. 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 University of Virginia]](/colleges/university-of-virginia-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)

7
NYU crest
New York University
New York, New York

With a ranking of #7, New York University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate list. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out doctorate’s religion degrees to 4 students in 2020-2021.

NYU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #12 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 52,775 students enrolled at New York University were GI Bill® students, of which 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,388. In addition to receiving other benefits, 1 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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. With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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%.

Full New York University Veteran Student Life Report

8
Boston U crest
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts

Boston University ranked #8 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate list. Boston U is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Boston, Massachusetts. It awarded 6 doctorate’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

Boston U not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, Boston University supports 32,718 students, and 15 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $25,162. During this same period, 0 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%. 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…

9

The University of Texas at Austin did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #9. The University of Texas at Austin is a public institution located in Austin, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 3 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

UT Austin not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #9 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, UT Austin supports 50,476 students, and 7 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $2,893. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UT Austin offers credit for military training for eligible students.

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

10
Duke crest
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina

With a ranking of #10, Duke University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate list. This fairly large school is located in Durham, North Carolina, and it awarded 6 doctorate’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

Duke did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, Duke University supports 16,172 students, and 36 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 $18,387. During this same period, 8 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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%. With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Duke University]](/colleges/duke-university/student-life/veterans/)

11

With a ranking of #11, University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate list. This large school is located in Santa Barbara, California, and it awarded 4 doctorate’s religion degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our doctor’s degree vets studying religion list, UCSB has also earned the #11 rank in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking.Among the 26,179 students enrolled at UCSB, 286 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 128 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $9,510. In addition to receiving other benefits, 3 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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%.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Veteran Student Life Report

12

Columbia University in the City of New York did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate ranking, coming in at #12. Columbia is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 8 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Columbia, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” ranking.Among the 30,135 students enrolled at Columbia University in the City of New York, 739 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 467 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $22,069. During this same period, 328 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read More…

13
Vanderbilt crest
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee

Vanderbilt University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate ranking. Vanderbilt University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 5 doctorate’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Vanderbilt also made our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list, coming in at #5.Our most recent data shows that 13 of the 13,537 students enrolled at Vanderbilt were GI Bill® students, of which 3 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $17,769. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.

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%. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Vanderbilt University Veteran Student Life Report

14
Emory crest
Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia

Emory University ranked #14 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly for Religion for a Doctorate list. Emory is located in Atlanta, Georgia and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 16 doctorate’s religion degrees to qualified students.

Emory not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best Religion/Religious Studies Doctor’s Degree Schools” list.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 13,997 students enrolled at Emory were GI Bill® students, of which 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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The impressive undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. 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 Emory University Veteran Student Life Report

Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

Credits

Popular Reports

College Rankings
Best by Location
Degree Guides by Major
Graduate Programs

Compare Your School Options