College Factual  by our College Data Analytics Team
       Unbiased Factual Guarantee

2023 Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

3 Ranked Colleges
113 Degrees Awarded
$42,546 Avg Salary
Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Public Admin for a Bachelor's

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 Public Admin for a Bachelor’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Public Administration is the 60th most popular major in the country with 16,905 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public administration graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $51,352 and had an average of $29,054 in loans still to pay off.

Across Virginia, there were 604 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,548 and $29,668 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 113 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,553 and $27,844 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Public Admin for a Bachelor’s” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in public administration. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality public administration programs as well as strong veteran support.

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

One Size Does Not Fit All

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

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 Public Admin for a Bachelor’s” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Go ahead and give it a try, or bookmark the link so you can check it out later.

Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Public Admin for a Bachelor’s

The colleges and universities below are the best for virginia bachelor’s degree vets studying public admin.

Top 3 Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia

1
JMU crest
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, Virginia

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend James Madison University. The school came in at #1 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Public Admin for a Bachelor’s. JMU is a public institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 59 bachelors’s degrees in 2020-2021.

JMU also made our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #1.Our most recent data shows that 842 of the 21,594 students enrolled at James Madison University were GI Bill® students, of which 464 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $5,824. On top of their other funding sources, 3 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Full James Madison University Veteran Student Life Report

2
GMU crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia

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 Public Admin for a Bachelor’s list. Fairfax, Virginia is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s public admin degrees to 33 students in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at GMU, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 2,334 of the 38,541 students enrolled at George Mason University were GI Bill® students, of which 1,583 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $10,710. To help with additional expenses, 42 students received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

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%. With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.

[Read full report on veteran student life at GMU]](/colleges/george-mason-university/student-life/veterans/)

3
Liberty University crest
Liberty University
Lynchburg, Virginia

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Liberty University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Public Admin for a Bachelor’s list. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 14 bachelors’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

Liberty University not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Administration Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list.Of the 93,349 students enrolled at Liberty University, 13,282 were 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. During this same period, 386 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

Full Liberty 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