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2023 Best Public Administration Colleges for Veterans in Alabama

8 Ranked Colleges
396 Degrees Awarded
$28,500 Avg Cost*
Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin

It’s not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for veterans. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2020-2021, 16,905 people earned their degree in public administration, making the major the 60th most popular in the United States. 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 Alabama, there were 396 public administration graduates with average earnings and debt of $48,011 and $18,250 respectively.

For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin” ranking, we looked at 8 colleges that offer a degree in public administration. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great public administration 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 public administration program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

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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 Alabama for Public Admin” list, to help you choose the best school for you.

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. 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 Alabama for Public Admin

The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin”.

Top 8 Best Public Administration Colleges for Veterans in Alabama

1
Auburn crest
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Auburn University. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin list. Auburn, Alabama is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 60 students in 2020-2021.

Auburn did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.According to our most recent data, Auburn supports 30,737 students, and 1,499 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 746 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $8,423. On top of their other funding sources, 68 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Auburn does offer 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Auburn]](/colleges/auburn-university/student-life/veterans/)

2
TROY crest
Troy University
Troy, Alabama

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Troy University. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin. TROY is located in Troy, Alabama and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 76 ’s public admin degrees to qualified students.

TROY also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 16,497 students enrolled at TROY were GI Bill® students, of which 2 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $1,250. During this same period, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. TROY offers credit for military training for eligible students.

Full Troy University Veteran Student Life Report

3

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Alabama at Birmingham. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin. UAB is a large public school situated in Birmingham, Alabama. It awarded 48 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

UAB 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 22,563 students enrolled at University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1,194 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 508 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,983. During this same period, 15 students received scholarships through 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 86%, 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%.

[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Alabama at Birmingham]](/colleges/university-of-alabama-at-birmingham/student-life/veterans/)

4
UA crest
The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, Alabama

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Alabama. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin. The University of Alabama is a large public school situated in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. It awarded 19 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

UA also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 37,840 students enrolled at The University of Alabama, 2,081 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,128 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,975. In addition to receiving other benefits, 357 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Eligible students may be able to receive credit for their military training.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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 UA]](/colleges/the-university-of-alabama/student-life/veterans/)

5
Samford crest
Samford University
Birmingham, Alabama

Out of the 8 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin that were part of this year’s ranking, Samford University landed the #5 spot on the list. Samford University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Birmingham, Alabama. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 8 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our alabama vets studying public admin list, Samford has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 5,729 students enrolled at Samford, 162 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 101 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $15,201. In addition to receiving other benefits, 36 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Samford does offer credit for military training for eligible students.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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 Samford University Veteran Student Life Report

6

University of South Alabama landed the #6 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin ranking. This fairly large school is located in Mobile, Alabama, and it awarded 15 ’s public admin degrees in 2020-2021.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at USA, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 14,224 students enrolled at USA, 868 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 411 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,549. In addition to receiving other benefits, 11 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

[Read full report on veteran student life at University of South Alabama]](/colleges/university-of-south-alabama/student-life/veterans/)

7
Jacksonville State University crest
Jacksonville State University
Jacksonville, Alabama

With a ranking of #7, Jacksonville State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin list. Located in Jacksonville, Alabama, this medium-sized public school handed out 13 degrees to qualified ’s public admin students in 2020-2021.

Jacksonville State University 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, Jacksonville State University supports 9,238 students, and 371 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 125 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,159. 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.

[Read full report on veteran student life at Jacksonville State University]](/colleges/jacksonville-state-university/student-life/veterans/)

8
Columbia Southern University crest
Columbia Southern University
Orange Beach, Alabama

Columbia Southern University landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Alabama for Public Admin ranking. Orange Beach, Alabama is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private for-profit school handed out ’s public admin degrees to 129 students in 2020-2021.

In addition to being on our alabama vets studying public admin list, Columbia Southern University has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Among the 18,533 students enrolled at Columbia Southern University, 4,284 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 3,084 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,251. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Students may be able to receive credit for their military training, depending on their background.

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Notes and References

References

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

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