2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology
13
Ranked Colleges
616
Degrees Awarded
$29,500
Avg Cost*
Veterans have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 Southwest Region for Ecology” ranking.
In 2020-2021, 7,247 people earned their degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology, making the major the 103rd most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $35,579 and had an average of $23,052 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southwest region, there were 616 ecology, evolution and systematics biology graduates with average earnings and debt of $37,412 and $22,247 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology” ranking, we looked at 13 colleges that offer a degree in ecology, evolution and systematics biology. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent ecology, evolution and systematics biology 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 ecology, evolution and systematics biology program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The ecology school you choose to invest your time and money in matters. To help you make the decision that is right for you, we’ve developed a number of major-specific rankings, including this list of “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology”.
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. 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 the Southwest Region for Ecology
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology”.
Top 13 Best Ecology, Evolution & Systematics Biology Colleges for Veterans in the Southwest Region
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology that were part of this year’s ranking, Texas A&M University - College Station landed the #1 spot on the list. Texas A&M College Station is a large school located in College Station, Texas that handed out 185 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas A&M College Station also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].Our most recent data shows that 5 of the 70,418 students enrolled at Texas A&M University - College Station were GI Bill® students, of which 4 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,925. 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 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full Texas A&M University - College Station Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Arizona State University - Tempe. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology list. This large school is located in Tempe, Arizona, and it awarded 10 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Tempe, the school also landed the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 74,795 students enrolled at ASU - Tempe, 7,566 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 3,828 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,068. During this same period, 672 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. ASU - Tempe offers credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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 ASU - Tempe]](/colleges/arizona-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Oklahoma Norman Campus. The school came in at #3 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology. University of Oklahoma Norman Campus is a large school located in Norman, Oklahoma that handed out 6 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying ecology list, University of Oklahoma has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 27,772 students enrolled at University of Oklahoma, 12 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 10 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,720. 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 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%.
Full University of Oklahoma Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 13 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology that were part of this year’s ranking, Oklahoma State University - Main Campus landed the #4 spot on the list. This large school is located in Stillwater, Oklahoma, and it awarded 80 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
OSU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] on our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list.Of the 24,535 students enrolled at Oklahoma State University - Main Campus, 1,038 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 439 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $7,226. On top of their other funding sources, 39 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Oklahoma State University - Main Campus offers credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 85%, 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%.
Full Oklahoma State University - Main Campus Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Arizona. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology list. Located in Tucson, Arizona, this large public school handed out 40 degrees to qualified ’s ecology students in 2020-2021.
University of Arizona 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, University of Arizona supports 45,601 students, and 2,131 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,478 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $8,880. During this same period, 31 students received funds through 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 85%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Arizona]](/colleges/university-of-arizona/student-life/veterans/)
The University of Texas at Austin ranked #6 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology list. This large school is located in Austin, Texas, and it awarded 8 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
UT Austin also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Of the 50,476 students enrolled at UT Austin, 7 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $2,893. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for 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%. The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UT Austin]](/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/student-life/veterans/)
University of North Texas came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology ranking. University of North Texas is a large school located in Denton, Texas that handed out 51 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
UNT also took the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] spot in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.According to our most recent data, UNT supports 40,953 students, and 2,038 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,138 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,999. 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 85%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at UNT]](/colleges/university-of-north-texas/student-life/veterans/)
With a ranking of #8, Texas State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology list. Texas State University is a public institution located in San Marcos, Texas. The school has a large population, and it awarded 23 ’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas State also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].According to our most recent data, Texas State supports 37,812 students, and 2,559 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,197 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,635. 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.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Texas State University]](/colleges/texas-state-university-san-marcos/student-life/veterans/)
Northern Arizona University landed the #9 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology ranking. Flagstaff, Arizona is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out ’s ecology degrees to 7 students in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying ecology list, NAU has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1,055 of the 29,566 students enrolled at Northern Arizona University were GI Bill® students, of which 622 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $6,378. To help with additional expenses, 56 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Northern Arizona University 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%.
Read More…
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi landed the #10 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology ranking. Texas A&M Corpus Christi is a fairly large public school situated in Corpus Christi, Texas. It awarded 5 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
Texas A&M Corpus Christi also made our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” list, coming in at #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS].According to our most recent data, Texas A&M Corpus Christi supports 10,820 students, and 773 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 357 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,191. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Texas A&M Corpus Christi does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi]](/colleges/texas-a-and-m-university-corpus-christi/student-life/veterans/)
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston landed the #11 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology ranking. The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston is located in Houston, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 122 ’s ecology degrees to qualified students.
UTHealth 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 2 of the 5,608 students enrolled at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston 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 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 undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read More…
With a ranking of #12, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology list. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is a large school located in Edinburg, Texas that handed out 9 ’s ecology degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our southwest region vets studying ecology list, UT Rio Grande Valley has also earned the #[COLLEGE_QUALITY_RANK_ALL_LEVELS] rank in our “[COLLEGE_QUALITY_NAME_ALL_LEVELS]” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 871 of the 32,441 students enrolled at UT Rio Grande Valley were GI Bill® students, of which 302 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,560. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. UT Rio Grande Valley does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
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 The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Veteran Student Life Report
University of North Texas Health Science Center did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southwest Region for Ecology ranking, coming in at #13. UNT Health Science Center is located in Fort Worth, Texas and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 13 ’s ecology degrees to qualified students.
UNT Health Science Center 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 2,329 students enrolled at UNT Health Science Center, 31 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 16 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $9,530. On top of their other funding sources, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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 UNT Health Science Center Veteran Student Life Report
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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
- *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
college factual
