2023 Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia
3
Ranked Colleges
156
Degrees Awarded
$28,514
Avg Salary
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s” ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
In 2020-2021, 6,966 people earned their degree in area studies, making the major the 115th most popular in the United States. In 2019-2020, area studies graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $33,127 and had an average of $20,927 in loans still to pay off.
Across Virginia, there were 177 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $28,514 and $21,358 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 156 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $39,553 and $27,844 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s” ranking analyzed 3 colleges that offered a degree in area studies. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality area studies programs as well as strong veteran support.
To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as veteran satisfaction, veteran affordability, and overall quality of the area studies program at the school. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
More Ways to Rank Area Studies Schools
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 Area Studies 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. 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 Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s”.
Top 3 Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in Virginia
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s list. Williamsburg, Virginia is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelors’s area studies degrees to 51 students in 2020-2021.
William & Mary did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list.Of the 8,939 students enrolled at William & Mary, 531 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 349 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $19,978. In addition to receiving other benefits, 5 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. William & Mary offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. 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 William & Mary]](/colleges/college-of-william-and-mary/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Virginia Commonwealth University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s list. This large school is located in Richmond, Virginia, and it awarded 60 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
VCU also made our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” list, coming in at #3.According to our most recent data, Virginia Commonwealth University supports 29,070 students, and 1 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 2 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $13,085. 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 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 VCU Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Richmond. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in Virginia for Area Studies for a Bachelor’s list. URichmond is a small private not-for-profit school situated in University of Richmond, Virginia. It awarded 19 bachelors’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our virginia bachelor’s degree vets studying area studies list, URichmond has also earned the #2 rank in our “Best Area Studies Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Virginia” ranking.Among the 4,056 students enrolled at University of Richmond, 51 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 19 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $5,556. In addition to receiving other benefits, 15 students received funds through 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%. The undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio of 8 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 93%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at URichmond]](/colleges/university-of-richmond/student-life/veterans/)
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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.
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