2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s
7
Ranked Colleges
115
Degrees Awarded
$30,500
Avg Cost*
When pursuing a degree in today’s world, veterans have many different options to choose from. College Factual was founded, in part, to help students make the decision as to what would be the best school for them. Our “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Area Studies is the 115th most popular major in the country with 6,966 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. 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 the Southeast region, there were 983 area studies graduates with average earnings and debt of $29,290 and $20,478 respectively.
For this year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s” ranking, we looked at 7 colleges that offer a degree in area studies. The schools that top this list are recognized because they have great area 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 area studies program at the school, veteran affordability, and veteran population. Check out our ranking methodology for more information.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region master’s degree vets studying area studies.
Top 7 Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southeast Region
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend William & Mary. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s list. William & Mary is a medium-sized public school situated in Williamsburg, Virginia. It awarded 5 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at William & Mary, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.According to our most recent data, William & Mary supports 8,939 students, and 531 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 349 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $19,978. In addition to receiving other benefits, 5 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 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at William & Mary]](/colleges/college-of-william-and-mary/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Florida. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s. University of Florida is a large public school situated in Gainesville, Florida. It awarded 10 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UF, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1 of the 53,372 students enrolled at UF 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 received funds through the Yellow Ribbon Program. UF 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 University of Florida Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Florida State University. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s list. Florida State University is a large school located in Tallahassee, Florida that handed out 2 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
Florida State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list.Among the 43,569 students enrolled at Florida State University, 8 are 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. 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 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s. University of Virginia is a large school located in Charlottesville, Virginia that handed out 6 masters’s area studies degrees in 2020-2021.
University of Virginia also made our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #3.Our most recent data shows that 3 of the 25,628 students enrolled at University of Virginia 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. During this same period, 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at University of Virginia]](/colleges/university-of-virginia-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Duke University landed the #5 spot on the list. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out masters’s area studies degrees to 12 students in 2020-2021.
Duke did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #1 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list.Among the 16,172 students enrolled at Duke, 36 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 9 were 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 qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
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. 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 97%.
[Read full report on veteran student life at Duke University]](/colleges/duke-university/student-life/veterans/)
University of South Florida - Main Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s list. Located in Tampa, Florida, this large public school handed out 3 diplomas to qualified masters’s area studies students in 2020-2021.
USF Tampa also made our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #7.According to our most recent data, USF Tampa supports 50,626 students, and 2,211 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 1,241 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,943. In addition to receiving other benefits, 13 students received scholarships 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 92%. 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 South Florida - Main Campus]](/colleges/university-of-south-florida-main-campus/student-life/veterans/)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte ranked #7 on this year’s Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Area Studies for a Master’s list. UNC Charlotte is a public institution located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
UNC Charlotte not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Area Studies Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 1,476 of the 30,146 students enrolled at University of North Carolina at Charlotte were GI Bill® students, of which 642 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $4,691. To help with additional expenses, 13 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of North Carolina at Charlotte 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 85%. 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%.
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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
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