2023 Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans
7
Ranked Colleges
65
Degrees Awarded
$35,500
Avg Cost*
With all of the options veterans have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our “Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s” ranking - to help you make that decision.
In 2020-2021, 460 people earned their degree in astrophysics, making the major the 598th most popular in the United States.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s” ranking analyzed 7 colleges that offered a degree in astrophysics. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent astrophysics programs, but they also offer a lot of support to 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 astrophysics program at the school. See our ranking methodology to learn more.
More Ways to Rank Astrophysics Schools
The astrophysical sciences 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 for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s”.
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. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.
Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s
The following schools top our list of the Best “Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s”.
Top 7 Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Rochester Institute of Technology. It ranked #1 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s list. Located in Rochester, New York, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 5 degrees to qualified masters’s astrophysical sciences students in 2020-2021.
RIT did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #4 on our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” list.Of the 16,158 students enrolled at Rochester Institute of Technology, 1 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 $17,424. 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.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. 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 Rochester Institute of Technology Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Colorado Boulder. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s list. This large school is located in Boulder, Colorado, and it awarded 10 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
CU - Boulder not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” list.According to our most recent data, University of Colorado Boulder supports 37,437 students, and 1,379 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 968 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $12,889. During this same period, 46 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. University of Colorado Boulder does offer 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 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 CU - Boulder Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, University of Minnesota - Twin Cities landed the #3 spot on the list. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities is a large school located in Minneapolis, Minnesota that handed out 2 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
In addition to being on our master’s degree vets studying astrophysical sciences list, UMN Twin Cities has also earned the #5 rank in our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 752 of the 52,017 students enrolled at University of Minnesota - Twin Cities were GI Bill® students, of which 436 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $13,020. 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.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate 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…
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Iowa State University. It ranked #4 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s list. Iowa State University is a large public school situated in Ames, Iowa. It awarded 1 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Iowa State also took the #7 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.According to our most recent data, Iowa State supports 31,822 students, and 814 of those are GI Bill® students, of which 388 are Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $7,933. On top of their other funding sources, 9 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Iowa State 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%. With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
Full Iowa State University Veteran Student Life Report
Out of the 7 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #5 spot on the list. ASU - Tempe is a large public school situated in Tempe, Arizona. It awarded 1 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at ASU - Tempe, the school also landed the #8 spot in our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” ranking.Among the 74,795 students enrolled at ASU - Tempe, 7,566 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 3,828 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $6,068. To help with additional expenses, 672 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. ASU - Tempe 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 86%. 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 ASU - Tempe Veteran Student Life Report
With a ranking of #6, Michigan State University did quite well on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s list. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 3 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Michigan State not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” list.Among the 49,695 students enrolled at Michigan State, 2 are 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 $14,686. During this same period, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. 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 Michigan State University]](/colleges/michigan-state-university/student-life/veterans/)
California Institute of Technology came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly for Astrophysical Sciences for a Master’s ranking. Caltech is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Pasadena, California. It awarded 11 masters’s astrophysical sciences degrees in 2020-2021.
Caltech did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Astrophysics Master’s Degree Schools” list.Of the 2,240 students enrolled at California Institute of Technology, 4 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $67,154. During this same period, 1 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. Since the school has a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
[Read full report on veteran student life at California Institute of Technology]](/colleges/california-institute-of-technology/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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