2023 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southeast Region
9
Ranked Colleges
434
Degrees Awarded
$58,647
Avg Salary
When it comes to choosing a college, veterans have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 Public Policy for a Master’s” ranking is part of that endeavor.
Public Policy is the 113th most popular major in the country with 6,430 degrees awarded in 2020-2021. In 2019-2020, public policy graduates who were awarded their degree in 2017-2019, earned an average of $49,451 and had an average of $21,866 in loans still to pay off.
Across the Southeast region, there were 1,260 public policy graduates with average earnings and debt of $50,417 and $21,515 respectively.
This year’s “Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s” ranking analyzed 9 colleges that offered a degree in public policy. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent public policy 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 public policy program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.
More Ways to Rank Public Policy 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 the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s” list to help you make the college decision.
To further help you make the college decision, we’ve developed a unique tool called College Combat that allows you to compare schools based on the factors that matter the most to you. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.
Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s
The colleges and universities below are the best for southeast region master’s degree vets studying public policy.
Top 9 Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Colleges for Veterans in the Southeast Region
Out of the 9 schools in the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s that were part of this year’s ranking, George Mason University landed the #1 spot on the list. George Mason University is a public institution located in Fairfax, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 74 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
GMU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #3 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list.Among the 38,541 students enrolled at GMU, 2,334 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 1,583 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $10,710. On top of their other funding sources, 42 students received funds through 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%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
Read More…
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of Kentucky. The school came in at #2 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s. University of Kentucky is a large public school situated in Lexington, Kentucky. It awarded 9 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
UK also took the #5 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Of the 29,986 students enrolled at University of Kentucky, 1 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 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 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of Kentucky Veteran Student Life Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Virginia - Main Campus. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s list. University of Virginia - Main Campus is a public institution located in Charlottesville, Virginia. The school has a large population, and it awarded 89 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at University of Virginia, the school also landed the #4 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.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. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
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%. With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville. The school came in at #4 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s. UT Knoxville is a public institution located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The school has a large population, and it awarded 17 masters’s degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Knoxville, the school also landed the #6 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Our most recent data shows that 1,122 of the 30,559 students enrolled at The University of Tennessee - Knoxville were GI Bill® students, of which 739 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $10,650. To help with additional expenses, 8 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. The University of Tennessee - Knoxville does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, 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 The University of Tennessee - Knoxville]](/colleges/the-university-of-tennessee/student-life/veterans/)
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Duke University. The school came in at #5 for the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s. Duke is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Durham, North Carolina. It awarded 76 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
Duke also made our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list, coming in at #1.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. To help with additional expenses, 8 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a undergrad student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. 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 school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Duke Veteran Student Life Report
Liberty University came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s ranking. Liberty University is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Lynchburg, Virginia. It awarded 81 masters’s public policy degrees in 2020-2021.
As a testament to the quality of education offered at Liberty University, the school also landed the #7 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Among the 93,349 students enrolled at Liberty University, 13,282 are GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 8,897 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $4,888. To help with additional expenses, 386 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program. Liberty University offers credit for military training for eligible students.
Full Liberty University Veteran Student Life Report
American Public University System landed the #7 spot on the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s ranking. American Military University is located in Charles Town, West Virginia and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 17 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
American Military University also took the #8 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Of the 50,047 students enrolled at American Public University System, 18,040 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 15,422 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average Post-9/11 GI Bill® award for tuition and fees at the school was $3,793. To help with additional expenses, 0 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 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
[Read full report on veteran student life at American Military University]](/colleges/american-public-university-system/student-life/veterans/)
Marshall University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #8. Marshall University is located in Huntington, West Virginia and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6 masters’s public policy degrees to qualified students.
Marshall University also took the #9 spot in our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” ranking.Of the 11,958 students enrolled at Marshall University, 406 were GI Bill® students, according to our most recent data. Out of that number, 128 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $3,840. To help with additional expenses, 10 students received scholarships through the Yellow Ribbon Program. Marshall University does offer credit for military training for eligible students.
Read More…
Vanderbilt University did quite well in the 2023 Most Veteran Friendly in the Southeast Region for Public Policy for a Master’s ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Nashville, Tennessee, this fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 24 degrees to qualified masters’s public policy students in 2020-2021.
Vanderbilt did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our “Best Public Policy Master’s Degree Schools in the Southeast Region” list.Our most recent data shows that 13 of the 13,537 students enrolled at Vanderbilt University were GI Bill® students, of which 3 were Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients. The average tuition and fees award for the Post-9/11 GI Bill® recipients was $17,769. In addition to receiving other benefits, 0 students qualified for the Yellow Ribbon Program.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its undergraduate students. 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. 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 Vanderbilt University 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
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