Military Times has ranked Georgia Southern University first in the nation on the prestigious 2019 Best for Vets: Four-Year Colleges list.

“We are extremely proud of the programs, services and University culture we have developed that provide service members, veterans and their families the opportunity to achieve their academic and professional goals,” said Georgia Southern University Director of Military and Veterans Affairs Phil Gore. “Being recognized by Military Times as one of the best institutions for military-affiliated students demonstrates the level of commitment we have to providing our military population an optimal educational experience to ensure they complete their postsecondary degree.”

Veterans and service members make up about 8 percent of the student body at Georgia Southern, constituting the largest proportion of any top 10 school in the four-year category.

Military Times surveyed hundreds of colleges across the country and used their answers, combined with federal data, to rank them in the areas of university culture, academic quality and outcomes, policies, student support and costs and financial aid to create the 2019 Best for Vets list.

“These are the top-finishing institutions that told us they offer bachelor’s or graduate degrees or both,” read the Military Times’ statement. “To create the rankings, we evaluated colleges’ survey responses based on what veterans have told us is important to them, as well as on our own editorial judgment. We also factored in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments, as well as three Education Department sources. While the value of each section was comparable, university culture was worth the most in the survey for all schools.”

Georgia Southern proudly welcomes all active-duty military, veterans, military spouses and family members. In addition to providing a supportive campus environment for military students, Georgia Southern is also part of a network of institutions that allows transferability of credits for military students, provides in-state tuition for members of the military and their families and offers college credit for military experience.

While all three of the University’s campuses and online learning center cater to the military community, the Liberty Campus, located just outside of Fort Stewart in Hinesville, and the Armstrong Campus, which is within close proximity to Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah, have become the leading choices for service members and military spouses seeking a postsecondary education.

Georgia Southern’s Armstrong Campus was included in the Military Times’ top 12 rankings on the Best for Vets: Four-Year Colleges list during the last three years and was named to the 10 Best Cybersecurity Programs lists for the last two consecutive years.