Four Florida State University online graduate programs are ranked in the Top 25 nationally for educating veterans, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2015 Best Online Programs for Veterans rankings.
“A rewarding academic experience for our student-veterans and active duty students isfundamental atFlorida State,” said Billy Francis, director of FSU’s Student Veterans Center. “The university’s robust online graduate degree programs help propel these students to reach their academic goals and continue to contribute to our nation’s prosperity.”
Florida State’s online graduate programs in education, criminal justice, information technology and business earned national recognition for providing veterans with high-quality, flexible online education options.
“The Office of Distance Learning is proud to serve veterans as well as our active duty military personnel who wish to pursue Florida State degrees at a distance,” said Susann Rudasill, director at the Office of Distance Learning at FSU.“In fact, more than half of the veterans currently enrolled at FSU have chosen to take advantage of online study.These rankings reflectthe continuing dedication of the university in providing whatever resources are needed to serve our active duty military and student-veterans.”
TheCollege of Education’sonline graduate program ranks No. 2 in the nation for veterans. The program currently offers degrees in educational leadership/administration, instructional systems and learning technologies and special education studies.
TheCollege of Criminology and Criminal Justice was ranked No. 7 in U.S. News & World Report’s first-ever ranking of online criminal justice programs for veterans. The program provides the challenge and prestige of FSU’s nationally ranked criminology program with the convenience and flexibility of a distance-learning program.
The School of Information’s online master’s degree program in information technology, housed in theCollege of Communication and Information, is No. 18 in the computer information technology category. The program, which started three years ago, is completely online and prepares students for 21st century careers such as networking, large-scale data management, user-centered design and web development.
TheCollege of Business’online graduate programs ranked No. 22.The college offers Master of Science degrees in Management Information Systems and Risk Management and Insurance. Earlier this year, the College of Business earned the No. 6 spot among all public and private schools surveyed for Military Times’ Best for Vets: Business Schools.
“This ranking reflects the hard work of our faculty to provide students serving in the military an excellent education,” said Caryn L. Beck-Dudley, dean of the College of Business. “We are pleased to be recognized nationally for the high quality of our programs and proud of our commitment to members of the military seeking a business degree.”
To qualify for the Best Online Programs for Veterans rankings, an online degree program had to report participation in two key programs that offer educational benefits to people with military service. The rankings methodology requires programs to belong to institutions that are certified for the GI Bill; they must also belong to schools participating in the Yellow Ribbon Program or to public institutions that charge in-state tuition for all out-of-state veterans.
To be ranked, programs also had to be among the top 75 percent of schools in the overall 2015 Best Online Programs rankings, which were released earlier this year. Those programs were assessed for various factors, including affordability, faculty credentials, student services and reputation.