STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State University continues to rank high among America’s top universities for veterans.

Formerly known as Best for Vets, the Military Times Best: Colleges 2018 rankings released today [Nov. 20] list MSU at No. 44 out of more than 600 colleges surveyed in the four-year college category. Military Times’ annual ranking is an editorially independent news project that evaluates a variety of factors that make colleges and universities a good fit for service members and their families.

"Of the hundreds of schools that applied, fewer than half received the Military Times Best: Colleges designation this year,” said Brian Locke, interim director of MSU’s Center for America’s Veterans. “Mississippi State is proud to be among the best to make the cut.”

MSU has long been recognized as one of the nation’s most veteran-friendly universities. Approximately 650 veterans and service members are students at MSU. Including dependents, the veteran community comprises more than 2,600 students on campus.

In addition to multi-year rankings by Military Times, Mississippi State was designated a “Purple Heart University” in 2015 by the Military Order of the Purple Heart for outstanding service to military veterans, service members, dependents and survivors.

In 2016, MSU completed construction of the G. V. “Sonny” Montgomery Center for America’s Veterans at Nusz Hall, a 7,500 square-foot campus facility featuring administrative offices, meeting areas, study rooms, a computer lab, and indoor and outdoor spaces for social and recreational activities. The center serves as a one-stop shop for processing of all veteran educational benefits.

During the week preceding Veterans Day this year, MSU’s Center for America’s Veterans coordinated several events to rally campus and community support, including a Vietnam veteran welcome home ceremony, a 5K veterans run, a veterans recognition ceremony on the campus drill field, and the annual Salute to Veterans halftime program during the MSU-Alabama football game on Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

“Our student veterans have served their country proudly, both in peacetime and in combat,” said Locke. “Making sure they have a positive experience at MSU is our opportunity as a university to give back and support our veterans in their higher education goals.”

Military Times’ annual Best Colleges survey asks colleges and universities to meticulously document a tremendous array of services, special rules, accommodations and financial incentives offered to students with military ties; and to describe many aspects of veteran culture on a campus. Military Times also factors in data from the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments, as well as three Education Department sources: the IPEDS Data Center, College Scorecard data and the Cohort Default Rate Database.

"For the past eight years, we've seen colleges and universities consistently increasing their resources, revising their policies and improving their academic outcomes for military and veteran students,” said George Altman, the Military Times editor in charge of rankings. “The Military Times Best: Colleges rankings showcase the very best of these efforts."

To review all results of the Military Times Best: Colleges 2018 rankings , visit https://www.militarytimes.com/education-transition/rankings/2017/11/20/218-schools-make-military-times-best-colleges-2018-rankings/.

For more on MSU’s services available to veterans, visit www.veterans.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.