SU, Military Veterans & their Families – a Shared History of Support.

SU’s IVMF, founded in June 2011, is the first national center in higher education of its kind

The GI Bill offered a college education to returning WWII veterans, and no university in the country was more closely identified with it than Syracuse University.  Although still a small university by national standards, SU threw open its doors, enrolling 7,000 veterans in 1946 alone.

Today, SU is home to the Institute for Veterans and Military Families – the first national center in higher education to focus on the social, economic, education and policy issues affecting veterans and their families post-service – as well as a host of other programs serving veterans and their families.  The SU Veterans Resource Center is dedicated to assisting prospective and current students as they navigate Veterans Affairs and University administration.

Syracuse University is also a proud participate in the Yellow Ribbon program. We have nearly 600 veterans, spouses and dependents working towards degrees (both undergraduate and graduate) through this funding at the University today.  Syracuse University is consistently chosen by Military Friendly Schools as one of the top 20 percent of schools nationwide that deliver the best experiences for military students, and is ranked 7^th among national universities by US News and World Report as one of the best colleges for veterans (2015).

Within Maxwell, we see many active duty and veteran military personnel enter our graduate programs each year.  Our shared mission of public service, and focus on management and policy, attracts a strong veteran student body to our programs.  In support of these students SU waives the application fee for all active duty/veterans applying to our graduate programs.  Additionally, the resources and services provided by the school and larger university assist our students in not only transitioning into the university environment, but also achieving success in their studies.

There are many ways in which our program, school and university is enhanced with the addition of student veterans in the classroom – See Voices Blog Post by current graduate students, Ryan Rabac (MPA) and Maghavaty Suresh (MS Newhouse):  Five ways student veterans bring value to the classroom.  We strongly believe having veterans in the classroom adds value to everyone.  We are proud of our university’s history and current renewed commitment to US military veterans and their families.

Professor Robert Murrett of the PAIA department serves on several university working groups and committees committed to enhancing the University efforts in this area.