UNH Earns 'Gold' Military Friendly School Designation for Third Consecutive Year

For the third consecutive year, the University of New Hampshire has achieved “Gold” status in being recognized as a Military Friendly School by the Military Friendly organization.

The “Gold” designation within the 2026-2027 Military Friendly School honor represents having gone “over and above” the Military Friendly School criteria. In addition, UNH was also named a Military Friendly Spouse School. The UNH recognition was organized by UNH’s College of Professional Studies (CPS) Online, UNH Institutional Research, and the UNH Military Benefits team.

"We are proud to remove barriers, honor military experience, and create flexible, high‑quality pathways that help service members, veterans, and their families achieve their academic and career goals,” says Mike Decelle, dean of CPS. “This recognition underscores the work our faculty and staff do every day, and our continued dedication to meeting military‑affiliated learners where they are, with programs and support designed specifically for their success."

At the time this year's list was released, 878 schools had received the 2026-2027 Military Friendly Schools designation and 730 schools were recognized as 2026-2027 Military Spouse Friendly Schools.

CPS offers a variety of programs and benefits to military students and their spouses, including military student and spouse discounts (they can use Department of Defense Tuition Assistance benefits for zero out-of-pocket tuition to earn a bachelor’s degree) and a 15% discount on per-credit cost for graduate students. Additionally, spouses of active duty, National Guard and reservist servicemembers admitted to an undergraduate or graduate program are also eligible for a 15% discount.

CPS was recently among the top-ranked schools according to U.S. News & World Report for Best Online Bachelor’s Program and Best Online Bachelor’s for Veterans.

“We are proud to be recognized as a Gold-level Military Friendly institution for the third year in a row. This distinction reflects UNH’s ongoing commitment to supporting service members, veterans, and their families,” says Kalyn Ryll, director of Military and Veteran Services (MVS) at UNH. “MVS proudly shares this recognition with all our colleagues across UNH’s campuses. It is a direct result of our combined dedication to creating an inclusive, flexible, and resource-rich environment where military-affiliated students can succeed both academically and personally.”

Methodology, criteria, and weightings were determined by Military Friendly, in consultation with the Military Friendly Advisory Council, a group of independent leaders in the military community. Final ratings were determined by combining an organization’s survey score, public data, and an assessment of the institution’s ability to meet and exceed thresholds for student recruitment, retention, academic progress, graduation rates, career placement, and support services for veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses.