University of Colorado Denver | Anschutz Medical Campus are once again being recognized as a Military Friendly® School. Together, the two are the only universities in Colorado to rank in the tier 2 research category, moving up to the No. 6 spot nationwide. The two campuses have been included in the rankings for over 10 years.
The Military Friendly® Schools awards recognize the top colleges and universities in the country that do the most to embrace military students with dedicated resources that ensure veterans’ academic and future success.
The campuses are committed to providing high-quality education specifically tailored to the distinct needs of the people who serve, serve alongside, or served, including active duty, guard, reserve, military spouses and veterans. This is done through the dual-campus office of Veteran & Military Student Services (VMSS).
“We are one of the best choices for veterans, active-duty military, and their families because we truly care about the well-being and success of our students, in the classroom and beyond,” said Leona Lopez, PhD, director of VMSS. “In addition to the outstanding academic programs we offer, VMSS helps nurture student success by providing holistic programing and resources. We respect and value the unique experiences that veterans and military students contribute to our campus. Our team thoroughly understands military culture and the challenges our students encounter as they transition from military service to academia, and we’re here to help ease that transition.”
VMSS students made up 1,853 of the total fall 2023 enrollments. Of these, 1,589 students attended CU Denver, 262 students attended CU Anschutz Medical Campus, and two students were concurrently enrolled.
Specialized services help veterans, active-duty military and military-connected students succeed in the classroom and jump-start their future careers. These one-stop-shop services provide holistic support and connect students with campus and community partners that can address students’ total needs.
Benefits and services include no admission application fee, priority registration, military service credit, tutoring, peer mentoring, community and institution resource referrals and the professional development program Boots to Suits.
The full-circle approach taken through the peer-to-peer advisor program, community referrals and institutional referrals means VMSS students have access to the additional support they need to be successful academically — everything from financial and legal services to mental health and crisis resources to the Learning Resource Center and Disability Services.
The Military Friendly® Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources for more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly® Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey is administered for free and is open to all post-secondary schools that wish to participate.
Military Friendly rankings fall within 10 different school categories such as tier 1 or 2 doctoral research universities, private schools offering doctorate and large and small public. The awards use the following statuses: Top Ten (with specific rankings), Gold, Silver, Bronze and Designated.
To learn more about the CU Denver | Anschutz commitment to military-connected students and available resources, visit the VMSS website.