By Wyatt Crosher, Assistant Director of Communications for Student Affairs

UNC Charlotte has earned a 2026-27 Military Friendly School Gold Award for a fifth consecutive year, rising into the Top 10 at No. 9 for the University’s continued commitment to military service members, veterans and their dependents.

Military Friendly School ratings are an evaluation of both the university’s public data and proprietary data gathered through the Military Friendly Schools survey, which is offered to more than 8,800 schools nationwide, according to the Military Friendly website. 

Survey responses are weighted in a variety of categories: graduation and career outcomes, military student support and retention, financial aid and loan repayment, culture and commitment, admissions and orientation, and academic policies and compliance.

The Military Friendly Top 10 is the highest award tier given out through the ratings. Along with the ninth-place ranking, Charlotte was also listed as a Tier 1 Research Institution for the second year in a row, made possible by the University’s Research 1 — or R1 — status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

“This has long been a priority for the MVS office and the Division of Student Affairs,” Chris Brasel, Military & Veteran Services director, said. “We wanted our award designation to truly reflect the blood, sweat and tears we’ve poured into supporting our students. I’m incredibly proud of the team’s steady progress from bronze to where we stand today.”

This honor comes a few months after the University was listed in the Top 100 for both the Military Times 2025 Best for Vets and the US News & Report’s Best Colleges for Veterans rankings. 

Each of these honors is thanks largely to the efforts of Military and Veteran Services, which dedicated over 560 hours to certifying Veterans Affairs benefits last fall for approximately 1,652 Charlotte students, and have done work for 1,609 students this spring. In total, Veterans Affairs’ annual investment has added around $30 million into the University’s military-affiliated population this academic year.

MVS also hosts numerous events for its military-affiliated students, whose presence has more than doubled at Charlotte over the past eight years. These events include a new Fall Career Fair, guided campus tours, semesterly welcome dinners and annual Veterans Week celebrations. MVS will also be hosting its Spring 2026 Resource Fair on Friday, April 17 in the Cauble Quad.
 

More information on the services provided for Charlotte’s veterans and active-duty military members can be found on the MVS website.