Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Alabama
Key takeaway: 43 of the 49 Alabama-based institutions in our directory that offer at least one fully online program report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024). 21 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is The University of Alabama. The Census Bureau records 16 military installations in Alabama (2 Army, 7 Navy, 3 Air Force, 1 Coast Guard, 1 National Guard, 2 Other), and 34 Alabama cities have their own page below.
Military-friendly online colleges based in Alabama
Ranked by BOC Score, which weights graduation rate, median earnings, net price, retention, and online availability from federal data. The tags on each card are the school’s own answers on the IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey: credit for military training, a dedicated military contact, DoD MOU membership, and a recognized student veteran organization.
How We Rank Schools
Every school list on this site is ordered by the BOC Score, computed from the most
recent school-level data published by the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard and IPEDS).
To qualify, a school must be currently operating and accredited by an agency recognized by the
U.S. Department of Education. Each eligible school is then scored on five measures, percentile-ranked
against schools at the same credential level:
BOCSCORE
- Graduation rate 30%
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry 25%
- Average net price (lower is better) 20%
- Retention rate 15%
- Fully online availability 10%
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score.
Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Acceptance rate
77%
Graduation rate
74%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$59,221
Avg net price
$22,420/yr
TuitionIn‑state$12,180
Out‑of‑state$34,172
Key stats
- Retention rate: 88%
- Programs offered: 115
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
77%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$58,469
Avg net price
$32,622/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 90%
- Programs offered: 90
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
69%
Graduation rate
63%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$61,767
Avg net price
$18,796/yr
TuitionIn‑state$12,132
Out‑of‑state$26,408
Key stats
- Retention rate: 82%
- Programs offered: 62
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Acceptance rate
88%
Graduation rate
63%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$54,501
Avg net price
$18,749/yr
TuitionIn‑state$9,098
Out‑of‑state$22,562
Key stats
- Retention rate: 81%
- Programs offered: 130
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
81%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$49,641
Avg net price
$35,013/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 78%
- Programs offered: 43
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
48%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$63,534
Avg net price
$14,580/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 66%
- Programs offered: 28
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
54%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,415
Avg net price
$12,170/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 79%
- Programs offered: 66
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
58%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$50,273
TuitionContact school for pricing
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
68%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$37,621
TuitionIn‑state$7,590
Out‑of‑state$7,590
Source:Accreditor: Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges · IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
50%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$49,379
Avg net price
$17,648/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 76%
- Programs offered: 87
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
56%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$45,235
Avg net price
$14,279/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 64%
- Programs offered: 54
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
47%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$36,909
Avg net price
$19,651/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 57%
- Programs offered: 15
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
55%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$51,500
Avg net price
$20,449/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 68%
- Programs offered: 33
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
55%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$42,957
Avg net price
$17,683/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 73%
- Programs offered: 35
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Graduation rate
57%
Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
$43,611
Avg net price
$22,382/yr
TuitionContact school for pricing
Key stats
- Retention rate: 73%
- Programs offered: 46
Source:IPEDS · College Scorecard
Military installations in Alabama
The Census Bureau’s 2024 TIGER/Line military layer records 16 installations in Alabama (2 Army, 7 Navy, 3 Air Force, 1 Coast Guard, 1 National Guard, 2 Other, branch inferred from the recorded name). The largest by land area are listed; city pages show the ones within 100 miles of each city, with distances.
- Fort Rucker
- Redstone Arsenal
- Fort McClellan Air National Guard Training Center
- Anniston Army Dep
- Maxwell AFB
- Naval Air Station Pensacola (Outlying Field Bronson)
- Naval Outlying Field Barin
- Naval Outlying Landing Field Brewton
- Naval Outlying Landing Field Summerdale
- Naval Outlying Landing Field Evergreen
- Naval Outlying Landing Field Wolf
- Naval Outlying Landing Field Silverhill
Common post-service careers in Alabama
Statewide median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (May 2025 OEWS).
| Occupation |
Median annual wage |
Scope |
| Information Security Analysts |
$122,730 |
AL statewide |
| Logisticians |
$98,450 |
AL statewide |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers |
$51,270 |
AL statewide |
| Medical and Health Services Managers |
$97,790 |
AL statewide |
| Project Management Specialists |
$100,820 |
AL statewide |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators |
$81,400 |
AL statewide |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers |
$118,320 |
AL statewide |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; these are statewide medians.
What the four services mean
- Credit for military training (IPEDS VET2): the institution reports that it awards academic credit for military training, typically evaluated through the Joint Services Transcript. How much credit applies is set program by program.
- Dedicated military contact (VET3): a named point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families.
- DoD MOU member (VET5): the institution has signed the Department of Defense Voluntary Education Partnership Memorandum of Understanding, a requirement for participating in service education programs.
- Student veteran org (VET4): a recognized student veteran organization on the institution’s records.
Of the 43 schools in Alabama that meet this page’s two-service definition, 21 report all four. All 43 are fully online by the IPEDS DISTPGS flag, as is every school on the national military-friendly online colleges list; the state view differs only in where the institution is based.
Military-friendly online colleges near Alabama cities
- Alabaster, AL
- Albertville, AL
- Anniston, AL
- Athens, AL
- Auburn, AL
- Bessemer, AL
- Birmingham, AL
- Cullman, AL
- Daphne, AL
- Decatur, AL
- Dothan, AL
- Enterprise, AL
- Fairhope, AL
- Florence, AL
- Foley, AL
- Gadsden, AL
- Homewood, AL
- Hoover, AL
- Huntsville, AL
- Madison, AL
- Mobile, AL
- Montgomery, AL
- Mountain Brook, AL
- Northport, AL
- Opelika, AL
- Oxford, AL
- Pelham, AL
- Phenix City, AL
- Prattville, AL
- Prichard, AL
- Trussville, AL
- Tuscaloosa, AL
- Valley, AL
- Vestavia Hills, AL
Benefit eligibility is determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and your service’s education office. Nothing on this page guarantees education benefits, credit transfer, admission, or a particular cost. Confirm every detail with the school’s military or veteran services office before you enroll.
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey (IC 2024): veteran and military services indicators (VET2 through VET5), distance-education program flag (DISTPGS); BOC Score from College Scorecard and IPEDS outcome data; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 Military Installations layer (installation names as recorded there); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics; U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis Regional Price Parities; Census ACS 5-year estimates. Directory counts as of the September 2026 refresh.
