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Home > Online Colleges > Military-Friendly > Arkansas > Fort Smith
Key takeaway: 10 accredited institutions within 100 miles of Fort Smith offer fully online programs and report both credit for military training and a dedicated point of contact for veterans, servicemembers, and their families (IPEDS IC 2024); 5 report all four services the federal survey tracks. The nearest installation recorded by the Census Bureau is Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center, about 5 miles away, and 5 installations sit within 100 miles (3 Army, 2 Other). 1 of the 10 schools has a campus within 30 miles; the closest is University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in Fort Smith, AR, about 2 miles from city center. The highest-ranked by BOC Score is University of Arkansas. Fort Smith has a population of about 89,496 and a median household income of $52,692; 25.3 percent of adults hold a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census ACS 5-year estimates).
Schools based in Arkansas that report credit for military training and a dedicated military contact, ordered by distance from Fort Smith city center, with BOC Score on each card. The tags on each card are the school’s own IPEDS answers for the four military services. The distance table further down covers the nearest qualifying schools regardless of state line.
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:
Schools without enough outcome data appear after ranked schools, without a score. On this page, schools are ordered by distance from Fort Smith. Advertising never affects these rankings. Read the full methodology.
Source:IPEDSCollege Scorecard
| School | Location | Credit for military training | Dedicated military contact | DoD MOU member | Student veteran org | BOC Score | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 70.7 | 51 mi |
| Oklahoma State University Institute of Technology | Okmulgee, OK | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 69.4 | 90 mi |
| John Brown University | Siloam Springs, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 64.4 | 59 mi |
| University of Arkansas-Fort Smith | Fort Smith, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 63.8 | 2 mi |
| Arkansas Tech University | Russellville, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 58.4 | 70 mi |
| NorthWest Arkansas Community College | Bentonville, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 52.6 | 71 mi |
| Connors State College | Warner, OK | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 49.1 | 54 mi |
| University of Arkansas Community College-Morrilton | Morrilton, AR | Yes | Yes | No | No | 49.1 | 93 mi |
| North Arkansas College | Harrison, AR | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | 47.0 | 94 mi |
| Northeastern State University | Tahlequah, OK | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | 44.0 | 52 mi |
Arkansas has 32 military-friendly online colleges by this definition; the Arkansas page lists them all.
| Installation (as recorded by the Census Bureau) | Branch (from the name) | Distance from Fort Smith |
|---|---|---|
| Fort Chaffee Maneuver Training Center | Army | 5 mi |
| Camp Gruber | Army | 51 mi |
| Thunderbird Youth Acdmy | Other | 84 mi |
| McAlester Army Ammunition Plnt | Army | 96 mi |
| Maneuver Traing Area Camp Crowder Neosho | Other | 99 mi |
Median wages for occupations that veterans commonly move into after an online degree (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS), shown for the Fort Smith, AR-OK metro area where BLS publishes it.
| Occupation | Median annual wage | Scope | Cost-of-living adjusted (US=100) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information Security Analysts | $91,020 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $105,960 |
| Logisticians | $66,010 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $76,845 |
| Emergency Management Directors | $50,180 | AR statewide | $58,417 |
| Police and Sheriff’s Patrol Officers | $51,070 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $59,453 |
| Medical and Health Services Managers | $91,720 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $106,775 |
| Project Management Specialists | $74,990 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $87,299 |
| Network and Computer Systems Administrators | $73,620 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $85,704 |
| Transportation, Storage, and Distribution Managers | $83,370 | Fort Smith, AR-OK metro | $97,055 |
BLS publishes wages for metro areas and states, not individual cities; rows marked with the metro name are metro medians, the rest are statewide.
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.
