‘Purdue Pursuits’: Earning a Purdue Global degree

Earning a master’s degree had never been on Bryan Arbic’s to-do list — why would it be?

He had served 22 years of active duty in the U.S. Army, secured a bachelor’s degree through the GI Bill, retired from the military as a first sergeant and was a little over a year into his position as assistant director of Purdue’s Veteran and Military Success Center.

Everything seemed to have already fallen into place for him professionally. 

But when Arbic discovered Purdue’s Gift of Knowledge benefit, which offers university employees and their family members access to discounted Purdue Global tuition, he couldn’t let the opportunity pass him by.

He took the leap, choosing to pursue a master’s degree in higher education with a concentration in college administration and leadership, hopeful the curriculum would clarify the complexities of academia — a world that still felt somewhat foreign to him.

“I felt a little bit like a fish out of water,” Arbic says. “Having 20 years of military experience, I was very familiar with that world. But working here in higher ed, there’s all kinds of terms, rules, structure and hierarchy, and I felt like pursuing that degree specifically would help me better understand the environment that I’m operating in.”

By the spring of 2024, Arbic was once again a full-time student, performing a balancing act between his coursework, his career and his responsibilities at home. He had already learned how to juggle all simultaneously while obtaining his bachelor’s degree online, but this time, the workload felt a little different — more manageable.

Arbic attributes that to Purdue Global’s 10-week term calendar, a condensed version of the traditional 16-week semester. The courses kept him busy, but they never bogged him down. And he quickly fell into a routine that left time to fulfill the roles that mattered most to him.

“Taking those 10-week courses, I could keep up with what was a full-time-student pace without having to be buried under a 15 credit-hour courseload, all while being the assistant director at the Veteran and Military Success Center, being a coach for my son’s baseball team, a husband to my wife and all of the other things that happen as a professional adult,” Arbic says.

He immersed himself in courses like HE550 (Higher Education Finance), soaking up information in the evenings so it could be applied at work the next day. The knowledge began to directly benefit the center’s Education to Occupation program, which provides services and resources designed to support student veterans as they transition into postmilitary careers.

Arbic had assumed control of the program in 2022, and throughout his first year at the helm, helped organize six events — standard opportunities like résumé workshops and career fairs. But once he had a clearer picture of the higher education funding landscape, Arbic elevated the quality, quantity and variety of the program’s offerings. By the end of 2025, Education to Occupation’s annual event tally soared to nearly 60.

“That was one of those classes I could not get enough of because it helped me truly understand how that machine works, and it’s really relevant to how much we can support our students and the kinds of things that we can do for them,” Arbic says.

When Arbic officially completed his Purdue Global journey this past December, he sat back in his chair, stunned at what he’d accomplished.

“I thought, ‘I have a master’s degree — that’s crazy,’” Arbic says. “Of all the things I ever set out to do in my life, this was never one of them, and all of a sudden, here I was with a degree in hand.”

And just weeks after earning that degree, the opportunity arose to use it.

The Veteran and Military Success Center’s director position opened in January, and Arbic now checked off every preferred candidate requirement. Armed with his experience and knowledge, he emerged from the hiring process with the job offer and took on his new role in April.

Being able to support military-connected students in this capacity is a dream job for Arbic — a calling, even — and there’s no doubt in his mind that Purdue Global played a major role in his path upward.

“The opportunity opened up by my master’s degree put me and my family in a different position in life,” Arbic says. “There were days it was hard, but if I had the chance to do it all over again, I wouldn’t think for a second — I’d just go. If you’re thinking about it, stop and just do it. You can’t beat the price, and the doors that it opens are priceless.”

How you can apply

Purdue Global offers more than 175 online graduate and undergraduate programs, including certificates and associate, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

Benefits-eligible employees with at least three months of full-time service or six months of part-time service to the university can apply for free tuition. Employees must follow the processes outlined in the Purdue Global education benefit guidelines.

For more information, visit the Purdue Global education benefits FAQ webpage or email remissions@purdue.edu.