Purdue University\u2019s catalogue of online master\u2019s programs recently made Forbes\u2019 2026 list for Best Online Master\u2019s Programs for Military Service Members. To create the list, Forbes evaluated over 3,600 schools and considered factors such as affordability, student outcomes and student experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Purdue was ranked the most affordable school on the list. In their justification article<\/a>, Forbes found that Purdue was over $1,500 less expensive than the next most affordable institution, Texas A&M University \u2013 College Station. They also noted that Purdue offers a wide variety of online master\u2019s programs in high-demand fields like engineering, education, business and health care, and that many online programs are GI Bill approved. Additionally, Purdue\u2019s graduate program application fee is waived for active-duty service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBeing recognized by Forbes as a top online master\u2019s provider for military service members reflects Purdue University\u2019s commitment to delivering high-quality, accessible education,\u201d said Dimitrios Peroulis, senior vice president for partnerships and online at Purdue. \u201cWe are especially proud to be named the most affordable institution on the list, ensuring that those who have served our country can pursue advanced degrees in high-demand fields without compromising on value or academic excellence.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to online master\u2019s degrees and graduate certificates in business, engineering and more, Purdue also offers fully online doctoral degrees like its Doctor of Technology<\/a> program, as well as an online associate degree in veterinary technology<\/a>. All of Purdue’s online programs meet military learners where they are by providing flexibility and ease of access, and some of them were designed with military learners in mind, like the new Master of Science in Strategy in Security and Defense Technologies<\/a> and online Graduate Certificate in Strategic Defense Technologies.<\/a> Both programs are aligned with Purdue\u2019s innovative FORCES Initiative, which promotes research and education related to decision making in national security and defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n Explore Purdue’s online strategic defense programs<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFORCES is one of the educational engines behind Purdue\u2019s defense innovation work, connecting strategy, technology and the social sciences in a way that is both rigorous and practical,\u201d said Sorin Matei, Purdue University professor and director of the FORCES Initiative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our MS program is competency-based and experiential by design: students build the strategic, analytical and ethical capacities that matter in the real world, then demonstrate them through applied projects and capstone work tied to authentic defense challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Purdue also offers an online professional development certificate<\/a> in strategic defense and a strategic defense concentration<\/a> in its online Master of Science in Interdisciplinary Engineering program. These programs provide service members with multiple avenues to grow their careers and build skills in leadership, engineering, strategy and more\u2014 all at an affordable price point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSince our founding, Purdue has supported those who serve the Nation,\u201d said Kelvin Gumbs, executive director of military education and strategic partnerships at Purdue. \u201cAccess and affordability matter because they directly enable readiness, allowing uniformed personnel to gain a high-quality education during and after service, ultimately strengthening the force and the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n From its founding to the present day, Purdue University has built a military legacy<\/a> defined by supporting service members and their families in accessing educational opportunities and making giant leaps. Purdue holds a Tier 1 Collegiate Purple Star of Indiana Award \u2014 Indiana\u2019s highest distinction for supporting service members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In total, Purdue offers over 150 online master\u2019s degrees, graduate certificates, microcredentials and professional development courses. Online graduate programs are designed and delivered from Purdue\u2019s West Lafayette, Indiana flagship campus, and taught by the same faculty who teach on campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information on Purdue\u2019s online graduate programs, certificates and professional development courses, visit the university\u2019s online program webpage.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Purdue University\u2019s catalogue of online master\u2019s programs recently made Forbes\u2019 2026 list for Best Online Master\u2019s Programs for Military Service Members. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":11068,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"area-of-study":[],"person":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-11067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-program-news","person-alumni","person-faculty-staff","person-students"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2-300x205.jpg",300,205,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false],"rt_custom":["https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/DSF3756-2.jpg",876,599,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"RM Barton","author_link":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/author\/barton53\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"Program News<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Purdue University\u2019s catalogue of online master\u2019s programs recently made Forbes\u2019 2026 list for Best Online Master\u2019s Programs for Military Service Members.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11067","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11067"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11067\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11072,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11067\/revisions\/11072"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11068"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11067"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11067"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11067"},{"taxonomy":"area-of-study","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/area-of-study?post=11067"},{"taxonomy":"person","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purdue.edu\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/person?post=11067"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}