The University of Southern Mississippi is one of the best universities to attend in America for military-affiliated students, according to a recent report.
The school recently received designation as a 2025-26 Military Friendly School by Viqtory, recognition earned via a rules-based algorithm that incorporates data from public sources, proprietary surveys, and individual feedback.
Southern Miss was ranked the No. 3 U.S. school among Tier 1 Military Friendly Research Institutions and landed the No. 1 spot as a Tier 1 Military Spouse Friendly School.
“The USM Center for Military Veterans team is a family of families who work long and hard to enroll, retain, nurture, and mentor our many students who come from all walks of the military service-oriented lifestyle,” retired Major General Jeff Hammond, director of USM’s Center of Military Veterans, said.
“Our overall goal through the years is to be the most military-caring university program in the nation. In this regard, our staff and students strive daily to be extraordinary, rather than average or simply good enough.”
The 2025 recognition is the latest in what has become a growing list of national acclaim for Southern Miss as a military-friendly higher education institution. In 2021, USM was named a Top University by Military Times. The opening of Quinland-Hammond Hall followed, a state-of-the-art facility solely dedicated to serving the university’s nearly 2,000 military-affiliated students.
Read the full 2025-2026 Military Friendly report here.
