KINGSTON, R.I. – April 23, 2025 – For the second year in a row, the University of Rhode Island has been named a Top 10 Military Friendly School. The designation, for the 2025-26 school year, accompanies a military friendly designation for military spouses—the first time URI has received such an honor.

Schools recognized as military friendly were evaluated using public data sources, and responses from a proprietary survey. The survey is known to be the longest-running, most comprehensive review of college and university investments that serve military and veteran students. More than 1,800 schools participated in the 2025-26 survey.

URI enrolls approximately 300 military students, including active and veteran service men and women, with approximately 200 military dependents. In addition, more than 300 members of the faculty and staff at URI are affiliated with at least one branch of the military.

One of the many factors that helped URI to achieve its status as a top 10 military friendly school is having a dedicated military center. URI’s Center for Military and Veteran Education is on the ground floor of the Memorial Union and serves as a space where veterans can come and go, converse with one another or use it as a quiet place to study and do homework.

Kathleen Conlon, coordinator of the Center for Military and Veteran Education notes the organic mentorship that happens in the space. “It’s great to hear those conversations happening—students helping each other,” she says. Conlon says the MAVE Center is a place for military students to collaborate and engage with each other to build those bonds.

URI has also made an effort to expand their programming to the military-connected community at other colleges and universities in Rhode Island. In November, URI hosted a military ball and invited students from military-connected groups at other schools. Things went so well that the MAVE is planning to make it an annual event.

On Thursday, April 24, the MAVE will also host its annual Veterans Award Luncheon, which recognizes campus partners for the hard work they put in to support URI’s military community and the center. This year’s luncheon is at 11:30 a.m. in the Multicultural Student Services Center.

The Military Friendly Schools list is created each year based on extensive research using public data sources from more than 8,800 schools nationwide, input from student veterans, and responses to the proprietary, data-driven Military Friendly Schools survey from participating institutions. The survey questions, methodology, criteria and weighting were developed with the assistance of an independent research firm and an advisory council of educators and employers. The survey is administered for free and is open to all postsecondary schools that wish to participate. Criteria for consideration can be found at www.militaryfriendly.com.

For more information about the University’s programs for student veterans, current military and military-connected students, visit uri.edu/veterans.

Ethan Weiner, a junior sports media major and PR minor at the University of Rhode Island and an intern in the Department of Communications and Marketing, wrote this press release.