10 Perfect Majors for Students with Military Experience

By Jessica Lyons

1 - Recreation Leadership and Management (Ferris State University)

As a service member you've probably already developed a lot of leadership skills. By majoring in recreation leadership and management, you can further develop those skills and learn about overseeing a variety of recreational activities.

2 - Outdoor Education and Leadership (Northwest College)

This major can combine your education and team-building skills with your love of the outdoors. You could get to learn (or learn more) about areas like adventure education, first aid and winter outdoor survival.

3 - Health Fitness (Gustavus Adolphus College)

To serve in the military, physical fitness is a must. If that was an aspect of your service you really enjoyed, you might want to consider studying health fitness. You'll learn about nutrition, community health, kinesiology, exercise and fitness methods.

4 - Organizational Leadership and Supervision (University of Houston)

You can also put your leadership skills to work in a business setting. By majoring in organizational leadership and supervision, you can study human resources, technological resource management, communications, time management and team and project leadership.

5 - Emergency Management/Homeland Security with a concentration in Criminal Justice (Coastline Community College)

As a service member you dedicated your time to serving and protecting your country. If you're interested in continuing to do so, you can major in emergency management and homeland security with a concentration in criminal justice. Some of the topics you'll learn about are investigation, procedure and law, policing and emergency management.

6 - Police Studies (John Jay College of Criminal Justice)

Another major option if you want to work to keep others safe is police studies. While preparing for a law enforcement career, you'll study police ethics, administration, management and labor relations, crime mapping, computer security, investigations and criminal law.

7 - History with a Military History Emphasis (Trinity International University)

While serving in the military you may have developed a love of its history. By majoring in history with a military history emphasis you can expand on the knowledge you gained as a service member, and could then share that information with others as a historian, professor or researcher, among other positions.

8 - Nonprofit Administration (Cleveland State University)

As someone with military experience you already have management skills and a history of putting others before yourself, making the nonprofit field a great fit for you. By studying nonprofit administration, you can learn about management, communications, proposal writing and fundraising.

9 - Communication Studies (Marist College)

Communication is an important part of serving in the military, whether it's so you successfully understand a superior's orders or so you can convey information to others. You can turn your communication skills into a career by majoring in communication studies and learning about public communications techniques, communication theories, persuasion and public presentations.

10 - National Security Studies (California State University - San Bernadine)

If you want to continue to do work that's closely related to your military service, you might want to seek a degree in national security studies. Some of the topics that could be covered in your degree program are strategic planning, defense policies and arms control.

It can be difficult to decide on an educational path. Check out these tips to help service members select an education program that is right for them.