American Military University

I’m glad I attended American Military University. Back when I was looking at grad school, I was skeptical about online education. I wanted to be a college professor and thought I’d be a longshot with an online degree. This wasn’t the case, just 2 months after graduating in 2017 I was offered a position with one of the best community colleges in the country. The recognized my degree because it’s regionally accredited. Furthermore, when my employer transitioned to online education during the pandemic, I was able to set up classes with ease. I’m very comfortable teaching online courses because of my experience with AMU.

Being an active duty Marine and starting the path towards my bachelors before the internet was available everywhere I had the opportunity to try numerous schools due to permanent change of stations: UMUC, Coastal Carolina Community College, Campbell University, Kishwaukee Community College, and finally UMUC. AMU was the first school where I attended via the internet. The rest were either traditional brick and mortar schools or resident classes where the instructor came to base to instruct. I found the transition smooth. The instruction provided by the AMU teachers was typically on par or exceeded that provided by instructors in a traditional resident type setting. The support provided by AMU while registering for classes, applying for graduation or any other general question was answered very quickly. The value of the school cannot be overstated, free books for undergrads, and you can take six classes a year with tuition assistance. The instructors, most of which were affiliated with the military in some manner understand the demands placed on their students and would work you if you needed extra time due to work requirements, a convoy operation, etc. Most of your peers in the class are AD military or Law Enforcement making interaction with other students online easier. The classes were typically challenging and informative. Be prepared to spend a lot of time studying and writing. The education provided by AMU provided dividends career wise, making me more competitive for promotion and enhancing my analytical and communication skills. The academic rigor of AMU was previously proven when I was accepted to Pennsylvania States University's Masters of Public Administration program. I am about to complete my first class with Penn State and found that while very challenging I was well prepared by AMU for the challenge Penn State is providing me. Based on my experiences I would highly recommend AMU to anyone wishing to pursue an education.

I am very pleased with my educational experience at AMU. I attended there for two years after transferring from another school and was able to complete my Bachelor's in the timeframe I had hoped to because of the continuous classes and 8 week semesters they offer. I agree with one of the other reviewers that the consistency in grading depends heavily on your professor (which can at times be frustrating) but I believe you will likely find that at any university. The support staff were always super helpful and professional, and I have to say the graduation experience (if you can go to it, do!) was wonderful. Overall I would absolutely recommend AMU to anyone who needs the flexibility that online universities offer.

I recently completed a Political Science degree and was able to work full time while doing so (even during some very long days for a new job). Overall I had a relatively good experience with the school and many of the professors invest a good deal of time and show genuine concern for their students. I did have one major issue with the the university though, one I imagine many students experience at all universities, occasionally I would get a terrible professor. Ok, fact of life not everyone you meet will be positive, however, the report / complaint process was worthless. In both of my experiences I had professors (2-3 of them) that over the 8 week course did not grade any significant papers until the last weeek of the course. For the initial papers this is not a major concern but with no feedback it is quite difficult to focus a paper the way each professor wishes if you have never had feedback. Despite complaining to the school and supervisors on each occasion nothing ever came of these complaints. This is somewhat disappointing as they track your log-in's quite diligently, every time a student so much as uses a phone to check his grades it is tracked. However, they apparently do not care to track the work ethic of their professors. I would have expected that if I did not hear from professor for several weeks (even after emailing them) their supervisor might have an issue with this but apparently not. If they were able to fix this issue and establish a means to hold professor's accountable for their instruction (or lack there of) I would be able to rate the university much higher.

Very good school for the price. Like any college, you get out what you are willing to put in. If you only log into the classroom once a week, or you submit assignments a month after their due, then you probably aren't going to learn much. If you are engaged with your professor and your classmates on a daily basis there is a lot to be learned. Some classes are very demanding others are very easy. I feel like I did the same amount of work for an average graduate class at AMU as I did for an average undergraduate class at a physical school

I did LOTS of research on what school i wanted to attend, from reading reviews, reviewing costs, and talking to friends who have tried other distance learning institutions. I work full time, i have a family and newborn, and i did not want to be hamstrung by deadlines, and mandatory on-line meetings and such. I have been with AMU over a year and half now and completed 10 courses, my pace being slower than average. The courses are fun, engaging, and you can really get a lot out of them. As with anything, your interest level and dedication are key. There is a lot of forum posting required, which is not hard, but they really try to create a conversation about the learning materials. They have access to honor societies, professional organizations, interest groups, clubs, etc. Overall i am very happy with my choice to attend AMU, and i would recommend it!

Been a grad student at AMU for a year now. Just like any other school, some professors are good and some are bad. I have had professors that give grades with no rationale, and I have had professors who nitpick every detail. By the end of a semester I think the work load, at least in terms of writing is comparable to other program. A 2-3 page weekly post ends up equaling a 20 page paper by the end of the semester. I have taken hard timed tests where you need to know your stuff and cant BS your way through it. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying AMU is the best school out there but I think that it is comparable to other mid level universities. I graduated my undergrad from a state college with a 3.69 GPA, I currently have a 3.70 GPA at AMU. Seems comparable.

AMU/APU is great at what it does. It provides a very easy way for active duty military personnel to receive a great education at a low cost. For enlisted personnel, I would look here first. The academic advisers are friendly, registering for classes is easy, and you pay nothing out of pocket if you are using your military Tuition Assistance for an undergraduate degree. I completed my BA with AMU in February of 2011 and moved on to Liberty University to do Master's with no issues. AMU has an exceptional teaching staff. Most professors work full-time at B&M universities and teach at AMU on the side so their credentials are not lacking. I encourage you to look through their faculty list and see for yourself. This is NOT a diploma mill. You will actually have to work to get your degree. There is a lot of reading required and even more writing. I encourage you to get your assignments done in the middle of the week instead of waiting until Sunday like most people. The only thing I have marked AMU down for is technology. While I was there we were using Educator which is very primitive educational technology. Now, I see they have switched to SAKAI and I have heard great things about that. My current school uses Blackboard and it is lightyears ahead of Educator. So if you are enlisted and active duty this is the perfect match for you to do your BA easily and at a low cost. If you are a civilian then I would go to a state college or something cheaper. However, AMU specializes in fields that most schools don't, so if that's what you're looking for, then it's worth your money.

I am two-thirds of the way finished with a Master's in Political Science from AMU and I am satisfied. I work in a remote geographic location and I have a wife, two kids, a government career, and two mortgages, so going back to school wasn't an option. I enjoy the online medium and the freedom it affords. I feel that I have learned a wonderful amount so far, all of which I can apply to my life and work. There are times when I wonder if going to an established brick-and-mortar school would have been a better road to take for a Master's. AMU does not offer mentorship from professors, lectures, or the chance to teach undergraduates, which I've always thought must be a valuable learning experience. Nor is there much prestige tied to the name, as with other schools. But this school is evolving, and online learning is surely the medium of the future. This degree does provide ample opportunity to read, write, and to a lesser extent debate, and to explore ideas and interests, all of which turns the student on to many new concepts and sharpens his or her analytical and writing skills. I also know plenty of people with Master's degrees from mainstream schools who have either done nothing with them or seemingly profited very little from them, all the while amassing a hefty debt. These classes are more challenging than my brick-and-mortar undergraduate alma mater in that timelines are compressed, workloads are greater, and standards are higher. I attended a small law school 10 years ago for one year only and the law classes required much more reading and included much more difficult tests. This degree falls somewhere in between. I am not taking this degree to impress an employer specifically and if that is your goal you might want to go elsewhere. I am taking this degree to challenge and enrich myself. What job does Political Science lead to anyway? But this is an accredited Master's degree and I can combine it with my other skills, employment history, references, etc. to help achieve another promotion at some future time. My point is that this degree will probably not magically unlock any doors for you, but neither will almost any other Master's degree. Most employers are looking at you as an entire package and your degree is only a part of that. Don't enter this degree thinking you're going to teach at Harvard some day. I'm not sure a Master's at AMU would even be accepted by most non-online Phd programs. But if you go into it with the attitude that this program is one more opportunity to challenge yourself, apply yourself, and learn something useful, you will not be disappointed.

I am finishing my 5th class with AMU. I jumped on this site looking to see what others have said about the school, and I have to say I don't think it's fair to rank down an institution with all "1"s if you had problems funding your first and only class, if you had a problem with registration ect. EVERY college has bureaucratic B.S. you have to go through when you are getting up and going. I had the same problems. I had to drop classes, cancel TA, get my dates pushed back into a new FY. That meant less money for me to complete my degree, messing up my timetable. But I can't say "DONT GO TO THIS SCHOOL" like I have seen some people say on here, because that would not be fair. That is just the way it goes with many organizations. Now, as for the teachers, yes, it would be nice to get a little more attention and personal feedback on assignments, especially considering how much time I have spent on certain papers. But they always respond to questions, they always make corrections that need to be made (and that are constructive) and they have been reasonably flexible with my professional obligations. The point is, I AM LEARNING. I am learning a lot, actually. My readings and class material are challenging, but not impossible. If you put the work into it, just like anything, you can maintain a 4.0 average. Sure, some classes are easier to get "A"s in than others. But that is the truth for any school, isn't it? I have one I am in right now that is DAMN hard, the professor grades his essays real tough and weights them heavy in the grade. A student has to be on the ball. My point is if you are looking up reviews to choose a school to go to, don't listen to the "bah humbug" reviews in the thread. Take a class, one class (not the "Foundations of Learning", that is a B.S. mandatory class. An example of easy "A"), and see for yourself. Good luck.

I'm sorry some of you had poor AMU experiences, but mine has been just fine. Yes, teachers will sometimes run the course on autopilot, but education is always about self-motivation anyway. AMU gives you good resources--books, lecture notes, a great online library--but leaves it up to you to learn something. I write a ton for this program--more so, in fact, than my wife who attended a brick-and-mortar, accredited, private college. In fact, most mid-terms and finals are some sort of writing assignment. For some, the grad program is beneficial; however, I want to become a professional in my field, and am postponing my Masters until I EAS. A "normal" college will give me more research opportunities, internships and contact with professors. If I had no alternative, a graduate degree from AMU rivals any other online graduate program. Bottom line: Any school is what you make it. Both B&M schools and online schools have students who merely "show up to class," emitting no effort. A degree from AMU, combined with maturity, poise and a military background is sure to impress many employers.