American Military University

I finished a BA in American history in 2012 and I am now three courses short of finishing my MA in American history. I have found American Military University to be a great school overall. Like other colleges it has its good professors, its not so good professors, and its lousy professors. One thing in AMU's favor -- if you report a professor, they take a hard look at the complaint. If you are looking for an easy way out, AMU or APU is not the place you want to be. You will get a great education, but it will not be given to you -- you will have to work for it.

Finished my undergraduate degree in Military History with a concentration in Early European Studies. All in all I feel this was an excellent school with excellent professors. APUS provides a good education at a reasonable price and I have absolutely no regrets of attending this university. Just a point of clarification, I did not use this institutions financial aid department as I was able to pay for my degree with the GI Bill.

I transferred to AMU from Grantham University in 2011 for two reasons. First, AMU, being a partner with APUS holds a regional accreditation. Grantham University only holds a National Accreditation. Second, AMU offers a degree program that was very specific to what my career is centered on today. When I enrolled, I was given very detailed information up front about the enrollment process and the transfer credit process. Once that was completed, I only received 48 transfer credits to go towards my Bachelor's degree. Essentially it covered all but a few of my Basic Core Classes at AMU. Once I finally started with my classes, I was very pleased with how easy the transition from one online university to another. They offered plenty of resources that allowed me to become familiar with their online setup so that transition was seamless. Another area that I was impressed with was how AMU holds its students accountable for everything they submit and do. You must engage in the class on the very first week or you will be kicked out of the class. While at Grantham, I felt there were times that if I wanted to side step my work and go online and just copy/paste any answer to an assignment I could and never get caught. In one of my first classes at AMU, I had some personal things come up and was running behind on my weekly assignments. So on that Sunday before the work was due; I went online, found an answer and submitted that as my assignment. I walked away feeling like I dodged a bullet and got my work submitted on time. Needless to say, on Monday when I logged back in to check my grade, I was shockingly surprised to see that not only did I get a zero for the assignment, but my Professor had replied to my message and explained to me why I failed the assignment. Along with his note, was also the link I used to copy and paste my answer from. Talk about being embarrassed. I was upset at first, but quickly realized that I brought this on myself. The professor was doing his job to maintain the integrity of his class and I was just upset because I got caught and called out on it. At the end of it all, I talked it out with my Professor and thanked him for what he did. He held me accountable for my work and made sure that I would never think about copying and pasting my answers from the internet. I graduated in May with my Bachelor's degree in Military Management and Program Acquisition with a concentration in Contracts Management. AMU held me accountable for my own success and I walked away feeling truly accomplished with what I had done. They have a standard of excellence at AMU and they hold each and every staff member and student to that same standard no matter what.

I will be graduating this summer with my degree in Military History. I have been attending AMU part time for around 3 years now. I chose AMU for three main reasons: #1 because at the time they were the only school that offered a Military History specific degree that was #2 cheaper than my local university and #3 offered a flexible schedule for working adults. I have overall been very happy with the program, although they now have minor concentrations you can add on which they did not have when I started. It would take me another 3 classes to add this on, but I am so ready to graduate I just said forget it. I have only had one instructor at this school that I have not been impressed with; everyone else has a high level of knowledge and first hand military experience which is a plus. You do not just pay for a degree in this program, you earn it. I usually have 50-100 pages of reading to do a week at minimum, plus at least 2 papers for every class and multiple in-depth discussion boards for the 8 week time period. Not to mention quizzes and finals. My only complaint is that recently they have started switching some of the classes to ebooks, which would be great if I could get most of them to work with my ereader, but 9/10 I can't. Some have been available and cheap enough that I just purchase them outright, but others I have been forced to read on my computer which is both painful and annoying. I'm big into highlighting and making notes and I can't always do that on the computer. I feel that if AMU is going to include the books in their tuition rate, then they need to give you the option of a downloadable ebook or a paper book. As for the administration side of things, I've never had any problems getting any transcripts or credits transferred over. All paperwork has gone smoothly. It does usually take about 24 hours for someone to contact you back about an inquiry even with the advisers. I've also done a lot of online learning through community colleges and other institutions and the Sakai program portal that AMU uses is really great. Easy to navigate and seems to be bug-free. I have to say that while the workload for many of the classes can be tough, especially for a working adult, the structure and questions discussed throughout the class has really forced me to learn the material. Isn't that why I'm in school anyway?

I have been attending AMU for around 3 years. I am 37 credits away from finishing my degree. It is an online institution. The price tag for a 3 hr class is 750 dollars, so there may be a cheaper bargin. The classes are good. Most history classes consist of 2 to 3 papers, discussions boards, and several readings. There does not seem to be a standard across the university, as some classes are fairly easy, while others pile on the work. It seems to be up to the discreation of the professor. The worst part about the school is the new classroom portal that the school has switched to. It is terrible. It is difficult to attach word documents. I have failed to turn in assignments because I thought the word document attached but it did not. This was after I tried 3 times. It also says you will get an email stating the assigment is turned in, but I have yet to get one of those emails. Reading the gradebook is also more complicated than before. The previous version was a lot easier to read and less busy as a web page.

I am about to complete my BA in Military History. I have to say, for the military people who transfer in, you will get a substantial amount of transfer credit. I recieved 33 hours for just military experience. This may vary depending on your job, but you will get something none-the-less. Potentially, you can save yourself an entire year of school(about $7,500). Most of the teachers are amazing. Some have little quirks that can get annoying, but that is normally the case when studying under anybody. Also, getting course materials for free is always great. I would highly reccomend this school and program to anyone that has an interest in history or military strategy. I can honestly say I have learned a massive amount from this school and will be forever better for it, even though I will not have an opportuinty to work directly in the field.

Various AMU reviewers on this site have an unrealistic view of what a college education is for. They seem to think that the reason you go to college is "to get a job." In a way, this is not the reviewers' fault as AMU and indeed most colleges and universities actively promote this idea. While it is undoubtedly true that having a BA, an MA and even a PhD is a path to getting a job, the principal reason for getting any of these academic credentials should be simply to become an educated person and getting a job may be one of the consequences. I say may, because there are probably many, many examples of people with degrees who are unable to find work and comparatively few people who are actually employed in the field of their undergraduate and graduate studies and, regardless of the institution in which they studied. To me it is a breech of ethics for AMU and indeed any liberal arts school such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton etc. to state or even to imply that their degree will result in a job after graduation. Now as to AMU and its on-line graduate military history program. It is just fine and perhaps even better than most I have looked at including those at "brick and mortar" (BM) schools. All of my AMU professors have the PhD credential from prestigious schools and have been published. Furthermore, many are still employed at a BM institution and some are currently in the military or have served. As an example one of my professors is a graduate of U.S. West Point Military Academy, the Army War College and Has a PhD from Duke and headed up the Army's History program. In short many if not most of the AMU professors have multiple degrees are published and even better, have practical on the job experience. Accordingly they would get Thucydides unreserved approval, He said: "The state which separates its scholars from its warriors will have its thinking done by fearful men and its fighting by fools.” Now as to on-line education, students should realize that in fact there is no such thing. You get an education by reading. At Oxford, the Sorbonne, the Universidad de Salamanca and other top European schools its graduates say. "I read history" meaning that there were extensive readings and that often they had to read their papers or at least share them with their classmates. Learning also highly depends on the individual's self disciple and motivation to learn. So it still comes down to the effort that the students put into their education that ultimately determines how much they will retain and how beneficial the overall experience was to their future career.

Ok, first off I would like to say that I am not as advanced in this system as most. I have taken about 5 classes with these people thus far.. Good: -The classes are all covered by the TA for active duty. -The books are FREE!! for undergraduate classes -There is a $100 fee to get all your trascipts together, but they doo all the footwork. -You can transfer from degree path to degree path if you chose, you just have to submit the right paperwork. I originally started as courses for transfer because i had other plans. however, now I am continuing with a degree from these guys as I was impressed. -The instructors worked around my field time and allowed me to catch up. This is easy to do unless you are just that much of a tool. -Customer service has been very quick to respond to any of my concerns regard degree plans and changes to my courses being taken. -Great feedback from students and instructors alike. -The website is accessible via the military computers and work can be completed at work. However, other school websites are blocked for one reason or another and you have to wait until you get home. Bad: -some may think that the $100 fee utilized in getting your transcripts together is too much to ask. -Courses are in fact $750 each, which is a bit much compared to other schools, BUT concidering books are free AND TA covers the cost...is it really too much? -I did run into an instructor that was very rigid in her ways, but that was only 1 out of 5. I was still able to work around her guidelines and my field time, but it proved to me a little more challenging. Thank God the other instructors were more flexible. All in all, there are TONS of schools that one could attend. Yes a degree from Harvard would be MUCH more prestigous than an AMU degree, but if you you could attend Harvard...why are you even talking about AMU? For Active Duty folks, I think this college is great! If it works for you, then great! If it doesn't and you prefer to go elsewhere then do so and good luck to you. AMU isn't for everyone. Nor is Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc.

I finished in the second group of the military history program. I found the faculty and staff to be exceptional. The professors were willing to help with any issues I may have had. The university was available when needed. The residency week was extraordinary, just a great program. You will be challenged, but it is worth it.

AMU would not accept/transfer half of the credits that other online schools accepted for same degree program. They have one heck of a sales pitch about being so military friendly but expect military TA to pay for the same classes twice? They won’t and I can’t afford to waste time completing the same courses that I just got an A in last year. They also gave me 0 credit hours for military classes and training while another school gave me 45. Shame on AMU; I guess it’s really all about the money. Don’t waste your time! Having the word Military in the title is just a way to attract military dollars.

For a military member in a time of instability due to deployments, TDYs, and more work with fewer resources, AMU is an excellent alternative to traditional schools. Where I am stationed, there are plenty of local opportunities; however, none were as accommodating as AMU. The issues I have with local schools are the travel time to the campus, the fixed/inflexible schedules, and those of the faculties who are not very empathetic to your situation. The positives of AMU are it is regionally accredited, TA covers the class AND books, career related programs (mine is Space Studies), flexibility to manage your time, and most of the facility are/were in the military and very understanding. In addition, AMU is now part of the Air Force's, Air University-Associates to Baccalaureate Cooperative Program adding to the school's creditability. AMU and distance learning are great alternatives to the in-residence universities, because these allow for personal management of your most valuable resource, time. If you possess self-discipline, time-management skills, and personal accountability, AMU is an excellent choice.

Before enrolling at AMU, I had attended several (four to be exact) brick and mortar Universities, and to be perfectly honest I was very skeptical of the quality of education that could be delivered over the internet. To my surprise, the standard at AMU was much higher than what I had experienced previously with institutions of "higher" learning. Anyone who is looking to enroll at AMU needs to be fully prepared for this, and needs to be ready to read and write in abundance.