US Naval Community College Begins Accepting Applications for Military Studies; Nuclear Engineering Technology

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The U.S. Naval Community College officially began accepting applications for its Military Studies and Nuclear Engineering Technology associate degree programs Sunday, Mar. 6, at 8 a.m. EST.

QUANTICO, Va. — The U.S. Naval Community College officially began accepting applications for its Military Studies and Nuclear Engineering Technology associate degree programs Sunday, Mar. 6, at 8 a.m. EST.

These are the first two degrees the USNCC offer made available to active duty enlisted Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and Coast Guard Reservists as a part of the Department of the Navy’s initiative to develop a naval-relevant community college focused on enlisted education.

“This is an opportunity for pioneering men and women in our naval services to be amongst the first enlisted leaders to earn a naval-relevant degree through the USNCC,” said USNCC’s President Randi R. Cosentino, Ed.D. “These Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen will be a part of making the future of the services’ enlisted education with quality degrees in coordination with military-friendly schools.”

Both of these degrees include the Naval Studies certificate, a five-course, fifteen-credit program based on naval sciences courses taught in the U.S. Naval Academy and Naval ROTC programs. These 15 credits are applied to the associate degree programs and count towards the required courses for each degree. The courses include Naval Ethics and Leadership, Modern Naval History, Naval Force Design and Concepts, Civilian and Military Organization and Policies, and the certificate capstone course Introduction to Geopolitics. 

The Associate of Arts in Military Studies is a 60-credit program completed in part with Arizona State University. The Associate of Science in Nuclear Engineering Technology is a 63-credit degree program completed in part through Alexandria Technical and Community College. Both degrees are completed completely online and both have established pathways to a relevant four-year degree with little to no loss of credit.

“This degree will help you to better understand your role on the national and international level,” said Sgt. Maj. Michael Hensley, USNCC’s senior enlisted leader, about the military studies degree. “This will help you to develop the critical thinking skills needed to make the most effective decisions at the lowest level of leadership, especially when it matters.”

The Nuclear Engineering Technology degree fully transfers into an ABET-accredited Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Energy Engineering Technology upon completion. This means that the service members who complete this degree will be eligible to sit for the Principles and Practice of Engineering exam.

“The Nuclear Engineering Technology degree program is designed with the Navy’s nuclear power program in mind and will accept many of the credits earned through the nuclear power training program,” said Hensley. “This is a great opportunity for those Sailors looking to advance their nuclear engineering technology knowledge in the context of submarine patrols and freedom of navigation operations on the geopolitical level.”

Active duty enlisted Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen and Coast Guard Reservists can fill out an application on the USNCC website, www.usncc.edu . The first courses will start in June 2022.  

The United States Naval Community College is the official community college for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. To get more information about the USNCC, go to www.usncc.edu . Click on the student interest form link to learn how to be a part of the USNCC Pilot II program.