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Marine Corps Voluntary Education Support Programs
The US Marine Corps isn't just looking for a few good men. They are also looking to make those men even better over time. In addition to some of the best military training in the world, the Marine Corps also offers its servicemembers programs to help them achieve a higher civilian education. College education provides value added to any Marine, and also helps any Marine who leaves the military find better employment outside the Corps. The USMC offers a broad variety of Marine Corps voluntary education support programs to help marines pursue degree and other educational programs, fund those educations without having to use much of their own money, and to succeed in their academic endeavors. There are even programs to help civilian spouses of active marines to achieve an education despite the challenges of being a military spouse.
Marines Tuition Assistance
Much like the other services, the Marine Corps (through the Navy) offers its servicemembers a tuition assistance program. This is a program intended to pay for the tuition and fees of college courses that marines take on their own off-duty hours. Tuition Assistance (or TA) pays for up to 100 percent of a college's tuition and fees, up to $250 per semester hour (or $166.67 per quarter hour). There is a cap of $4,500 in funding per fiscal year. Marines who are eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill - Active Duty, or the Post-9/11 GI Bill, can tap into their GI Bill benefits through the Tuition Assistance Top-Up program to pay for any tuition and fees that exceed the maximum allowed under the TA guidelines. Tuition Assistance is available to all active duty marines, as well as many members of the Marine Corps Reserves, and so is one of the most widely used of the Marine Corps voluntary education support programs.
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Deployed Education
Because many marines spend long periods at sea in Naval vessels, the Marine Corps offers a Deployed Education program to allow marines at sea to continue their education while at sea. Courses are offered by affiliated universities, such as Central Texas College, and taught by Marine Corps or Navy personnel who are qualified to teach the course. Marines may use normal tuition assistance to fund these courses. If courses that a marine needs are not available, he or she still has the option of pursuing online education.
Servicemembers' Opportunity Colleges Marine Corps (SOCMAR)
Marines and other military personnel move around a lot, and this can make getting an education difficult. To help offset this issue, there is a program called the Servicemembers' Opportunity Colleges Marine Corps (or SOCMAR), which is an agreement between the Marine Corps and a long list of colleges to accept transfer credits from other colleges in the list. This allows a marine to transfer to a new station without losing all the benefit of the college work he has completed at his previous station.
Military Academic Skills Program
The Military Academic Skills Program is a program that helps marines to improve their basic academic skills through training courses and testing. The program is aimed at helping the servicemember to prepare to re-take the Armed Forces Classification Test (ACFT), either to qualify for professional opportunities or to improve work performance. This allows the Marine to improve his General Technical (GT) score, or his Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) score, often required to qualify for training or other opportunities.
Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART)
The Sailor/Marine American Council on Education Registry Transcript (SMART) is a program that allows a marine to request a transcript listing all of his military training and experience with an associated recommended civilian educational equivalent. This transcript lists the credits that the marine earned simply through military training, and many colleges accept this in transfer as if it were earned at any accredited college.
Spouse Tuition Assistance Programs
Military spouses face many challenges as they follow their servicemembers from station to station. One of these is the difficulty in pursuing an education. To help offset this problem, the Marine Corps offers several programs, such as the Spouse Tuition Aid Program (STAP) that helps a spouse to fund an education. There are also scholarships and grants available to both spouses and children of Marines.
This list does not include all schools that accept GI Bill funding. For a more complete list of schools, click here.
Campus Schools
You deserve a better career and a better life. Rasmussen College in Minnesota can help you get both.
Get the right foundation for your future with a degree from Strayer University. Evening, weekend and online classes are all available to meet the needs of busy adults.
Located just outside of Orlando, Florida, Full Sail University is an educational leader for those pursuing careers in the entertainment industry. The school's on-campus programs provide students with an innovative and accelerated style of education geared toward career opportunities in media, entertainment and the arts.
Full Sail's unique curriculum emphasizes intensive, real-world education, using the latest industry equipment and production processes. Students develop their skills in world-class recording studios, spacious film soundstages, motion capture studio, and a professional performing arts hall, all housed in a 110+ studio, 190-acre multimedia complex.
Full Sail's unique curriculum emphasizes intensive, real-world education, using the latest industry equipment and production processes. Students develop their skills in world-class recording studios, spacious film soundstages, motion capture studio, and a professional performing arts hall, all housed in a 110+ studio, 190-acre multimedia complex.
Carrington College has helped over 45,000 graduates realize their dream of a career in healthcare. Now it's your turn. Choose from eleven conveniently located campuses.
Carrington College California offers the programs you need to begin a career in healthcare. Choose from Healthcare, Massage Therapy, Dental Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, or Veterinary Services.
Launch a business, healthcare, or technology career with Dover Business College. Train with the most current technology programs at one of our two (Dover and Paramus, New Jersey) campuses.
Widely recognized as unique among colleges and universities, Berkeley College offers a proven approach to career education that provides students with a competitive edge and the skills sought by employers.
Empire College, located in Santa Rosa, California, can give you the career training you need to launch or advance your career in the Business, Law, Technology, or Medical fields.
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Get your photography career started at the Hallmark Institute of Photography. We provide a real-world approach to professional photographic education, and training is completed within 10 months.
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Fulfill your dreams with an education from Philadelphia University. We offer more than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and one doctoral degree program. Our academic programs include architecture, design, business, engineering, liberal arts, textiles, fashion, science, and health.
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This list does not include all schools that accept GI Bill funding. For a more complete list of schools, click here.
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