Air Command and Staff College offers online master's degree

  • Published
  • By Christine Harrison
  • Air University Public Affairs
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNEWS) --  Air University's Air Command and Staff College begins offering an online master's degree program in June. For the first time ever, eligible officers will be able to enroll in an educational program that simultaneously fulfills Joint Professional Military Education and Air Force Intermediate Developmental Education requirements while allowing them to earn an accredited master's degree online. 

"This links the master's degree to deliberate force development," said Col. James Moschgat, vice commandant of ACSC. 

This chief of staff initiative is designed to boost "intellectual throw weight" within the Air Force. Students completing the program earn a master's degree in military operational art and science.  This is the same degree now earned by students attending ACSC in-residence. 

"The master's program is a demanding one [and] will require significant investment in time and effort by the military member," said Colonel Moschgat. "However, [it allows] the member to budget his or her time around a work and family schedule as opposed to what might be done in a master's course in the evening." 

The online program consists of 11 eight-week courses - a total of 33 semester hours - covering topics such as contemporary Air Force operations, national security, leadership, and joint warfare challenges and opportunities. 

Because of the anticipated level of work required, students beginning the program may take only one course per term; however, they may be approved to take two courses per term after they have successfully completed their first four courses. 

Each course requires from 10 to 15 hours of work per week. 

A student working steadily through the program can earn his or her master's degree in less than 24 months. Students have the ability to schedule courses around deployments. 

"If you complete three terms then you deploy for three months, you will roll right back into the next term," said Dr. Kessler, dean of Distance Learning at ACSC. "It is not a lock-step degree program. We provide [students] the flexibility to take the course they want, at the time they want, and to do this at a pace that supports their ops tempo." 

Students will interact with faculty and fellow students in an asynchronous online seminar environment. 

"There is not a set time when everyone is going to be online at the same time because we're going to be dealing with troops [and faculty] in multiple time zones," Dr. Kessler explained. 

In addition to the online collaboration, students must complete written assignments, exercises and essay exams. The program also requires students to complete a research project on a topic of concern for today's war fighters. 

Admission to the program is not a competitive process, but is limited due to the number of online instructors available, Dr. Kessler said. In order to manage demand, the school employs an incremental admissions process. 

Initially, the program will have a capacity of 200 to 500 students and only be open to active-duty Air Force majors and major-selects who do not currently possess a master's degree or have not yet completed intermediate developmental education. 

Dr. Kessler said he anticipates the program will open to Air National Guard and Air Force Reservists beginning in August 2007. As resources allow, the program will open to Air Force civilians in major-equivalent positions, sister-service majors and major-selects, as well as DoD civilians and other eligible federal agency civilians in major-equivalent positions. 

Once the program opens, eligible students can enter the program during any of the six terms offered yearly. There is no tuition cost associated with the master's degree, however students will be responsible for purchasing any books they will need; this expense is estimated to range from $50 to $75 for each course. There is no active-duty service commitment associated with the program. 

"This really provides our mid-career officers with options they have not had previously," Col Moschgat said. "Distance learning technology has matured to the point that we believe we can offer then a robust course of study - a high-fidelity degree - within the time constraints officers face in today's high-tempo operational environment." 

Applications for admission to the program will be accepted beginning April 2. Officers who are admitted into the program may begin registering for classes at the end of April. The first classes begin June 25. For more information about the ACSC online master's degree program and how to apply, visit the ACSC Web site at www.au.af.mil/au/dlmasters.asp.

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