Program Information

The NPS-MSSE 2-year program is designed for Department of Defense (DoD) organizations faced with a wide range of systems engineering and integration challenges. NPS educates and trains engineers with tools and technologies relevant to their work, resulting in employees with greater knowledge and expertise to better meet the needs of their customers. Specific program educational objectives (i.e. skills and abilities that graduates can bring to their position after having graduated the from NPS-MSSE and having received three to five more years of on-the-job training and professional development) are:

• Technical Leadership: Graduates will apply their engineering knowledge in leadership roles along diverse career paths in government service.
• Program Management: Graduates will perform research, design, development, procurement, integration, maintenance, and life-cycle management of systems for defense and national security.
• Operational Utilization: Graduates will apply systems engineering in diverse military settings and understand its capabilities and limitations.

The NPS-MSSE educational credit information is provided in the posted announcement on this website. Learn more at https://nps.edu/web/dl/degprogs_se_nonres_2

Announcement

NPS-MSSE (311-241G) Announcement

Who May Apply

Permanent Army acquisition workforce members who meet both NPS academic requirements and the Army DACM Office eligibility requirements listed below may apply to the NPS-MSSE Program.

Eligibility/Academic Requirements

NPS Academic Requirements:

• Baccalaureate degree in engineering or related science or technical field
• GPA of 2.2 or better
• Successful completion of a college calculus sequence (3 quarter or 2 quarter semester classes)

Army DACM Office Eligibility Requirements:

• Army acquisition workforce civilian must be coded as “1 -Permanent – Tenure Group 1” in the Defense Civilian Personnel Data System at the time of submitting their application in CAPPMIS.
• Must be a GS-11 through GS-15, or broadband/pay band equivalent.
• Must meet certification level required in current acquisition position in one of the following Functional Areas:
  • Test & Evaluation
  • Engineering & Technical Management
• Must have a Conditional Letter of Acceptance from NPS
• Must not currently have a master’s degree in an acquisition or business discipline

Department of Defense laboratories designated as Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories who meet the following eligibility requirements may apply to the NPS-MSSE Program:

• Must be a permanent (non-temporary/non-term) civilian member of the Army Acquisition Workforce Exception: Per the Section 1109, FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Section 11.A.3.f, 82 Federal Register 43339, eligibility to participate in the NPS-MSSE Program is extended to flexible length and renewable term technical appointment employees in the Department of Defense laboratories designated as Science and Technology Reinvention Laboratories (STRLs).
• Term employees not appointed under Section 1109, FY16 NDAA are not eligible for the NPS-MSSE Program.
• All other eligibility requirements must be met.

NPS Application Process

Eligible Army acquisition workforce civilians must obtain a conditional letter of acceptance from the  Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).  Applicants may accomplish this by directly visiting https://my.nps.edu/web/dl/degProgs_SE_nonRes and following the instructions for Army DACM Office applicants. Individuals who obtained conditional letters of acceptance for prior year’s application can submit their conditional letter of acceptance for the current NPS-MSSE announcement.  Please confirm with NPS that there are no additional requirements.  You must meet all NPS-MSSE eligibility requirements in order to participate in the program if you should be selected for participation by the Army DACM office.

Requests for officially sealed transcripts from all schools attended (undergrad/grad) must be sent directly to NPS.  Applications and all requests for official transcripts (sealed) from all undergraduate/graduate schools attended must be received by NPS no later than the date posted in the current announcement.  NPS also accepts official transcripts electronically from institutions providing that service.  Official transcripts can be electronically transferred to admissions@nps.edu.  While you are awaiting your conditional letter of Acceptance from NPS you can initiate your Army DACM Office application.

Army DACM Office Application Process

The online application process used to submit an application for consideration of funding for the NPS-MSSE program is AAPDS. AAPDS is an automated application system that can be accessed via the Career Acquisition Management Portal (CAMP). Eligible Army acquisition workforce civilians must click on the “Career Acquisition Personnel and Position Management Information System” (CAPPMIS). Once in CAPPMIS, select the “AAPDS” tab and then select the “Apply” tab. Select the blue link under status (if available) to apply to the program.

Contacts

USAASC Point of Contact (everything consideration of funds and application related)
Ms. Uhura N. Smith
Email: uhura.n.smith.civ@army.mil

NPS-MSSE Point of Contact (everything admissions and curriculum related):
Ms. Heather Hahn
Distance Learning Education Technician
Department of Systems Engineering
Naval Postgraduate School
Email: hlhahn@nps.edu

Dr. Wally Owen
Program Officer
Email: wowen@nps.edu

Policy

  NPS Policy and Procedures

Additional Documents

 Continued Service Agreement

 Resume Format