Command and Staff College

To provide intermediate and advanced-intermediate professional military education to field grade officers of the Marine Corps, other services, and foreign countries to prepare them for command and staff duties with Marine Air-Ground Task Forces (MAGTFs) and for assignment with joint, multinational, and high-level service organizations.

Command and Staff College offers students the option of completing the requirements for a Master of Military Studies (MMS) degree.

Marine Corps University is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award Master's Degrees.

COC SACS (404) 679-4501
1866 Southern Lane
Decatur, Georgia 30033

There are two ways a resident College student may seek graduate credit hours for the academic year. One is to be accepted into, and complete the work for, the Master of Military Studies Program, initiated in academic year 1993-94. The President of Marine Corps University grants this degree.

A second possibility for graduate credit is transferring Command and Staff College "hours" to a graduate program at another college or university. In the past, institutions have accepted a limited number of credit hours towards a master's degree. The number of transferable hours varies according to (1) the graduate program itself, and (2) the determination of the receiving College or University.

Over 1,000 students have subsequently elected to seek the Master of Military Studies degree since initiation of the program, for which there are several requirements beyond the core curriculum. The Master of Military Studies is a voluntary program; "Distinguished Graduate" status is unaffected by a student's decision to enter into, or withdraw from, the MMS program.

Although admission requirements to Command and Staff College are generally controlled by each service's manpower department, admission to the College's Master of Military Studies Program is limited to those officers who also meet the following prerequisites:

• The candidate must hold a bachelor's degree and must ensure the institution sends an official transcript to the Command and Staff College Registrar by the designated date. Candidates should make similar arrangements for transcripts of any graduate-level education they may have.
• The candidate must speak and write English with demonstrable proficiency. International Officers must attain a minimum score of 95 percent on the qualifying examination administered by the Command and Staff College.
• Candidates, including International Officers, must earn an unremediated "B" in all Command and Staff College courses, including electives.
• The candidate must, at the time of application, have signatures of concurrence from both Conference Group Faculty Advisors.
• The candidate must meet the prescribed deadlines for progress on the master's paper.