The first students selected in a new Headquarters Marine Corps program to give higher education opportunities to Marine Corps Officers began studies this summer at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University.
The first-ever cohort in the USMC Congressional Fellows Program began coursework in July.
The nine Marines—eight of them began as Captains, one a Major—are enrolled in the Master of Public Policy (MPP) program, which provides graduates with the skills in policymaking and analysis necessary for understanding and solving critical problems. Once they have earned their degrees they will serve for a year as legislative assistants to members of Congress on Capitol Hill.
The Schar School’s proximity to the Pentagon, where the officers are now stationed, and its favorable cost efficiencies were factors in the Marine Corps Office of Legislative Affairs choosing the Schar School, said Tres Smith, the recently retired Marine lieutenant colonel who chose the students and is teaching one of the courses.
“The program is ongoing and will continue at Mason,” he said. “The public policy degree was key [in choosing the Schar School]. It was exactly what we were looking for. The adaptability and flexibility to meet our needs and work around the needs of the Marine Corps were important to make this happen. And the curriculum was tailored to what we needed; that’s what sealed the deal for us.”
“This is a great opportunity for Marines to gain higher education,” said Major Jason Bowers, one of the students. “Three of us already have master’s degrees, but this second one for myself allows me an opportunity to do something more focused on what I’ll be doing in the future.”
The advanced degrees are important to the officers if they wish to move up in rank, said Bowers. “As your rank increases, there are additional requirements, and if you want to be competitive, you really need to have a master’s degree,” he said.
For a year after graduating the Marines will serve as military representatives to senators or congressmen. “We’ll be representing the Department of Defense as a whole, not just the Marines, and be a proponent for the entire military,” Bowers said. “We’re expected to be experts in all policy matters—for the Navy, for the Air Force, for the Army—when it comes to me serving my representative.”
Their studies began this summer with a challenge: A 14-week course, Culture, Organizations, and Technology, was condensed into a little more than six weeks, with classes meeting sometimes three times a week.
“Because of their background and rigorous training that emphasizes attention to detail, I had no doubt the class would adapt and excel at this advanced pace,” said Rainier A. Sommer, a professor in public policy and enterprise engineering at the Schar School. “I am quite sure that this first cohort will do just as well in all their other program course requirements.”
The officers will also take assorted courses that “will directly benefit our experiences on the Hill by being intimately familiar with government processes and policy writing,” Bowers said. These include classes that emphasize policy analysis, program evaluation, and ethical context, said Bonnie Stabile, the research assistant professor who is director of the MPP program.
“The policy analysis answers the question, ‘What should we do?’ The program evaluation answers, ‘How well did we do it?’ And the ethics asks the question, ‘Should we do it?’” she said, adding that as part of the fellowship the officers will also attend congressional sessions and meetings on the Hill for first-hand experience.
Smith said the fellows in next year’s cohort are applying now.