×
×
×
×
×
×
×
×

Alumni

Alumni
×

Search

×

Enlisted Students Earn Advanced Degrees at AFIT

Posted Tuesday, August 29, 2017

 

The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the Air Force's Graduate School of Engineering and Management as well as its institution for technical professional continuing education (PCE).

In 2002, then Secretary of the Air Force, Dr. James Roche, championed an initiative to open AFIT’s Graduate School of Engineering and Management to senior enlisted personnel.  Secretary Roche truly believed in the importance of the enlisted force to military achievements in science and technology.  Two years later, eight Air Force and six Marine Corps senior noncommissioned officers (NCO) received master’s degrees from AFIT.  In 2014, MSG Jeffrey Morris, USA, became the first enlisted student to earn a PhD at AFIT.  To date, more than 100 certificates, masters, and doctoral degrees have been awarded to enlisted personnel. And just recently, AFIT alum SMSgt Jason Russi was awarded a U.S. Patent for work done while a graduate student at AFIT on";Stereoscopic 3-D Presentation for Air Traffic Control Digital Displays".

The Enlisted-to-AFIT program is a unique element of enlisted professional development.  In conjunction with other training and education programs, resident AFIT-sponsored science, engineering, and management graduate degree opportunities further develop Senior NCO’s technical education and skills.  Ultimately, this program provides enhanced combat capability for diverse career fields with positions requiring a higher degree of education.

MSgt Ronald Mitchell earned a master’s degree in materials science from AFIT in 2017.  He is currently working as a Project Engineer at the National Air and Space Intelligence Center at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH.  MSgt Mitchell shared, “Almost immediately I began seeing the benefits of my advanced degree to the Air Force, to my career field, and with the enlisted members I was stationed with.  My leadership empowered me, my senior scientists supported me, and my peers welcomed me.”

MSgt Theodore Holliger, a current AFIT master’s student working towards a degree in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, stated “AFIT teaches you to think critically.  I don’t know where my education will take me, but I do know that no matter where I go, I will be prepared to offer solutions that are viable and defensible to leadership.  In my opinion, that is where the enlisted force should be focused.  Solutions brought to decision makers need to be sound - based on objective data, not on emotion or opinion.  Wherever I go, I will be prepared to contribute in that manner.”

Airmen interested in applying for the 18- to 24-month program must be at least a technical sergeant select with a minimum of eight years’ time in service, 24 months’ time on station, have completed their 7 skill-level (craftsman) upgrade, and possess a bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited college or university and a Community College of the Air Force degree.  In addition to academic transcripts, applicants have to provide test scores from either the Graduate Record Examination or Graduate Management Admission Test, depending upon the specific AFIT degree-program requirements.  There is a three years retainability condition upon graduation.

Personnel apply to AFIT based on the Enlisted-to-AFIT Call for Nominations sent out by AF-A1DLE in November each year and announces selections in March or April.

A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT is committed to providing defense-focused graduate and professional continuing education and research to sustain the technological supremacy of America's air, space, and cyber forces.  AFIT accomplishes its mission through four schools: the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the School of Systems and Logistics, the Civil Engineer School, and the School of Strategic Force Studies. Through its Civilian Institution Programs, AFIT manages the educational programs of officers enrolled in civilian universities, research centers, hospitals, and industrial organizations.

For more information, please visit www.afit.edu, or email A3PS@afit.edu
 

 

More news...

Return to the top of the page

Air Force Institute of Technology
2950 Hobson Way
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH 45433-7765
Commercial: 937-255-6565 | DSN: 785-6565