Questions regarding degree requirements for commissioning

[ArmchairAV8R]

Hi there everyone,

Been reading on the forums for a while and finally decided to sign up and join in.

I have a few questions about the degree requirements to become a Navy Officer. I realise these are probably things I should ask a Navy recruiter but I live in Germany at the moment so they are kind of hard to come by.

As I mentioned above I currently live in Germany and have just started studying here as well (Mechanical Engineering). From what I've read on the forums generally foreign degrees aren't accepted by the USN, but I was wondering if I were to complete my bachelors here (requires 3 years here, don't know if this has an effect or not) and then do a Masters at a US university would this satisfy the requirement for a US degree? Alternatively would transferring to a US university 2nd or 3rd year and finishing my degree there be acceptable or must all 4 years be completed at a US accredited university.

I realise there may not be an exact answer to some of these questions but would appreciate any info I can get.

Cheers

 

[Steve Wilkins]

To receive a commission, you need to earn at least a BA or BS degree from an accredited four-year university. You also need to be a U.S. citizen. Are you a U.S. citizen?

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Hi,

Yes I am a US citizen as well as for Germany and Australia. I am aware of the fact that these will have to be renounced in order to receive a commission.

I'm aware of the requirement you mentioned above, but was wondering if the Navy requires all 4 years of said BA or BS degree to be at a US accredited institution or if only the final certificate needs to be from one (ie start here but finish and graduate from a US school). I was also wondering if I were to earn a Masters at a US school but have my bachelors from a foreign school (which I have read is generally not accepted by the Navy on its own) would this satisfy the requirement or would the fact that I earned the bachelors at a foreign school somehow nullify it (may sound like a stupid premise but Id rather ask and look stupid then not ask and fail to meet the requirements after 4-6 years of studying).

Thanks again for the help

 

[ea6bflyr]

Hi,

Yes I am a US citizen as well as for Germany and Australia. I am aware of the fact that these will have to be renounced in order to receive a commission.

I'm aware of the requirement you mentioned above, but was wondering if the Navy requires all 4 years of said BA or BS degree to be at a US accredited institution or if only the final certificate needs to be from one (ie start here but finish and graduate from a US school). I was also wondering if I were to earn a Masters at a US school but have my bachelors from a foreign school (which I have read is generally not accepted by the Navy on its own) would this satisfy the requirement or would the fact that I earned the bachelors at a foreign school somehow nullify it (may sound like a stupid premise but Id rather ask and look stupid then not ask and fail to meet the requirements after 4-6 years of studying).

Thanks again for the help

Wow, that's one really-long-and-hard-to-read sentence. Please break apart your multi-nested questions into easy to read and answer questions; e.g.:

Q1: Why is the sky blue?
A1: Because the ocean is blue.

While you are figuring out what question to ask, check out OPNAVINST 1420.1B (Search for degree requirements).

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Thanks for the link, I'll definitely have a browse.

Apologies for the run on sentence... I shall attempt to simplify:

Q1: If I begin my degree here in Germany but transfer to a US school 2nd or 3rd year and finish my degree there would I meet the degree requirement?

Q2: If I earned a foreign batchelors degree (not accepted by the Navy) but then earned a masters from a US school would I meet the requirement?

I realise these are very specific questions which you may not be able to answer, but as I said there isn't really a recruiter to ask here.

Thanks for bearing with me and putting up with the semi coherent babble.

 

[wlawr005]

I would venture that if you had a piece of paper that said 'Merica! on it, the Navy wouldn't care where you got it. The challenge that you face is finding an American university that's going to give you one for one credit for your completed classes. Most schools, especially engineering schools, make money for teaching you things therefore they prefer THEY teach you as much as possible. It's a business after all.

As far as the Master's thing, I don't know. Maybe @NavyOffRec would be able to answer your specific questions regarding that.

 

[wink]

I have been out of the game for awhile, and there are at least three guys here that are current or recently retired officer recruiters. One works at the national level. Try to get their attention in the National OPO thread or other recruiting focused thread they frequent. Don't let any mods hassle you for a double post. If I recall the issue was "accreditation". Most foreign schools no matter how good would not have an accreditation Navy Recruiting would recognize. Still, I bet they would take a degree from Oxford earned by a Rhodes Scholar. To one of your questions, the requirement is for a degree from an accredited university. So, if you did get a US school to take transfer credits from your Germany university, the degree would end up being issued by a US accredited school. BTW, I disagree that it might be hard to get transfer credit from a German school. It is true that engineering schools tend to be tougher on transfers, but most major US universities have associations with foreign universities that recognize each others credit. Study abroad anyone? As to the foreign undergrad and US Masters, just guessing, but I bet it would fly. Hope you get better info from someone with more recent experience.

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Thanks for the tips & the info. I'll definitely have a go at tracking down one of the recruiters in the other threads.

Everything I've read on the forum so far concurs with what you mention about accreditation being the issue. I'd be interested to know who does the accrediting in the US and if they have recognised or accredited schools in other countries.

From what I know there is some sort of Europe wide credit transfer system called ECTS here. I'm fairly confident there would be some conversion chart or institute that would convert things for me as long as I hassle the right people.

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Ok so google informs me that there are (no joke here) 52 different accreditation agencies for higher education in the US. No joy on that one I guess.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

I have been out of the game for awhile, and there are at least three guys here that are current or recently retired officer recruiters. One works at the national level. Try to get their attention in the National OPO thread or other recruiting focused thread they frequent. Don't let any mods hassle you for a double post. If I recall the issue was "accreditation". Most foreign schools no matter how good would not have an accreditation Navy Recruiting would recognize. Still, I be they would take a degree from Oxford earned by a Rhodes Scholar. To one of your questions, the requirement is for a degree from an accredited university. So, if you did get a US school to take transfer credits from your Germany university, the degree would end up being issued by a US accredited school. BTW, I disagree that it might be hard to get transfer credit from a German school. It is true that engineering schools tend to be tougher on transfers, but most major US universities have associations with foreign universities that recognize each others credit. Study abroad anyone? As to the foreign undergrad and US Masters, just guessing, but I bet it would fly. Hope you get better info from someone with more recent experience.

Oddly enough one of the candidates I sent to OCS was a Rhodes Scholar, NRC recognized his degree.

The foreign degrees are case by case, in general what I have found is if they are from Western Europe you have a decent chance of getting it recognized, I have had several try to get degrees recognized from different parts of Asia and South America and all were not good enough.

 

[ea6bflyr]

The 1420.1B (referenced above) only makes reference to both undergraduate and advanced degree from an accredited university. To answer your questions,
Q1: yes
Q2: yes

I beleive as long as you have A degree from an accredited university, you meet the requirement.

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Ok. I was hoping that would be the case. Thankyou all again for the help.

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Ok. I was hoping that would be the case. Thankyou all again for the help.

If you have to get a foreign degree you will have to go through the foreign education verification, there is a list of colleges and universities which the USN recognizes and that is only for the US, so even if a person goes to a US college if it isn't on the list a person has to go through the education verification as well.

Plan on adding some time to your submission timeline.

 

[ArmchairAV8R]

Understood. Is there anywhere I can find the list of schools that are recognized?

 

[exNavyOffRec]

Understood. Is there anywhere I can find the list of schools that are recognized?

It was a list sent out from NRC, most halfway decent US colleges are on there, there are no foreign colleges on there as anything foreign needs an education verification.