Naval officers unable to pursue full-time graduate studies now have an additional advanced education option with the FY-19 Graduate Education Voucher (GEV) program, announced June 21.

Detailed in Naval Administrative Message (NAVADMIN) 150-18, the GEV program offers eligible officers the opportunity to receive funded graduate education during off-duty hours. Through GEV, unrestricted line (URL) officers can apply to receive funding for Navy-relevant graduate education meeting the requirements of at least one subspecialty code as specified by the Naval Postgraduate School.

"It can be challenging for many officers to maintain their career progression and simultaneously schedule full-time education at Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) or other institutions," said Dr. Cheral Cook, graduate education coordinator for Naval Education and Training Command (NETC). "The GEV program offers an accelerated funding path to an off-duty master's degree with financial support of up to $20,000 per fiscal year, with a total limit of $40,000 for the entire course of study."

All required fees normally charged by the university relating directly to student application and enrollment, including mandatory health fees and health insurance, laboratory fees, vehicle registration, identification cards, and computer fees, are reimbursable. Other reimbursable expenses include the cost of textbooks and course materials, and limited expenditures for transcript and entry fees, and final thesis production.

Lt. Chris Kohlskelley, a pilot and assistant operations officer/helicopter maritime strike operations for Carrier Airwing (CVW) 8 in Norfolk, recently completed his Master of Business Administration degree with the University of Florida Hough Graduate School of Business.

"The GEV program allowed me to stay in the cockpit and on career path in the Navy while broadening my skillset," said Kohlskelley. "I chose GEV because it substantially paid for my degree compared to other options like Tuition Assistance (TA) and allowed me to preserve my GI Bill benefits for my daughter."

GEV applicants select a regionally-accredited school and choose a specific course of study meeting their community's subspecialty requirements. Education plans are reviewed and approved for the Navy subspecialty code by NPS.

The GEV program is targeted at officers with demonstrated superior performance and upward career mobility who are transferring or have recently reported to shore duty, in order to allow sufficient time for completion of a graduate program. The GEV program is open to URL active-duty officers in pay grades O-3 through O-5, in designators 111X (Surface Warfare), 112X (Submarine Warfare), 113X (Special Warfare/SEAL), 114X (Special Operations), and 13XX (Naval Aviator/Naval Flight Officer).

For FY-19, there are 30 planned quotas: Surface Warfare-9; Submarine-8; Special Warfare/Special Operations/Explosive Ordnance Disposal-3; Aviation-10. Details of quotas by degree program/subspecialty and warfare areas are listed in the NAVADMIN, and additional information can be found on the Navy College Program's GEV Web page at http://www.navycollege.navy.mil/resources/gev.htm.

Some restrictions apply and enrollment in the program carries a service obligation of three times the number of months of education completed, with a minimum of 24, and a maximum of 36 months. Officers completing a degree using GEV should expect to serve one tour in a subspecialty billet not later than the second tour following graduation. OPNAVINST 1520.37B contains additional information on specific program requirements. Interested officers should submit written requests to their detailer, per the current NAVADMIN and OPNAV instructions.

Program-specific GEV questions should be addressed to GEV Program Manager Bryan Gromer at 850-473-6061, DSN: 753 or via e-mail at bryan.gromer@navy.mil .

For those not qualifying for the GEV program, educational assistance may be available through the Tuition Assistance program, G.I. Bill or other graduate education programs as listed on the Navy College website at http://www.navycollege.navy.mil/ or through the Navy College Virtual Education Center at 877-838-1659.

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Additional information about the Naval Education and Training Professional Development Center can be found via http://www.netc.navy.mil/netc/netpdc/Default.htm.

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