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Command and Staff College

Distance Education Program
College of Distance Education and Training

Informed by the study of history and culture, the Command and Staff College distance education program (CSCDEP) provides officers with graduate level professional military education and training to produce skilled warfighting leaders able to overcome diverse 21st century security challenges. CSCDEP develops critical thinkers, innovative problem solvers, and ethical leaders who will serve as commanders and staff officers in service, joint, interagency, and multinational organizations confronting complex and uncertain security environments. In conjunction with the application of Marine air-ground task force (MAGTF) doctrine and techniques for the changing conditions of warfare, this program provides the tools necessary to defeat a full spectrum of opponents.

Courses

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Eligibility

The following personnel are eligible to participate (in order of priority):

  1. Marine Corps majors (unrestricted, limited duty, and select)
  2. Marine Corps chief warrant officer (CWO) 4s and CWO4 selects
  3. International officers
  4. Sister service majors/lieutenant commanders
  5. Government civilians (GS-13 equivalent and above)

If space is available:

  1. Marine Corps captains who are career level school (CLS) complete and have two years time-in-grade at the time of reporting
  2. Marine Corps CWO3s who are CLS complete and have two years time-in-grade at the time of reporting (This excludes the blended seminar program.)
  3. Marine Corps staff noncommissioned officers (SNCOs) of grade E-8 and E-9 with an approved waiver request

Schedules

CDET's regional offices work with each student to determine a schedule that best fits their educational goals and the constraints of their personal time. At the end of a program's enrollment period, the regional office for each region creates a set of seminar schedules to accomodate the students as much as possible while meeting the requirements of the seminar. This ensures that each seminar has an appropriate class size and a variety of MOSs to encourage discussion and interaction.

Four types of seminar schedules are offered: weekday, weekend, online, and the blended seminar program. Online portions of seminars are done via Moodle.

Weekday, Weekend, and Online

Weekday, weekend, and online schedules are designed to deliver the entire curriculum in two academic years. (Students are enrolled and allowed 3 years to complete the program.)

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Schedules for individual seminars are provided by region.

Enrollment

To enroll in a weekday, weekend, or online seminar, submit a request through MarineNet for course code 8900ZZ0000. Make sure your information is correct and click "Start" at the bottom to submit your enrollment request. The status of your request will be displayed under the notifications tab on the MarineNet home page.

Contact your local regional office for more information.

Blended Seminar Program

BSPs combine resident and online education. Students also participate in extracurricular field studies program events.

The blended seminar program provides students with an opportunity to receive their professional military education (PME) through a combination of resident and non-resident (online) education at or near their home station. These BSPs enable students to gain a greater depth of educational experience, while minimizing family turbulence by allowing them to remain on station and with their commands.

In addition to the standard curriculums, students participate in extracurricular field studies program events to include staff rides and visits to surrounding national historic sites which are representative of our culture, national heritage, and government institutions.

 

The blended seminar program allows applicable military personnel to complete intermediate level school (ILS) requirements within a single academic year—as opposed to two academic years for the traditional on-site or online seminars. The initial resident period lasts for 5 weeks. The non-resident, online period lasts for 28 weeks. Students then return for their final resident period of 6 weeks and participate in an official graduation ceremony. The resident periods are held at Quantico, VA; Camp Lejeune, NC; and Camp Pendleton, CA.

  1. AY25 Blended Seminar Program Schedules

Schedules for individual seminars are provided by region.

Enrollment

To enroll in the blended seminar program, contact the regional office for the region you would like to attend (Quantico, Camp Lejeune, or Camp Pendleton).

Funded Seats

International and reserve officers might be able to apply for a funded seat.

Reserve Officers

Apply for a funded seat in a blended seminar program by submitting an application via the Manpower & Reserve Affairs website, as stated in MARADMIN 186/23, The Convening of AY23–24 CDET CSC and EWS Blended Seminar Program Selection Board for Reserve Officers.

Contact the reserve liaison office for more information.

International Officers

Seats for international officers are apportioned via the Security Cooperation Officers at each US embassy. International officers interested in the blended seminar program can submit an enrollment form to express interest.

Resources

  • MARADMIN 186/23, The Convening of AY23–24 CDET CSC and EWS Blended Seminar Program Selection Board for Reserve Officers
  • MARADMIN 575/15, TECOM Formal Schools Travel Support (FSTS) Program Guidance

Curricula Completion Reporting

Active and reserve Marines that complete CSCDEP courses on MarineNet will have their course completions (course and school code) sent automatically to their official military record in the Marine Corps Total Force System (MCTFS). MMRP-20 will then pull the completions of the entire curricula from MCTFS, automatically generate a completion certificate, and post the certificate to each student's official military personnel file (OMPF). CDET will post copies of diplomas for distinguished graduates and blended seminar program graduates into their OMPF. Only a certificate is required; students are not required to input their diplomas into their OMPF records if a certificate already exists.

If the completion of the curriculum shows in MCTFS, but does not appear in OMPF, please contact CDET Student Support via the MarineNet help desk, option 2.

Equivalency Credit

Per CDET policy letter 03-17, CSCDEP Equivalency Credit, Marines who are enrolled in or have completed the Naval War College course NW3230, Strategy & War, before will be given equivalency credit for CSCDEP course 8901, Theory and Nature of War.

Reserve Retirement Credits

Effective , reserve officers completing distance learning military courses will earn one reserve retirement credit for every four hours of study. Credits are granted upon completion of a course.

CSCDEP reserve retirement credits
Course Credits
8901 12
8902 12
8903 12
8904 13
8905 12
8906 15
8907 7
8908 15

Graduate Benefits

JPME Accreditation

CSCDEP provides students with Joint professional military education (JPME) Phase I instruction. It incorporates the direction of CJCSI 1800.01E, Officer Professional Military Education Policy, on the learning areas objectives and academic standards. Additionally, the instruction states that the completion of a joint accredited, intermediate level distance education program will meet JPME Phase I requirements for assignment to joint duty billets, eligibility for JPME Phase II, and nomination as a joint specialty officer (JSO). Therefore, CSCDEP graduates will be both PME complete for the grade of major and JPME Phase I complete.

School of Advanced Warfighting

Graduates of CSCDEP are eligible to compete for admission into the School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW). CSCDEP student admittance is highly competitive. If you have questions, contact your local regional office.

Master's Degrees and Certificates

CDET has partnered with several universities and colleges to provide credits to help graduates achieve a variety of master's degrees and certificates.

Resources

Contact your local regional office for any information or guidance about CDET's distance education programs for officers.

Read about the Moodle learning management system or log into the MarineNet Moodle portal.

Several external resources are available to assist in your research or school work.

Information about the Command and Staff College resident program is available on the Marine Corps University website.

Transcripts can be obtained via MarineNet.