Here’s how to turn your military training into a college degree (2024)

FAQs

How to turn military service into college credits? ›

As an active-duty service member, Veteran, or member of the Reserves, you'll need to request your transcript from your branch of service and share it with schools. Each school then decides how many credits they'll accept.

Obtain Your Joint Service Transcript

The JST provides a description of your professional military education, training and occupation experiences in civilian language, which universities and colleges can translate to college credit for courses they offer.

Military experience could be worth up to 20 college credits. Most colleges grant four semester hours in physical fitness for recruit training. In fact, most colleges give credit for other service schools attended as long as those courses are longer than two weeks and are not of a classified nature.

The answer is “yes,” but getting a degree while on active duty is different compared to doing so on a traditional campus or even taking online classes from home.

1. American Military University (AMU): AMU accepts most military training as credit toward a degree and is extremely popular among active duty military personnel for this reason.

That's where “Credentialing Opportunities On-Line,” or COOL, comes in. The COOL program helps you translate your training into civilian credentials and speak better to what employers are looking for. Every service branch offers its own program (see links below).

The transition to civilian life can be a challenging for many military members. The longer you serve, the more challenging it can be. After 20 years of service in the active duty and Air Force Reserve, I understand this firsthand.

No. You were not a student. You were a soldier, on duty, doing the job you are being paid to do.

CLEP exams test your knowledge level gained through previous experiences and your military training. CLEP exams are comparable to final undergraduate college course exams. Taking and passing these exams can enable test examinees to gain college credit* that can be applied to meet their degree requirements.

It typically takes about two years to earn sixty credit hours of courses if you have not completed any prior college courses. It takes about four years to earn 120 credit hours.

What is the easiest branch of the military to get into? ›

Generally, the U.S. Army is usually considered the easiest branch to get into because it's the largest and has the most enlistment spots available. They also offer a wide range of MOS (Military Occupational Specialties), which means you'll likely find a role that suits your interests and skills.

The program is open to active duty, National Guard, and Reserve Component service members; can fund up to 100 percent of your college tuition; and can be used for undergraduate and graduate degrees, vocational and technical programs, or distance learning classes.

The Army, for example, has the ranks of corporal and specialist at the paygrade of E-4. A corporal is expected to fill a leadership role and has a higher rank than a specialist, even though both receive E-4 pay.

College Credit For Military Experience Is Not Automatic

You must work with an admissions counselor at the school of your choice to determine which credits will transfer to that school. In many cases, Basic Training is viewed as fulfilling a college's requirements for gym classes or their equivalent.

All these experiences have helped to build the foundation which will assist you succeeding in a post-secondary environment. Many service members are eligible for college course credit at academic institutions based on knowledge already gained during military service.

Veterans may receive credit for work completed successfully in military service schools, beyond basic training, not to exceed 30 semester units.

All active duty military service is potentially creditable for retirement purposes. You may need to pay a deposit in order to receive retirement credit for it. There is a 2-year grace period from the date of your first retirement coverage to pay a military deposit in full and not be charged any interest.