Army has asked SOC to develop Army Career Degree Plans for all MOSs. The goal is to complete career-related degrees for each MOS; however, it is difficult to say exactly when your specific MOS will be available. While your Army Career Degree Plan is under development, consider these alternative routes to a college degree:
1. Review Recommended Credit for your MOS
- As a first step, go to the Army/ACE
Registry Transcript System (AARTS) home page and request
an AARTS Transcript, if you don’t already have one. It will contain
a complete listing of your ACE-recommended credits. The AARTS
Transcript identifies learning acquired from military training
and experience and provides college-level credit recommendations
where warranted.
- You can also review your recommended college credits by going to the American Council on Education's (ACE) Military Guides Web site and conducting a preliminary search. Choose “Search Occupations” and enter your MOS in the “Occupational Designator” box. An “Occupations - Search Results” window will appear. If there are multiple entries in that window, you will need to open each of them until you find the exhibit containing the version (based on your MOS start and end dates) that specifically applies to you. Keep in mind that the credit shown in the exhibit are recommendations, and the actual college credit awarded for your MOS will be determined by the college. How much credit ultimately applies toward the degree depends on how well your Army training matches the course content within the college degree. Generally, recommended credit must have a matching course requirement or an appropriate elective in the degree program for credit to be granted.
2. SOCAD Choices
- The regular SOCAD program offers you additional degree alternatives.
If you are interested in a two-year degree, you can download
the SOC Degree Network System-2 Handbook; for
a four-year degree, download the SOC Degree
Network System-4 Handbook. You can also visit your Army Education
Center and examine the printed edition of the Handbooks or use
the CD-ROM version if you prefer.
- In the two- or four-year SOC Degree Network System Handbook you have chosen, go to Section 6, “College Locator” to view what degree programs are offered at your installation. After identifying programs of interest, go to Section 4 of the Handbook for details about the specific college and degree. For more detailed information about your options, which may include distance learning and learning assessment degree programs, discuss your choices with a counselor at the Army Education Center.
3. DANTES
If you want to examine even more distance learning degree choices than you found in SOCAD, check the options available through the Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Education Support (DANTES) Web site or visit your nearest Army Education Center Guidance Counselor.
Please come back periodically to the SOCAD Army Career Degrees program Web page and check the Army Career Degree Plans by Career Management Field (CMF) to see if your MOS has been added.