May 07, 2009
By Janet Farley
You’ve arrived overseas and the initial euphoria of living abroad has slowly evaporated. You’ve snapped pictures of more cathedrals, castles and picture-perfect gardens than you can possibly appreciate in the course of your lifetime. The time has come to turn your attention back to the business of your career and how to best enhance it. Or maybe you haven’t even boarded the plane yet and you’re just doing some pre-planning.
Either way, let’s face facts. It’s tough finding a job overseas and continuing your career. Equally important, there’s no better way to enhance your career professional opportunities than by going back to school and earning that college degree -- or updating the one you already have earned. You might be surprised to learn that military education centers overseas more than resembles the same ones back home in the good ole USA.
The First Stop on Your Journey
You’ve made the decision to go back to the classroom. Congratulations! Your first stop should be to the nearest military education center where you can speak with a counselor to get the most up-to-date information you need to make the right decisions. To locate the nearest Adult Education Center at your new duty station, visit the DoD's list of
Military Installations.
Specifically, a counselor can help you in the following:
- Obtaining necessary military transcripts if you have past military experience
- Signing up for host nation language classes
- Learning and applying for tuition assistance
- Applying for Federal financial aid, Pell Grants, scholarships and/or grants
- Determining your overall plan of attack
- Locating career-specific credentialing information
- Locating and selecting distance learning degree programs
- Identifying local on-installation college program offerings
- Providing you with information on specific programs such as Spouses to Teachers
- Clarifying and applying for appropriate VA educational benefits
Additionally, military education center overseas much like ones stateside, provide free testing services in these areas:
- Academic skills assessments
- Military personnel testing
- Career and interest inventory exams
- College entrance exams
- GED practice and official exams
- Graduate level exams (GED/GMAT) Test proctoring services
- Professional certification exams
- Teacher certification exams (PRAXIS)
- On-Installation Colleges and Universities Overseas
If you have already begun taking classes with a stateside college or university and wish to transfer back credits to it that you earn while you are living overseas, be careful. Make sure you speak with a counselor at your school before assuming everything will easily transfer back. You will probably need to have each and every course approved prior to enrolling in it.
Within many military communities in Europe and in Asia, you can find certificate, Associates, Bachelors, Master and even Doctorate degree programs offered through these institutions:
University of Maryland University College Europe
University of Maryland University College Asia
Central Texas College Europe
Central Texas College Distance Education
University of Phoenix Overseas
Community College of the Air Force
Oklahoma University Europe
Oklahoma University Pacific
Programs vary from institution to institution; however, you can generally expect to find classes that undergraduate coursework in Business and Management, Communication, Arts and Humanities, Computer Information Systems and Technology, Criminal Justice and Political Science and Psychology, Social Science and Science.
Graduate coursework is generally available in human relations, international relations, and public administration.
If you seek a doctorate degree within the military community while living overseas, you will find that on installations choices are more limited but may be available in select communities where you would need to travel for them.
Classroom and on-line courses may be offered in various formats depending on the demand for them in specific communities. Some courses may meet weekly during lunch, evening or on selected weekends.
The SOC Network and You
Caution: It may be difficult to transfer credits that you earn while living overseas to a stateside college or university. Make sure you speak with a counselor at your school before assuming everything will easily transfer back. You will probably need to have each and every course approved by your stateside university prior to enrolling in it.
One program you need to know about, regardless of where PCS orders take you as you work towards a degree isParticipating in the Service Members Opportunity College (SOC) network can help solve that problem.
SOC is a consortium of colleges that offer associate and bachelor's degree programs on or accessible to military installations worldwide. These colleges have joined together to form networks in which each college accepts credits from all the others.
For example, you find yourself stationed in Japan and where you begin a degree program in Business and Management with the University of Maryland University College (UMUC). About half way into the program, you are transferred to a stateside location where the University of Maryland doesn’t exist. Fortunately but, a school that is a member of the SOC network does and that will accept those credits and school offers coursework applicable to your degree with UMUC. Transferability of credits back to UMUC from the new school should be easier for you because of the SOC agreement between the two schools.
Each branch of service has its own SOC network and you can learn more about them by accessing these links:
Army/Air Force
SOCAD Navy
SOCNAV Marine Corps
SOCMAR Coast Guard
SOCCOAST National Guard