About

The Department of War Service School programs foster employee development by using educational curricula at respected academic institutions across the country to cultivate creative homeland security strategic analysis and decision-making skills and prepare future leaders at the Department of Homeland Security.

These programs are offered at high-quality, fully accredited, degree-granting institutions.

DoW Service School opportunities are part of the greater DHS Academic Programs that provide employees with degree and professional development opportunities for Coast Guard civilians and military members. Application periods vary, and programs are added throughout the year.

The Programs

These programs are generally one-year, full-time, in-residence programs, and tuition is covered by the offering program. Availability varies depending on seat allocations made to non-DoW organizations.

Additional Eligibility Requirements

• Full-time, permanent federal employees who have been with DHS for at least one year at the time the application is due are eligible to apply.
• Employees must have achieved at least a “Meets Expectations” rating or equivalent on their most recent review and must be in good standing.
• Applicants must have the required security clearance to participate, with a minimum Secret-level clearance. The security clearance must be current at the time of nomination and remain current throughout the academic year. A Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance may be required for certain schools, electives, or briefings.
• Applicants must meet the grade requirement for the school to which they are applying.

Funding

These programs are fully funded for participants, including all travel and per diem expenses associated with class trips.

Participants will be required to sign a Continuing Service Agreement if selected to attend a school. The federal service obligation for the DoW Senior Service Schools is 30 months.

Education

Applicants must have earned at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution. Consideration is given to applicants who already have a master’s degree.

An official transcript from the institution awarding the highest degree must be included. The official transcript should be sent to the applicant’s home so it can be attached to the application. An official transcript is needed for each application being submitted.

Applicants must have a minimum grade point average of 2.5 on their most recent transcript.

Any individual who has completed a degree under a Department of Homeland Security graduate academic program within the last three years is not eligible to apply.

Application Procedures

Applications must be received by the Coast Guard program point of contact listed below no later than COB Monday, September 21, 2026.

You may find the application here.

Applicants may apply to multiple schools (DoWSS or National Defense University programs); however, a separate application and separate letters of recommendation must be completed for each school.

Please read all instructions on the application form as they pertain to length and formatting.

1. Complete and sign the application document.
2. Obtain the direct supervisor’s signature.
3. Include the required transcript with the application package.
4. Redact any personally identifiable information that is not required from the transcript.
5. Properly secure and password-protect personally identifiable information when submitting the application.
6. Be prepared to provide an official transcript to the school following initial acceptance.

The application package is not considered complete unless all required items are included.

Selection Process

All applications will be prescreened based on the eligibility requirements listed in the criteria and forwarded to the DHS Graduate Education Nomination Committee for review.

Nomination by the Graduate Education Nomination Committee does not guarantee participation in the program. Each school reserves the final decision to select a nominee for participation.

The number of nominations is based on available billets and may include alternates for each program. The number of available billets varies by school and academic year.

Additional Information

DHS Academic Programs information is accessible only through Coast Guard workstations.

If you do not already have access to the DHS Connect site pages, you will need to submit a guest account creation request to the HQ O365 Team using the SNOW form titled “Tier0 Catalog Item - DHS OCIO IT4me Self-Service Portal.”

Inactive guest accounts are deleted after 90 days.