Military Spouses May Be Eligible for the MyCAA Scholarship Program
The My Career Advancement Account Scholarship is a workforce development program that provides eligible military spouses with up to $4,000 in financial assistance toward an Associate of Arts or approved undergraduate certificate that leads to a third-party validated industry certification. The program is capped at $2,000 per year and is available to spouses of active-duty military personnel in pay grades E1-E9, W1-W3, and O1-O3 (E6 and O-3 for first 1250 approved applicants).
MyCAA Eligible Programs
The U.S. Department of Defense administers the MyCAA Scholarship Program, which covers tuition for courses and exams that lead to any and all associate degrees. The DoD summarizes the program at a high level, explaining that the scholarship "covers the costs for obtaining a license, certificate, or certification at an accredited college, university or technical school in the United States or approved testing organization that expands employment or portable career opportunities for military spouses."
In addition to UMGC's Associate of Arts, the following UMGC undergraduate certificate programs are also eligible for MyCAA funding: Advanced Management, Computer Networking, and Cyber Threat Hunting. You can apply all of the credits you earn in one of these undergraduate certificate programs to an associate or bachelor's degree.
Eligibility for Military Spouse Benefits
Spouses of service members on active duty in pay grades E-1 to E-9, W-1 to W-3 and O-1 to O-3 who have successfully completed high school and have the ability to request tuition assistance while their military sponsor is on Title 10 military orders are eligible. Spouses married to members of the National Guard and reserves in these same pay grades are eligible.
How to Get Started in the MyCAA Program
Getting started using your MyCAA benefit at UMGC is easy.
- Call, email, or stop by a UMGC local office to express interest and get help with first steps
- Apply to UMGC
- Create an Education and Training Plan (ETP) with an academic advisor
- Register with and submit your ETP to the MyCAA portal
- Enroll in your selected courses and request funding after the ETP is approved by a SECO career coach
For more information about MyCAA, please contact your UMGC Asia academic advisor. We also encourage you to explore the many financial aid opportunities available to you while enrolled in UMGC Asia. These include Pell Grants, scholarships, loans, and monthly payment plans. Military OneSource career and education counselors are available to provide additional counseling and support. For more details, visit the MyCAA website.