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OUSD Acquisition & Sustainment
FAQs
Below we have separated the FAQs in to 2 categories (Students and Universities & DoD). Click to expand the questions or "Open All" to expand all or "Close All" to contract all of the questions for each particular category. If you do not see the answer to your questions, please contact us here. Additionally, you may download a copy of the FAQs by clicking the download links below.
While the DCTC pilot two-year program (juniors and seniors) is like ROTC in many ways, the DCTC program objective is to recruit and rigorously prepare top talent to be future DoD civilian workforce professionals supporting the national security mission. The DCTC program includes DoD mission-context college courses and project-based summer internships which provide experience using multi-disciplinary teamwork and innovation to solve real DoD challenges. Internships are at Army, Navy, Air Force and Space Force field organizations across the nation. DCTC provides full scholarships and students, starting DCTC in Fall 2024 and later, incur one year of DoD service obligation (working for DoD organizations) - for each year of scholarship. Scholars as students and later as DoD civilians do not wear military uniforms.
The DoD employs 950,000 civilians serving the national security mission worldwide. There are a multitude of national security career opportunities requiring a broad range of skills. If a competitive salary, great benefits, unsurpassed training, and the pride of defending our Nation interests you, then your future is with DoD. DoD civilian employees are committed to the national security mission and their cutting edge, innovative, and impactful work supporting our nation’s military motivates them every day.
The DCTC pilot program is for rising juniors who will be enrolled at one of the DCTC pilot universities. The current universities piloting DCTC include the University of Arizona, North Carolina A&T, Purdue and Virginia Tech. Students must be in good standing with the university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale. Proof of U.S. citizenship and the ability to obtain and maintain a DoD security clearance are required.
Visit this website for information on eligibility guidelines for obtaining a security clearance:
Yes, DCTC is designed for students pursuing an undergraduate degree relating to acquisition or finance, as well as digital technologies, critical technologies, science, or engineering. Students in majors such as business, supply chain management, contracting, and pre-law are encouraged to apply. The DCTC curriculum is designed for interdisciplinary, project-based learning; an environment in which students from varied academic backgrounds will collaborate to solve complex, real-life problems.
Check with your university Financial Aid office to address questions concerning impact to existing tuition aid, housing, etc.
The DoD SMART scholarship program is focused on STEM degrees and skills specifically for employment in the DoD Science and Technology (S&T) civilian workforce. By design, DCTC provides education and development that prepares STEM and non-STEM degree-seeking students for the broader DoD acquisition and sustainment mission. DCTC is complementary to – not duplicative of – the SMART Scholarship Program. Uniquely modeled after Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs, DCTC not only provides scholarships, but also provides DoD mission-context college courses and project-based internships at DoD field organizations. The work projects provide each team of scholars on internships opportunity to apply classroom learning and experience practicing multi-disciplinary teamwork while solving real-world DoD challenges.
DCTC is approved for piloting through Fiscal Year 2027. Through Title 10 direction to establish DCTC, Congress provided the Secretary of Defense the ability to leverage the resources and programs of the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC). The AIRC, part of a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), managed by the Stevens Institute of Technology, and with a consortium of over twenty universities that partner with DoD, performed analysis to determine the pilot universities for the DCTC program. AIRC’s selection process emphasized existing relationships with and supporting DoD and experience with hosting established ROTC units.