U of A to host new Pentagon acquisition training program in Tucson

The University of Arizona will prepare selected students for civilian careers with the U.S. Defense Department with training in military acquisition practices as one of four schools hosting a new, expenses-paid Defense Department training program.

The Pentagon’s Defense Civilian Training Corps pilot program will teach students about acquiring, implementing and supporting new military systems, supplies and services.

The program is open to UA undergraduates and will provide each student with tuition and fees reimbursement, a $2,000 monthly living stipend, a paid summer internship with the Department of Defense and employment with the department upon graduation.

The UA was chosen along with Purdue University, Virginia Tech and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University to host pilot programs for the Defense Civilian Training Corps.

Across the four universities, the two-year pilot program is expected to include about 80 students set to graduate in spring 2025.

Undergraduate students across all majors can apply, but those studying business, engineering, finance, public policy and computer science will find the most relevance to their coursework, said Larry Head, UA professor of systems and industrial engineering and principal investigator of the pilot program.

The UA will soon reach out to students with more information about the program and the application process, a university spokesman said.

The program’s curriculum will teach students about the structure of the Defense Department and the military services, processes of acquisition, techniques for project cost estimation and management, technology evaluation and protected technologies vital to national security.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Students will also learn leadership, innovation and entrepreneurial skills, the UA said.

“This program is a really unique opportunity for students to serve our country in our national security and defense, without being in the military,” Head said in announcing the program.

In the summer of 2024, students will be placed in internships with Defense Department labs and partners and given real-world scenarios to assess.

Work will take place in a two-unit course over two years, with roughly six hours of work a week, and planned activities and social events will be part of the program.

Students will also earn their own government security clearance, with help from the University of Arizona Applied Research Corporation, a non-profit defense and security research entity affiliated with the university and based at The Refinery building at the UA Tech Park at The Bridges.

The Defense Civilian Training Corps “will complement other workforce initiatives, while finding and developing the acquisition talent pipeline that is mission-driven on day one to increase the DOD’s lethality, readiness and modernization as an enduring advantage over U.S. competitors,” Tanya Skeen, acting assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, said in a prepared statement.