Meeting Educational Standards
          This page last updated September 28, 2021

While it is desirable that all members of the Defense Acquisition Workforce pursue higher education, there are several groups of individuals and programs within the acquisition community that have specific education standards that must be met through the successful completion of coursework at an accredited academic institution of higher education i.e., college or university.  These standards are also referred to as education requirements or “positive” education requirements.   The groups and programs are:

• USD(A&S) Policy Exception Memorandum (2 August 2020), Elimination of 24 Semester Credit Hours in 10 U.S.C. 1724

• Individuals with authority to award or administer contracts above the Simplified Acquisition Threshold
• See Title 10 U.S. Code Section 1724.  Reader friendly version.

• Civilians serving in the Contracting Series GS-1102 and military equivalents
• See Title 10 U.S. Code Section 1724.  Reader friendly version.

• Certification in the following career fields:
• Business – Cost Estimating
• Contracting
• Science & Technology Manager
• Engineering
• Test & Evaluation

The following guidelines apply for assessing the education requirements.

Meeting Education Requirements for:

• Certification in Business, Contracting, Engineering, and Test and Evaluation

Using ACE Recommended Credit