Funding your master's education

The Master of International Service program offers unique opportunities to help reduce the financial and time investment for MIS students to earn their master’s degrees.

Graduate students in the on-campus or online Executive Track may receive up to 6 credits, total, to transfer into or to advance their standing within the MIS degree based on their prior significant international professional or academic experience. Assessment of the significance of the experience is made based on the duration of the work overseas and the intensity and quality of the international experience.

Students must submit a statement of 1-2 pages describing the international professional experience as an addendum to their application. Attention will be given to the extent of significant interaction with the local population which would have provided the student with considerable insight into that country's culture, society, and politics.

The deadline for application for advanced standing based on international professional experience is mid-term of the first semester of the student's program.

Email mis@american.edu if interested in applying.

Graduate students in the on-campus or online Executive Track may request to transfer credit for graduate courses taken prior to their admission to a graduate program at AU. Credits transferred for a single degree program or received through Advanced Standing may not exceed 6 credits, total. Proposed transfer courses must have been completed with a grade of B (3.00) or better and must have been completed no earlier than five years prior to the student's first semester at AU. Students must submit the following attachments as part of their request:

  • List of proposed transfers (this list should include the course number and name of the original course, the number of credits requested, and the proposed MIS requirement to be substituted)
  • Syllabus for each course

It is recommended that applicants submit this supplement at the time of application into the program, but it may be accepted up until mid-term of the student's first semester.

Email mis@american.edu if interested in applying.

Graduates of the Command and Staff College Distance Education Program (CSCDEP) at the College of Distance Education and Training (CDET) at Marine Corps University (MCU) are eligible for this partnership. This partnership grants graduates of CSCDEP 6 credit hours of Advanced Standing, enabling them to waive 6 of the 30 required program credits. In addition to the credit waiver, CDET CSCDEP graduates qualify for a $5,000 scholarship when they enroll as a student in the Executive MIS program. Eligible students may apply to either the on-campus or the online MIS degree at SIS.