Written by Dave Gaulin
I enrolled in the Master of Social Science program in 2004. As a young C-17 Globemaster III pilot, I was looking for a program that was challenging yet flexible. My schedule was extremely unpredictable—it was not uncommon for me to travel overseas for two-to-three weeks at a time with only a day’s notice. This did not lend itself to advanced degree programs that required scheduled online classes, hard deadlines, or frequent postings to online discussion groups—things that make up the core of many online and distance learning programs. Whether I was on the ground in Afghanistan, flying at 35,000 feet between Japan and Hawaii, or anywhere in between, I was able to learn and complete coursework.
This is not to say there is no interaction with the MSSc. The required residencies provide time to dive deep into issues and focus on learning alongside students from a variety of professions. As someone who spent a large amount of time flying in Iraq, Afghanistan, and several other places around the world, it was refreshing to spend two weeks with high school teachers, elected officials, journalists, bankers, and engineers. No matter what your career or profession is, those two weeks are a fantastic academic break.
The faculty are devoted to teaching and supporting students. Each professor has been with the program for several years; many are founding members of the MSSc and are now in their fourth decade with the program. They interact with students not only during the residency but throughout the year. Whether one has multiple graduate degrees or has not written a research paper in several decades, they can all expect to be critiqued, challenged, and made to be better writers and thinkers.
As an officer who spend the vast majority of their career rapidly moving around the world, I benefited from the global perspective that the MSSc provided. Profs Bennett and Webb’s War and Society courses and Prof Barkun’s International Law course both complimented and challenged my knowledge and experience. Prof Pellow’s Africa course and her insightful lectures were in my mind a few years ago when I found myself in the middle of Africa, working with Chadian and French troops. With the mentorship and guidance of Prof Bennett, I was able to explore the influence of political partisanship on civil-military relations, an issue as old as the republic yet continues to challenge our elected leadership, senior officers, and society as a whole.
The MSSc is the most military friendly distance learning, limited residency program I have ever known. It is designed with flexibility in mind and the understanding that coursework may need to take a back seat to real world issues now and then. Unlike some of my peers, I never had to worry about failing a course due to a missed deadline (which can happen with last minute deployments) and did not need to fight a bureaucracy of administrators, registrars, and bursars (especially when tuition assistance or VA payments were held up). I knew my professors and they knew me, they cared about my learning, and were genuinely concerned about my progression and success.
Dave Gaulin (A&S 2002, MSSc, 2007) served on active duty for 13 years, flying the C-17 Globemaster III. He is now a Major and pilot in the Air National Guard and works in the telecommunications industry. Follow him @davegaulin