Marine Corps University (MCU) was founded on 1 August 1989 by order of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Alfred M. Gray. The University can trace its roots back to World War I and the birth of the modern Marine Corps. General Gray's decision to establish MCU was a logical extension of the historical legacy of many famous Marine leaders who valued the importance of education, as well as a natural extension of the contemporary shift of the Corps' warfighting doctrine to one of "maneuver warfare," with its concomitant demand for leaders who can think critically and act decisively in the face of ambiguity, fog, friction, and chance.
The Marine Corps University's history dates back to 1891 when 29 company officers attended the School of Application. This facility became the Officers Training School in 1909, and later relocated to Marine Corps Base Quantico. In 1919, Major GeneralJohn A. Lejeune ordered the creation of the Marine Corps Officers Training School. Brigadier GeneralSmedley D. Butler established the Field Officers Course in October 1920 and the Company Grade Officers Course in July 1921.
World War I was pivotal in Major General Lejeune's decision to ensure Marines of all ranks were educated in the art and science of war. Brigadier General Butler later built upon General Lejeune's concepts by developing two additional courses of instruction. The first, called the Field Officers School, welcomed its inaugural class in October 1920. The second, the Company Grade Officers School, convened its first class in July 1921. These two courses, along with the basic Marine Corps Officer Training School, soon renamed The Basic School, formed the foundation for what General Lejeune termed "Marine Corps Schools." It was this beginning that formed the basis of the Marine Corps University that exists today.
Between World War I and World War II, Marine Corps education began focusing on its future fight, specifically the study and development of amphibious warfare. In the late 1920s, comprehensive instruction in amphibious operations was developed and implemented in anticipation of the demanding requirements of this new mission. Acknowledging that not all Marine Corps officers would have the opportunity to attend resident courses, the Marine Corps began implementing correspondence courses to reach a wider breadth of potential students.
Beginning in 1930, Brigadier General James C. Breckinridge led a comprehensive redesign of the entire curriculum of all Marine Corps Schools, emphasizing amphibious warfare and close air support. Breckinridge required his officers to not only become specialists in this new "Marine Corps Science," he also demanded they become skilled instructors. He formed special groups from selected Field Officers School graduates and students to work on amphibious doctrine and requirements. In fact, General Breckinridge temporarily discontinued Field Officers School classes so that the staff and students could devote their full attention to developing the new doctrine.
Over the next several decades, Marine Corps education would consolidate and evolve. Brigadier General Breckinridge led efforts to re-designate company and field grade courses as "Amphibious Warfare" courses. In 1946, the Marine Corps revisited using its previous, three-tiered system, incorporating lessons learned from World War II. In the 1950s, the curricula began to reflect new technologies such as vertical envelopment. On 1 August 1964, the Amphibious Warfare Senior Course was re-designated as the Command and Staff College (CSC). At the same time, the Amphibious Warfare Junior Course became the Amphibious Warfare School (AWS).
Recognizing the need for enhanced enlisted education, on 16 February 1971, the Marine Corps convened the first course of the Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academy at Quantico, Virginia. This was the first of many additions to the Marine Corps professional military education continuum. Ten years later, in 1981, the Noncommissioned Officer Basic Course at 18 sites and a "Senior Course" for Staff Sergeants at Quantico, Virginia were also established. Finally, in 1982, an "Advanced Course" for First Sergeants and Master Sergeants was implemented at Quantico, Virginia.
On 6 March 1989, FMFM-1 (later, MCDP-1) Warfighting was published. This foundational document would cement the Marine Corps' commitment to maneuver warfare and initiate a modernization of the professional military education system. Thus, General Gray ordered the consolidation of five independent Marine Corps schools into a single Marine Corps University.
Now that Marine Corps University was a single entity, the institution underwent several growths in the 1990s. The Marine Corps War College (MCWAR) was established as the senior-level officer professional military education school, the Advanced Course was moved down to Gunnery Sergeants, and a new First Sergeants course was established. Additionally, a Commanders' Course for all Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels slated for command was instituted, along with annual E-8 Seminars and E-9 Symposiums. Lastly, in 1997, the College of Continuing Education was created to house all officer and enlisted distance education programs under one roof.
In 1999, MCU marked a major milestone in the maturation of its educational programs as the University was accredited by the prestigious Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award a master's degree at the Command and Staff College. This was followed shortly thereafter by accreditation of the master's degrees of both the Marine Corps War College (2001) and the School of Advanced Warfighting (2003).
In 2002, the Amphibious Warfare School and the Command and Control Systems Course merged to become the Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS). The following year the Senior Leader Development Program (SLDP) was created to manage General Officer education. The SLDP later evolved to become the Executive Education Program (EEP) under the auspices of a new entity at MCU – the Lejeune Leadership Institute (LLI) – which is responsible for the development of leadership programs across the Marine Corps.
In 2005, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaffirmed the regional accreditation of MCU's three graduate degrees. This was followed in 2010 by the successful submission of the University's Fifth Year Interim Report to the Commission. In December 2015 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools once again reaffirmed the regional accreditation of MCU's three graduate degrees.[citation needed]
Recent changes at MCU include the establishment of the Brute Krulak Center for Innovation and Future Warfare, or the "Krulak Center" for short, and the re-designation of the Enlisted Professional Military Education (EPME) directorate as the College of Enlisted Military Education (CEME).[3]
Degree programs
Marine Corps War College: On 1 August 1989, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Alfred M. Gray, Jr., instituted the Art of War Studies program under the Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Today the mission of the Marine Corps War College is to develop, deliver, and evaluate professional military education and training through resident and nonresident programs to prepare leaders for the national security environment and to preserve, promote, and display the history and heritage of the Marine Corps. Its graduates are prepared for senior leadership positions of increasing complexity through the study of national military strategy, theater strategy and plans, and military support to those strategies within the context of national security policies and decision-making. Graduates receive a Master of Strategic Studies (MSS) degree.[4]
Marine Corps Command and Staff College: including the study of history, language and culture, CSC educates and trains its joint, multinational, and interagency professionals in order to produce skilled warfighting leaders for 21st Century security challenges. Command and Staff College offers students the option of completing the requirements for a Master of Military Studies (MMS) degree.[5]
School of Advanced Warfighting: The School of Advanced Warfighting provides a follow-on, graduate-level professional military education for selected field grade officers who have completed the Marine Corps or sister service command and staff college course. The course develops complex problem solving and decision making skills for the operational level of war. Graduates receive a Master of Operational Studies (MOS) degree.[6]
Schools, programs and courses
Expeditionary Warfare School
Formerly Amphibious Warfare School (AWS), the mission of the Expeditionary Warfare School (EWS) is to provide Marine captains career-level professional military education and oversee their professional military training in command and control, MAGTF operations ashore, and naval expeditionary operations. This is intended to enable them to command or serve as primary staff officers in their MOS, integrate the capabilities resident within their element of the MAGTF, integrate their element within the MAGTF, and understand the functions of the other elements of the MAGTF.[7]
Marine Corps Command and Staff College (CSC)
The Marine Corps Command and Staff College provides graduate level education and training to develop critical thinkers, innovative problem solvers, and ethical leaders to serve as commanders and staff officers in service, joint, interagency, intergovernmental, and multinational organizations. The Command and Staff College is a ten-month program for majors, lieutenant commanders, allied foreign officers, and U.S. government civilian professionals that fulfills Joint Professional Military Education Phase I requirements. Students come from all branches of the US Armed Forces. Students have the option of completing the requirements for a Master of Military Studies (MMS) degree. MCU-CSC is also known for its civilian faculty members, many of whom conduct research into national security issues.[8]
The mission of the School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) is to develop lead planners and future commanders with the will and intellect to solve complex problems, employ operational art, and design and execute campaigns .
Enlisted Professional Military Education
The mission of the Enlisted Professional Military Education branch is to provide progressive educational opportunities to improve leadership, critical thinking capability and sound tactical skills for enlisted Marines.[9]
School of MAGTF Logistics
The mission of the School of Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Logistics (SOML) is to provide the logistics education for the Marine Corps, and to manage the logistics education programs in order to increase the combat effectiveness of Marine Corps operating forces, Marine Forces Reserve, the supporting establishment, and Headquarters Marine Corps.[10]
Marine Corps Base Quantico is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the "Crossroads of the Marine Corps".
The United States Fleet Marine Forces (FMF) are combined general- and special-purpose forces within the United States Department of the Navy that perform offensive amphibious or expeditionary warfare and defensive maritime employment. The Fleet Marine Forces provide the National Command Authority (NCA) with a responsive force that can conduct operations in any spectrum of conflict around the globe.
Cornell A. Wilson Jr. is a retired United States Marine Corps major general, who served as Director, Reserve Affairs Division, Manpower & Reserve Affairs, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, in Quantico, Virginia.
Michael J. Williams is a retired United States Marine Corps 4-star general. He served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2000 until his retirement in 2002.
Carl B. Jensen is a retired United States Marine Corps general officer whose last command was Marine Corps Installations East. Jensen retired from active duty on July 22, 2011 after 36 years of service.
Major General Ronald G. Richard is a retired United States Marine Corps officer who last served as the Commanding General of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
The Marine Corps Training and Education Command (TECOM) is the primary training command of the United States Marine Corps. TECOM leads the Marine Corps Training and Education continuum from individual entry-level training, professional military education and continuous professional development, through unit, collective, and service-level training in order to produce warfighters and enhance warfighting organizations that enable the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) to build and sustain the combat readiness required to fight and win today and in the future.
Richard Irving "Butch" Neal was a United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps (ACMC) from 1996 to 1998.
Robert Edward Haebel was a United States Marine Corps major general whose last command was Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. He retired in 1987 after 42 years of service. He was interred with honors at Arlington National Cemetery September 16, 2017.
Leslie Mather Palm is a retired United States Marine Corps major general and former publisher and CEO of the Marine Corps Association. His last active duty position was the Director, Marine Corps Staff, Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. (1996–1998). Palm retired on September 1, 1998.
All branches of the United States Armed Forces use the general term Enlisted Professional Military Education (EPME) to describe the formal system of education which each branch provides to its enlisted personnel. Each branch has its own system and sequence of courses, with the overall focus on leadership and management. Education generally increases in intensity and level of knowledge as individuals progress in rank and assume broader leadership roles. EPME is distinct from the technical training which service members receive for their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC), or Navy Rating.
Robert Dewey Bohn was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps, reaching the rank of major general. He served in three wars and concluded his career as commanding general of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
The Marine Corps War College (MCWAR), is the senior school of the Marine Corps University, providing Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) to selected United States military officers, civilian Government officials, and international military officers. The college prepares officers for future senior command and staff responsibilities requiring exceptional operational competence, sound military judgment, and strategic thinking. The college is located within the Marine Corps University aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia.
Major General William F. Mullen III is a retired officer in the United States Marine Corps. He last served as the commanding general for Training and Education Command. He was deployed in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2007 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. He has co-written a book with Daniel Green called Fallujah Redux: The Anbar Awakening and the Struggle with Al-Qaeda.
Steven A. Hummer is a retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served as Deputy to the Commander for Military Operations for United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).
William H. Seely III is a major general in the United States Marine Corps who has served as commandant of the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy since July 2023. He most recently served as the Director of Marine Corps Intelligence from August 2021 to July 2023, and as the 35th Commandant of the Joint Forces Staff College from August 2020 to August 2021. In June 2024 he was named as the next commandant of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets. He is slated to take over in Spring 2025 upon his departure from active duty.
Sidney Scott Wade was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps who attained the rank of major general. He is most noted as commanding general of all Marine forces during 1958 Lebanon crisis and previously as commanding officer of the 1st Marine Regiment during Korean War. Wade later served as commanding general of the Force Troops, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic and MCRD San Diego.
August Larson was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of major general, who is most noted for his service as commanding officer of 22nd Marine Regiment during the Battle of Okinawa and later as director of personnel at Headquarters Marine Corps.
Frederick Leonard Wieseman was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of lieutenant general. He was a veteran of the Pacific War and later served as commandant of the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico in 1963–1966.
The School of Advanced Warfighting (SAW) in the United States Marine Corps is an Advanced Intermediate Level School (A-ILS) that produces officers qualified to fill high-impact service and joint planning billets. The curriculum features numerous case studies, multiple planning exercises, extensive staff rides, and a consideration of future war. Graduates earn the secondary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) 0505 Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) planner and a Masters Degree in Operational Studies. SAW was designed to develop field grade officers for the Marine Corps most difficult operational and planning challenges.
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