The Department of Political Science is always interested in hiring qualified individuals interested in teaching duty.  The follow guidelines are provided to assist you in this process.

Civilian

Civilian Professors now make up 25% of our faculty. If you are interested in joining our faculty as a civilian, please refer to job listings in current academic journals. We traditionally advertise in the Chronicle of Higher Education and the American Political Science Association Personnel Service Newsletter.

Military

Military officers have two possible avenues available to them; direct hire or sponsorship for a Masters degree or PhD program. 

Direct Hire:  A candidate may be directly hired if he/she possesses a Masters Degree in Political Science or a closely related area and has a solid military record.  Instructor duty is a four-year special duty assignment available to qualified First Lieutenants through Lieutenant Colonels.   In late spring each year, AFPC will announce a call for instructor applications.  Officers will be notified via email by 31 Aug of either release or non-release for instructor duty.  For additional information contact the AFPC “Ask” website; search for “Academic” or call the AFPC Academic and Special Utilization Branch at (210) 565-4048/2460 or DSN 665-4048/2460.  All applicants are requested to send a no more than one-page letter of interest to the department indicating their intent and contact information at the same time they send their application to AFPC. 

Director of Personnel
HQUSAFA/DFPS
2354 Fairchild Drive
USAFA, CO 80840

Following release from AFPC, the USAFA Political Science department will screen all candidates for suitability and some will be invited to interview before a final selection is made, usually in October/November. 

Masters Degree and PhD Doctorate Sponsorship:   Applicants must have a strong record and must have completed Developmental Education commensurate with their grade.  Officers selected for this program will attend AFIT, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS), or an AFIT/CI-designated civilian university for 12 to 18 months to receive a Masters degree or 3 years to receive a Ph.D. in a discipline consistent with required professional development and the needs of the Department of Political Science.  The institution that the officer attends will depend on the degree program for which he/she is selected.  As general guidance only, an undergraduate GPA of 2.8 or higher and GRE scores of 500V/600Q for technical programs and 500V/500Q for non-technical programs are adequate to get admitted to an acceptable civilian graduate school, while doctoral programs generally require a Masters degree in a related field with a Masters level GPA of 3.2-3.5 or higher and GRE scores of 550V/650Q for technical programs and 550V/550Q for non-technical programs.

After the degree is obtained, each candidate will complete a follow-on assignment in an Instructor position at USAFA for a period of four years.  Based on professional development and AF requirements some officers maybe required to complete an intervening operational tour (IOT) prior to their return to USAFA. Officers should contact their AFPC Assignment Teams Page for specific program timeline requirements and questions.  The following are available program opportunities: 

1. AFIT programs:   http://www.afit.edu/en/Admissions/Docs/AFIT_AFofficer_Newsletter.pdf.

a. Applicants apply for academic eligibility through the AFIT website, http://www.afit.edu/EN/ADMISSIONS/Default.cfm?l=apps (all lower case) or contact the AFIT counselors for questions at afit.counselors@afit.edu or DSN 785-6234 (or 1-800-211-5097)

2. Other Programs:  For a listing of academic programs NOT taught at AFIT’s main campus, consult the AFIT AF Officer Newsletter, http://www.afit.edu/en/Admissions/Docs/AFIT_AF officer_Newsletter.pdf. 

a. Naval Postgraduate School:   Officers interested in AAD quotas should submit an NPS online application for prescreening. This should be done as soon as the officer feels they want to apply for an AAD opportunity to allow time for NPS prescreening and sending of required documents. The application can be found at http://www.nps.edu/Admissions/index.html,  NPS requires the GRE for all PhD applicants. For additional specific NPS requirements refer to the NPS website:   NPS Academic Catalog for Doctoral Program.

Officers applying for one of these programs will be screened by their respective AFPC functional for release authorization usually sometime during the summer months.  Following release notification potential candidates will be further assessed by the USAFA Political Science Department for final interview and selection.  Select/Non-select notification usually occurs during the early fall time period.  All applicants are requested to send a no more than one-page letter of interest to the department indicating their intent and contact information at the same time they send their application to AFPC.  This letter should be sent to:

Director of Personnel
HQUSAFA/DFPS
2354 Fairchild Drive, 6L116
USAF Academy, CO 80840-6258