1. United States
2. Minn.
3. Letter

I am writing as an active-duty Airman and constituent to respectfully urge your support for expanding Military Tuition Assistance eligibility to include doctoral-level education in carefully defined cases. At present, Military Tuition Assistance is capped at $250 per semester hour and $4,500 per fiscal year, and Air Force guidance limits the benefit to certificate, associate, bachelor’s, and master’s level study. While this structure has helped many servicemembers complete valuable education, it no longer reflects the growing technical and strategic demands placed on today’s force. The Department of the Air Force and the broader joint force increasingly rely on servicemembers to operate in complex fields such as cyber operations, data analytics, artificial intelligence, logistics, acquisition, and organizational leadership. In many of these areas, doctoral-level education can directly contribute to mission effectiveness, innovation, policy development, and force modernization. Yet active-duty members seeking advanced expertise beyond the master’s level must usually do so entirely at personal expense, even when the education clearly aligns with national defense priorities. I am not advocating for unlimited funding or open-ended entitlements. Instead, I encourage Congress to consider a targeted expansion of Tuition Assistance for doctoral study under controlled conditions, such as: 1 Limiting eligibility to accredited institutions and approved degree programs tied to military or federal workforce needs; 2 Requiring a demonstrated connection between the program and mission-relevant fields; 3 Preserving existing annual funding caps or establishing a separate capped pilot program; and 4 Prioritizing high-need disciplines such as cyber, engineering management, business administration, public policy, operational research, artificial intelligence, and related fields. Such a policy would improve retention of high-performing servicemembers, strengthen the force’s intellectual capital, and better align education benefits with the realities of modern military competition. The military already invests heavily in professional development; permitting limited doctoral-level study would be a logical extension of that investment for select members whose education can directly benefit the mission. I respectfully ask that you consider raising this issue in future defense authorization or appropriations discussions, including the National Defense Authorization Act process. Even a pilot program would be a meaningful step toward evaluating cost, demand, and mission impact. Thank you for your time and for your service to our state and nation.