For Students - Acquisition Research Program
Welcome to the Graduate Student Acquisition Research Program
Completing your thesis with the Acquisition Research Program (ARP) will deepen your understanding of acquisition processes and prepare you to lead and innovate as an acquisition professional. ARP provides students with topics, professional editing, and transcription services, when needed, at no cost.
Students can choose a sponsor topic (list available in 372 Ingersoll) or create their own in collaboration with thesis advisers. Sample research areas include the following:
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acquisition and procurement policy
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contract, supply chain, cost, project, logistics or engineering management
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acquisition workforce
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public budgeting and finance
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outsourcing
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performance measurements
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small business
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human systems integration
Student Support
ARP supports students in the Department of Defense Management with resources that help guide you through the research process, with key milestones to keep you on track.- ARP also promotes completed student research to our community of acquisition researchers and professionals, and we bring notable research to the right leaders in the Fleet and Joint Force.
Expectations
Students are expected to produce publishable research, stay on schedule, and complete research projects two months prior to graduation. You'll also submit a poster on research findings which will be presented at ARP’s annual symposium, held each May.
Over the span of about 6 months, you will complete the following steps:
Project Plan
Ready to research with ARP? Full information about program requirements and deadlines can be found below. These include the project plan, associated forms and samples. We have also included relevant resources and writing handbooks for your use.
To get into the ARP support system, email arp@nps.edu with a short email and your signed ARP project plan.
These documents get you started:
Resources
Your goal is to produce data-driven, rigorous research that can be used by policymakers, leaders, and other researchers to understand and improve defense acquisition. You must also satisfy thesis and graduation requirements for NPS. We've collected a few resources to get you started.
Find Research Topics:
ARP maintains a list of Sponsored Research Topics to get you started.
Browse published student thesis:
Get ideas from the Defense Acquisition & Innovation Repository (DAIR) collection of NPS Graduate Student Theses & Reports. Most theses include suggestions for continued research as part of their Findings and Recommendations section.
Use Definitive Sources of Contract Data:
All government contract data is found at sam.gov. You'll need to set up an account to run reports. Review the FPDS Government User's Manual for help.
Learn How to Research, Organize, and Write a Thesis:
Work with the pros from the NPS Graduate Writing Center: watch video overviews, attend workshops, and get a coach. Check out their citation guide before you start writing.
Understand Thesis Requirements:
Get to know the process used at the NPS Thesis Processing Office
Summarize Academic Research for a General Audience:
Read this guide to converting your thesis into a research brief. ARP will provide you templates for summarizing your research as a poster and a YouTube-friendly video.
See more resources in the Student Information Packet.
Professional Certifications
For students looking to earn professional certifications in addition to their academic degrees, ARP offers:- support completing Project Management Professional (PMP) training and certification,
- access to courses at Defense Acquisition University, and
- Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) certifications.
Acquisition Research Symposium
Each May, ARP organizes the Acquisition Research Symposium, which features top acquisition leaders in the Departments of the Navy and Defense plus industry experts and some of the best acquisition researchers.- The student poster show highlights ongoing and recently completed student research.
- Faculty research presentations are also a key part of the symposium.
Defense Acquisition & Innovation Repository (DAIR)
ARP is home to the Defense Acquisition & Innovation Repository (DAIR), an extensive collection of original research on defense acquisition from American and international acquisition professionals, including military officers and civilian researchers.Meet the ARP Team
We would love to meet you!
Drop by the ARP Office (Ingersoll - 372) anytime to meet Jochele and talk about our student program. We can also be reached via email at arp@nps.edu or by phone at (831) 656-3793.