Quarter 5

Educational Skills Requirements (ESR)

Master of Science in Defense Contract Management Curriculum 815

1. Advanced Management Concepts: The graduate will have the ability to apply advanced management and operations research techniques to defense problems. This includes policy formulation and execution, strategic planning, defense resource allocation, cost benefit and cost effectiveness analysis, federal fiscal policy, computer-based information and decision support systems, and complex managerial situations requiring comprehensive integrated decision making.
2. Acquisition and Contracting Principles: The graduate will have an understanding of and will be able to apply the principles and fundamentals of acquisition and contracting within the federal government, including knowledge of the acquisition laws and regulations, particularly the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and the DoD FAR Supplement (DFARS); the unique legal principles applied in government contract law and the Uniform Commercial Code; and the application of sound business principles and practices to defense contracting problems. Further, the graduate will be able to apply innovative and creative approaches not only to resolve difficult acquisition and contracting issues but to significantly influence the legal and regulatory structure within which acquisition decision making occurs. Finally, the graduate will have the ability to conceptualize, develop and execute strategic business alliances and relationships necessary to the successful acquisition of goods and services.
3. Acquisition and Contracting Policy: The graduate will have an ability to formulate and execute acquisition policies, strategies, plans and procedures; a knowledge of the legislative process and an ability to research and analyze acquisition legislation; and a knowledge of the government organization for acquisition, including Congress, the General Accounting Office, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the federal and military contracting offices, the Boards of Contract Appeals, and the court system.
4. Contracting Process: The graduate will understand the theory of and have the ability to manage the field contracting, contingency contracting, supplies and services contracting, system acquisition, and contract administration processes. This involves a knowledge of the defense system life cycle processes, including requirements determination, funding, contracting, ownership, and disposal; an ability to evaluate military requirements, specifications, and bids and proposals; an ability to utilize the sealed bid, competitive proposals and simplified acquisition methodologies; a comprehensive knowledge of all contract types and their application in defense acquisition; an ability to conduct cost and price analyses; and an ability to negotiate various contracting actions, including new procurement, contract changes and modifications, claims, equitable adjustment settlements, and noncompliance issues.
5. Business Theory and Practices: The graduate will have an understanding of the business philosophy, concepts, practices, and methodologies of the global commercial industrial base, and the ability to apply these to the federal government acquisition environment.
6. Federal and Defense Budgeting: The graduate will have an ability to apply economic and accounting principles, including monetary and fiscal theories, to defense acquisition and contracting issues.
7. Program Management: The graduate will have an understanding of the basic principles and fundamentals of Program Management, with particular emphasis on the Procuring Contractor Officer's and Administrative Contracting Officer's roles and relationships with the Program Manager.
8. Acquisition Workforce: The graduate will satisfy all requirements of the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) and mandatory contracting courses required by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) at Levels I, II, III.
9. Ethics and Standards of Conduct: The graduate will have an ability to manage and provide leadership in the ethical considerations of military acquisition, including the provisions of procurement integrity, and to appropriately apply defense acquisition standards of conduct.
10. Strategy and Policy: Officers develop a graduate-level ability to think strategically, critically analyze past military campaigns, and apply historical lessons to future joint and combined operations, in order to discern the relationship between a nation's policies and goals and the ways military power may be used to achieve them. This is fulfilled by completing the first of the Naval War College course series leading to Service Intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) and Phase I Joint PME credit.
11. Analysis, Problem Solving, and Critical Thinking: The graduate will demonstrate the ability to conduct research and analysis, and proficiency in presenting the results in writing and orally by means of an applied project and a command-oriented briefing appropriate to this curriculum.