R 191456Z SEP 25
MARADMIN 441/25
SUBJ/FY26 FUNDED LAW EDUCATION PROGRAM (FLEP) AND UNFUNDED LAW
EDUCATION PROGRAM (ULEP) SELECTION BOARD//
MSGID/CMC MM MRA WASHINGTON DC//
REF/A/MSGID: DOC/DOD/20241223//
REF/B/MSGID: DOC/DOD/20190122//
REF/C/MSGID: DOC/DOD/20190530//
REF/D/MSGID: DOC/DOD/20250307//
NARR/REF A IS SECTION 2004 OF TITLE 10, U.S. CODE, DETAIL AS
STUDENTS AT LAW SCHOOLS; COMMISSIONED OFFICERS; CERTAIN ENLISTED
MEMBERS. REF B IS SECNAVINST 1520.7G, LAW EDUCATION PROGRAM. REF C
IS MCO 1524.1, MARINE CORPS GRADUATE EDUCATION PROGRAM. REF D IS
MCO 1300.8 CH 1, MARINE CORPS PERSONNEL ASSIGNMENT.//
POC/G. M. PARHAM/MAJ/HQMC CDSP/TEL: 703-955-1424/
EMAIL: GIOVANNA.PARHAM@USMC.MIL//
POC/D. T. DUMANOVSKY/MAJ/MMOA-3/USMC/TEL: 703-784-9284/
EMAIL: SMB_MMOA_GRAD_EDU@USMC.MIL//
GENTEXT/REMARKS/1. Purpose. This message announces the Fiscal Year
(FY) 2026 Funded Law Education Program (FLEP) and Unfunded Law
Education Program (ULEP) board convening on 4 November 2025. This
message is to announce the programs, eligibility criteria, and
timelines for the FY26 FLEP and ULEP execution.
1.a. Major milestone timeline (read in two columns):
NLT Date Milestone
24 October 2025 Application deadline to include an LSAT score
04 November 2025 FLEP and ULEP board convenes
01 April 2026 Law School admission acceptance deadline
2. Background
2.a. Per ref (a), the Secretary of the Navy may detail commissioned
officers as students at accredited law schools in the United States
for a period of training leading to the degree of juris doctor (JD).
These students selected under these programs would attend this
period of training to then serve as a judge advocate in the
Marine Corps.
2.b. In accordance with ref (a), the law education opportunities
within the Department of Defense were expanded to ensure that
service members would be entitled to receive pay and allowances
while serving as a full-time student for both funded and unfunded
law education programs.
3. Eligibility
3.a. General eligibility criteria
3.a.1. Applicants must be a citizen of the United States.
3.a.2. Unrestricted commissioned officers in the Marine Corps
on active duty.
3.b. In the case of FLEP:
3.b.1. Must be in the grade of captain or below.
3.b.2. Have a minimum of two years but not more than six years
total active-duty time when law education begins.
3.b.3. Be able to complete 20 years active service, of which at
least 10 years must be as a commissioned officer, before his or her
62nd birthday.
3.b.4. These are statutory qualifications and cannot be waived.
Exceptions to policy submitted will not be considered.
3.c. In the case of ULEP:
3.c.1. Must be in the grade of captain or below.
3.c.2. Have a minimum of two years but not more than eight years
total active-duty time when law education begins.
3.c.3. Be able to complete 20 years active service, of which at
least 10 years must be as a commissioned officer before his or her
62nd birthday.
3.c.4. These are statutory qualifications and cannot be waived.
Exceptions to policy submitted will not be considered.
3.d. Ineligibility criteria
3.d.1. Officers previously selected to other Marine Corps Graduate
Education Programs (MGEP) who are currently serving a utilization
tour.
3.d.2. Officers who were selected on the FY26 Commandant’s
Education Board for Professional Military Education (PME) School or
have been selected to other MGEP.
4. School criteria
4.a. Applicants must apply to a broad range of schools that offer
in-state, out-of-state, or private tuition rates.
4.b. Applicants are highly encouraged to apply for scholarships
and grants.
4.c. Tuition paid by the Department of Defense will be capped at
the same state levels referenced in U.S.C 38, Chapter 33 Post 9/11
Educational Assistance. Students may request to attend a school
where tuition exceeds that cap, but they will incur any additional
financial responsibility over the capped tuition rate. Manpower
Management Officer Assignment (MMOA-3) in conjunction with Judge
Advocate Division (JAD), and Marine Corps University (MCU), will
adjudicate such requests.
4.d. Letters of acceptance and application must state annual
tuition for both in-state and out-of-state residents, and whether
the applicant qualifies for in-state tuition. Include all
information that will affect associated costs, to include, but not
limited to, scholarships, grants, cash awards etc.
4.e. Due to limited funding, applicants should thoroughly research
several schools for quality and expenses.
4.f. JAD, in coordination with MMOA-3, and MCU, will select law
schools for the FLEP selectees.
4.g. Scholarships, fellowships, grants, or cash awards for the
FLEP/ULEP will not be accepted without both prior approval from
MMOA-3 and coordination with, and receipt of, an ethics opinion from
JAD.
5. Application process
5.a. The CAC enabled application requirements and sample
application can be found at:
https:(slash)(slash)www.manpower.marines.mil/Divisions/Manpower-
Management/Officer-Assignments/Plans-and-Programs-MMOA-3/#tab/
graduate-education-boards.
5.b. Packages must be endorsed by the chain of command through the
first general officer. The applicant's commanding officer shall
include in the forwarding endorsement a specific recommendation
concerning the applicant's future value to the Marine Corps as a
judge advocate.
5.c. Where practicable, all applicants shall be interviewed by the
staff judge advocate (SJA) to the first general officer in their
chain of command. The SJA’s comments and recommendations concerning
the applicant shall be an enclosure to the forwarding endorsement.
Where not practicable, a senior judge advocate of any Armed Force,
who is available in the location of the applicant, shall be
requested to conduct the interview and prepare this statement. The
SJA should address the probability of the applicant's success in the
study of law, the applicant's motivation to become a Marine Corps
judge advocate, and the applicant's full understanding of all
aspects of the program.
5.d. Applicants must submit their official LSAT scores. A minimum
score of 150 is required. Individuals seeking a waiver of the GRE
in place of the LSAT refer to the POC in paragraph 7.
5.e. Applicants shall include a statement (500 words or less)
indicating the steps they have taken to learn about the Marine Corps
judge advocate career and their reason for seeking such a career.
5.f. Packages should include the names of law schools accredited by
the American Bar Association to which the applicant has applied to
and/or been accepted, in priority order.
5.g. Applicants will ensure transcripts from all colleges and
universities attended, with credits and letter grades, are contained
in their application prior to the convening of the board.
5.h. A statement of acceptance of the service obligation must be
included in the application. Below are the service obligations per
program:
5.h.1. In accordance with ref (b), upon successful completion of
FLEP, Marines incur 24 months of obligated active service
for each 12 months, or any part thereof, spent in the program.
5.h.2. Upon successful completion of ULEP, Marines incur 12 months
obligated active service for each 12 months, or any part thereof,
spent in the program. In no case will the total period of obligated
service under ULEP be less than 24 months.
5.i. Applicants must submit a privacy act statement.
5.j. Email the application in Adobe PDF format to
smb_mmoa_grad_edu@usmc.mil, naming the file “EDIPI_FLEP_LastName”
or “EDIPI_ULEP_LastName” or “EDIPI_FLEP_ULEP_LastName” if applying
for both.
5.k. Officers who are eligible and desire to apply to both FLEP
and ULEP should submit a combined application.
6. General information for eligible population
6.a. Applicants must notify their primary MOS monitor of intent to
apply for FLEP and/or ULEP prior to submitting application. Include
this correspondence in your application.
6.b. Final selection to the program will be contingent upon MMOA-3
receiving the law school acceptance letters due no later than
1 April 2026.
6.c. Upon release of the results MARADMIN, and after program
requirements are achieved, PCS orders will be issued for all
selected officers by MMOA-3.
6.d. Officers not yet career designated will be offered and must
accept career designation prior to matriculation.
6.e. Officers who denied career designation are not eligible for
FLEP/ULEP.
7. Program points of contact
7.a. FLEP and ULEP
Major Gia Parham
Comm: 703-955-1424
Email: giovanna.parham@usmc.mil
7.b. MMOA-3
Major Delaney T. Dumanovsky
Comm: 703-784-9284
Email: smb_mmoa_grad_edu@usmc.mil
7.c. Third-party Billing, EDCOM
Email: mcu_fiscal_team@usmcu.edu
8. This MARADMIN is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve.
9. Release authorized by BGen Fridrik Fridriksson, Director,
Manpower Management Division.//