The Ins & Outs of the MyCAA Scholarship for Military Spouses

The My Career Advancement Account Scholarship (MyCAA) is a scholarship for military spouses. The Department of Defense disperses this scholarship to qualifying military spouses in need of funding for licenses, certificates and degrees in portable career fields.

‌The maximum amount MyCAA disperses to a recipient is $4,000, with a limit of $2,000 available per fiscal year. The $2,000 amount will cover the cost of some MedCerts programs, which is a MyCAA-approved school. 

‌MyCAA Eligibility Requirements

‌The MyCAA Scholarship has a few basic requirements military spouses must meet to be eligible:

1. A military spouse must be married to an active duty service member in one of these branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or National Guard on Title 10 orders.

2. The service member sponsor must be in one of these pay grades: E - 1 to E - 5, W - 1 to W - 2 or O - 1 to O - 2.

3. The military spouse is required to complete the coursework while their military sponsor is on Title 10 military orders as reported in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS).

What Expenses Will MyCAA Cover?

‌The MyCAA Scholarship will help cover the costs of many types of training and education courses. The following list is not comprehensive but contains some general courses MyCAA will cover:

• Education, training and examinations for most associate degrees

• Cost of licenses from an accredited college, university or technical school

• Cost of certifications from an accredited college, university or technical school

• Cost of license or certification from an approved testing center

MedCerts Eligible Programs‌

MedCerts offers approved certifications in the Healthcare and Information Technology (IT) industries. Basic requirements for many of the MedCerts certifications include:

• A high school diploma or GED

• Web browser with internet connection

• Course registration and payment

‌MedCerts programs are a great fit for military spouses because they are focused on high-demand industries and the majority of the careers they lead to are portable, to fit a military lifestyle.

MedCerts Healthcare Programs

These MedCerts programs are MyCAA-approved and focus on careers in healthcare:

• Behavior Technician Specialist

• Medical Front Office Assistant and Administration Specialist

• Medication Care Coordinator

• Pharmacy Technician Specialist

• Medical Assistant

• Phlebotomy Technician

• EKG Technician‌

MedCerts IT Programs

In addition to healthcare certifications, MedCerts also offers many MyCAA-approved certifications in the IT field. These certifications include:

• IT Support Professional

• Fundamentals of IT

• IT Helpdesk Administrator

How to Apply for MyCAA

‌There’s a common misconception that applying for MyCAA is a difficult process. But nothing could be further from the truth. Any military spouse that meets the eligibility requirements can quickly apply for MyCAA.

‌In fact, the application process can be completed in five easy steps:

1. Go to the MyCAA Spouse Portal.

2. Fill out the Spouse Profile information. DEERS will quickly check eligibility in real-time.

3. Once eligibility is established, the military spouse will be able to create a MyCAA account.

4. Choose an approved program.

5. Create an Education Training Plan (ETP) with a career counselor.

MyCAA and MedCerts

‌MyCAA can provide a military spouse with the funds to pursue a new career. Healthcare and IT careers are in high demand and MedCerts is helping to meet that demand. Since 2009, they’ve helped over 14,000 military spouses start careers using MyCAA.