Defense Civilian Training Corps

The Defense Civilian Training Corps (DCTC) is a program of the United States Department of Defense to recruit and train university students for careers as civil servants in the department. Training occurs via campus-based instruction at participating universities.{{cite news |last1=Thornton |first1=Karen DaPonte |title=Introducing the Defense Civilian Training Corps |url=https://federalnewsnetwork.com/commentary/2023/06/introducing-the-defense-civilian-training-corps/ |access-date=October 14, 2024 |work=WFED |date=June 9, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Thompson |first1=Kara |title=Defense Civilian Training Corps Pilot Program Finishes First Year |url=https://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2024/8/14/defense-civilian-training-corps-pilot-program-finishes-first-year |access-date=October 14, 2024 |work=National Defense Magazine |date=August 14, 2024}}

The program, which has been compared to a civilian version of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, was authorized by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 and began operation in 2023.{{cite web |title=Acquisition Program Is Talent Pipeline to Prepare Students for DOD Civilian Careers |url=https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3520672/acquisition-program-is-talent-pipeline-to-prepare-students-for-dod-civilian-car/ |website=defense.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense |access-date=October 14, 2023}}{{cite news |last1=Wichner |first1=David |title=U of A to host new Pentagon acquisition training program in Tucson |url=https://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-university-of-arizona-defense-jobs-education/article_004b2b9e-0c85-11ee-8798-b7dd23b36c17.html |access-date=October 14, 2024 |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=July 24, 2024}}