Academy graduates with a degree in ORCA are prepared to analyze and evaluate the risk and value of decisions that must be made under uncertainty. That makes them well suited for an extremely wide range of assignments in the Coast Guard Officer corps, researching resource allocation decisions, policy analysis, equipment replacement determinations, personnel assignment processes, and tactical operational decisions - in fact, nearly every facet of Coast Guard operations.
- Acquisition
- Aeronautical Engineering
- Aviation
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Industrial Engineering
- Intelligence
- International Affairs
- Law
- Logistics
- Management
- Operations Afloat
- Operations Ashore-Prevention
- Operations Ashore-Response
Base Force Operations
Defense Operations
Incident Management & Preparedness
Marine & Environmental Response
Maritime Law Enforcement
- Search & Rescue
- Planning
- Public Affairs
ORCA graduates find many excellent career opportunities following separation from service. The combination of officer leadership and advanced knowledge of mathematics, statistics, and computers gives them a powerful package of skills sought by top firms in engineering, manufacturing, commerce, finance, research, and consulting. Other ORCA graduates have also gone into law, assumed key roles in government agencies, joined the faculty of prestigious academic institutions or research teams at independent think tanks, and established successful businesses.
"The USCGA is one of the few institutions in the country to offer an Operations Research and Computer Analysis degree at the undergraduate level. The lifelong skills of problem solving and applying computer technology provide our graduates with the ability to analyze complex problems and improve decision making in the Coast Guard and beyond. Classes are small and the faculty makes it a point to get to know each of the students, in and out of the classroom setting. Many of our graduates are selected by the Coast Guard to pursue their advanced degree in Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, or Computers and attend some of the top graduate schools in the nation."
--Captain Mark Case
Head, Department of Mathematics
USCGA
Through summer internships, ORCA majors who have displayed exceptional abilities both academically and militarily, have opportunities to expand their knowledge of Operations Research and Computer Analysis and their understanding of the Coast Guard's role in key missions. Summer internships are offered at the Coast Guard's Aircraft Repair and Supply Center (ARSC) in Elizabeth City NC, the Office of Workforce Planning at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington DC, and the Coast Guard Training Center in Petaluma, CA.
****from Academics-Educating Leaders for America, pages 18-19.
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