uscga badge
Search
Close this search box.
Home / Academics / Academic Majors / Government / Government Careers
Government Careers

Government Careers

After graduation, Government majors find themselves well suited for almost any career path in the Coast Guard. Government majors command cutters and shore stations, head policy offices, negotiate treaties on behalf of the U.S. government, lead regulatory projects, fly aircraft and much more, reflecting the maxim that a liberal undergraduate education recognizes no limits.

  • Government majors write the policies that impact all levels of waterways governance.
  • Government majors serve on staff as Judge Advocates (military attorneys), Congressional Staff Liaisons, Intelligence Officers (including as Attaches in US Embassies abroad), Public Affairs Officers, and policy specialists within the Coast Guard’s International Affairs Directorate, as well as the Maritime Transportation System and Waterways Directorate, among many others.
  • Government majors may take their language, culture and policy skills and work in the International Training Division assisting other nations in setting up their own Coast Guard.
  • Cadets who score well on the Defense Language Proficiency Test may follow a career path in linguistics or diplomacy.

Graduate Studies

Many Government majors go on to pursue graduate degrees through the Coast Guard after their first tour. Government majors are well prepared to pursue graduate studies in law, public policy, political science, public administration, public affairs, international affairs, security studies, intelligence, history, philosophy, among many other programs.

Recent graduates have attended some of the nation’s most prestigious graduate schools, including:

  • American University (School of International Service)
  • Boston University (Department of Philosophy)
  • Carnegie Mellon (Heinz College of Information Systems, Public Policy and Management)
  • Duke (Sanford School of Public Policy)
  • Georgetown University (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
  • Harvard Kennedy School of Government
  • National Intelligence University
  • Tufts University (Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy)
  • William and Mary (School of Law)
  • Yale University (Graduate School of Arts and Sciences)
CGA Badge
Links from these pages to non-Coast Guard sites are provided as a customer service and do not represent any implicit or explicit endorsement by the United States Coast Guard of any commercial or private issues or products presented there.