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:  [email protected]// POC/D. T. DUMANOVSKY/MAJ/MMOA-3/USMC/TEL:  703-784-9284/ EMAIL:  [email protected]// 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 [email protected], 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:  [email protected] 7.b.  MMOA-3          Major Delaney T. Dumanovsky          Comm:  703-784-9284          Email:  [email protected] 7.c.  Third-party Billing, EDCOM          Email:  [email protected] 8.  This MARADMIN is not applicable to the Marine Corps Reserve. 9.  Release authorized by BGen Fridrik Fridriksson, Director, Manpower Management Division.//