NAWCAD Commander Rear Adm. Steven Eastburg, will welcomed 26 students into the program recently during a brief ceremony in the North Engineering Building (number 2185). Class is scheduled to begin March 31.

The MSSE program is a prototype being launched here with plans to expand the program to other naval systems commands as it develops.

‘‘We’ve got some really bright people,” said Mike Persson, a member of NAVAIR’s Systems Engineering department who is helping organize the program. They deserve quality educational opportunities, which will allow them to be more competitive in the future, he said.

The MSSE will help an engineer whose strength might be in one area, such as propulsion or aerodynamics, to understand all NAVAIR systems, including weapons, safety, aircraft structure, logistics, cost and performance.

NAVAIR technical professionals will be encouraged in the future to earn a master’s degree to advance to positions such as chief engineer Persson said. The degree can come from NPS or any accredited institution. However, NPS will focus on naval systems engineering.

Classes include the fundamentals of systems engineering, engineering project management, systems assessment, combat systems simulation, and software systems engineering.

Students also will partner with NAVAIR competencies to determine what projects would best help to support the fleet, said Capt. John Schmidt, military director of the Human Systems department, and an instructor in the MSSE program.

The work, called Capstone Projects, could include a variety of subjects, such as an exploration into unmanned air vehicles, or an evaluation of potential cost, scheduling and performance scenarios for aircraft programs, Schmidt said.

Those are areas that Pedro Frau, a NAWCAD mechanical engineer, said he’d like to learn more about.

Frau received an e-mail recently saying he was selected for the program. He wants to become a chief engineer in NAVAIR and, he said, the MSSE program seems versatile enough to help him reach several long-term goals. ‘‘It’s my interpretation that it could be applied to any other platform, be that aircraft or sea programs.”

James Nadeau, a NAWCAD engineer in the Multi-Mission Helicopters Program Office (PMA-299), also was accepted into the program. The Naval Post Graduate School is a prestigious institution, he said. Like Frau, Nadeau hopes the MSSE program will help him earn a job as a chief engineer.

Nadeau is prepared for evenings full of study rather than relaxation. ‘‘I hope it pays off and opens up new doors,” he said.

Chances seem high that the program will meet their expectations. Support has been offered Navy-wide. A long list of stakeholders includes NAVAIR, the Naval Post Graduate School, Naval Sea Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, and the Defense Acquisition University .

There’s a reason that interest is so strong, said Eastburg, whose research and engineering department also has an oversight role in the MSSE program.

The Navy is competing with private industry for some of the same talent, he said. Offering this advanced degree will help support NAVAIR in its work force revitalization, recruiting and retention efforts. ‘‘It does a lot of things for us,” Eastburg said. Benefits of mastering the coursework and applying the knowledge throughout NAVAIR could be seen immediately by the fleet, he said.

Academic and professional support will be available for current and prospective students throughout their studies, Persson said.

‘‘We would like anybody willing to do this to have the opportunity. We just want to make sure they’re successful.”

(This article was submitted by NAWCAD public affairs.)