The newly rebranded SpouseWorks program just expanded to the broadest eligibility in its history.
Anna Mende, Dental Assistant Program student and spouse of Air Force member Jesse Meade, 633rd Communications Squadron, prepares dental instruments at the Fort Eustis Dental Clinic, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, Feb. 5, 2026. The program teaches dental fundamentals and reinforces the curriculum through hands-on chairside training alongside dental providers. (Senior Airman Skylar Ellis/Air Force)
Military spouses face a specific employment problem that most career programs are not built to solve. PCS moves happen every two to three years on average. Licenses do not always transfer across state lines. Jobs get left behind. Careers restart from scratch. The unemployment rate among military spouses sits at around 21 percent — four to five times the national average — and underemployment is even more widespread.
The SpouseWorks Scholarship (formerly the My Career Advancement Account Scholarship, or MyCAA) exists specifically to address this problem. It provides up to $4,000 in tuition assistance to eligible military spouses pursuing licenses, certifications and associate degrees in portable career fields — the kind of credentials that travel with you regardless of where the military sends your family next. Most military spouses who qualify have never used it.
Eligibility is based on your service member sponsor’s pay grade and active-duty status. As of October 2024, the program covers spouses of active-duty service members and spouses of National Guard and reserve members on Title 10 orders in the following pay grades:
Spouses of service members in the following pay grades may apply for a SpouseWorks Scholarship:
If the sponsor is promoted beyond eligible grade, the spouse remains eligible as long as they had an approved training plan in place before the promotion.
You must be enrolled in the Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System (DEERS), and you must be able to start and complete your coursework while your sponsor is on active duty. The scholarship ends when the service member separates, retires or otherwise leaves active duty, so timing matters. Starting a program early in a tour rather than late is worth planning for.
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A SpouseWorks Scholarship will pay for:
A SpouseWorks Scholarship will not pay for:
As of 2026, SpouseWorks Scholarships provide the following:
How payment works:
What it does not replace:
If tuition exceeds $4,000, the gap is your responsibility. Plan for this when choosing a program.
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As the Pentagon undergoes the process of retiring the old MyCAA name, the SpouseWorks application is still available at mycaa.militaryonesource.mil. You will need a DS Logon to access your account, the same login used for milConnect and Tricare. The system checks your eligibility automatically based on your sponsor’s information in DEERS, so DEERS must be current before you apply.
Step 1: Create or log in to your SpouseWorks account at mycaa.militaryonesource.mil using DS Logon.
Step 2: Explore approved career fields and search for accredited schools that participate in the program — not all schools do.
Step 3: Work with a free Spouse Education and Career Opportunities (SECO) career coach through Military OneSource to create an Education and Training Plan (ETP). This is required before any funding is approved.
Step 4: Submit your ETP for approval. Courses cannot already be started when you apply.
Step 5: Enroll in your approved program at your chosen school.
Step 6: After completing each course, your school’s registrar submits proof of completion. Reimbursement is then processed.
The military spouse employment crisis is well documented. PCS moves, child care demands, and the unpredictability of military life combine to make sustained career development genuinely difficult in ways that civilian employers and career programs rarely account for. SpouseWorks is one of the few programs designed specifically for this reality — funding credentials that work wherever the military sends you next rather than degrees tied to a single location or employer.
For military spouses who are currently eligible and have not applied, the program is free to use, requires no repayment, and can be combined with other financial aid. The SECO career coaching program that supports SpouseWorks is also free and available to all military spouses regardless of SpouseWorks/MyCAA eligibility. Both are accessible at MilitaryOneSource.mil or by calling 800-342-9647.
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