The Squadron Officer School distance learning (SOS DL) program is the Air Force’s primary developmental education (PDE) program and is designed to advance the professional development foundation provided by the accessions programs. The SOS DL curriculum is based on Air Force and Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) publications for subject matter content in leadership, communication, profession of arms, warfare, and international security areas of study. As an Air Force program, SOS DL seeks to provide an “air-minded” curriculum that prepares graduates for greater responsibilities at the squadron level while also building critical thinking skills in the application of airpower for national security goals and objectives. 

The SOS DL 2.0 program includes a robust mix of self-paced and asynchronous facilitated courses. This program continues the transformation of officer PME and the SOS DL experience to “…develop Airmen who are critical and creative thinkers by implementing an agile, individually tailored approach to life- long education….” (USAF Strategic Master Plan, May 2015). The SOS DL 2.0 curriculum provides students with peer-to-peer interaction and collaboration opportunities, facilitation by DL-certified faculty, and the ability to customize the program to suit personal and professional needs.

Student Handbook

• For general enrollment instructions click here
  • See below for specific details for your category
     
• Military

1. If you meet the program eligibility, you must create an AU Portal account before enrolling. A CAC card is required to create the account
2. Go to AF Portal and login
3. Under QUICK LINKS, scroll down to EDUCATION/TRAINING/FORCE DEVELOPMENT, and click on Air University Portal.
4. Go to the silver bar that reads "Click here to login or create a new account," and click on "Create Account." (if you already have an AU Portal account skip to step 6)
5. Finish creating the account by filling in the applicable information.  We strongly recommend using a civilian email address.  The military email filters may block the onboarding email in step 11 below.
6. Once you have established an AU Portal account, go down to the menu bar on the left side of the AU Portal page and hover over "Distance Learning," then hover over “SOS DL” and select "Apply."
7. On the Apply for Admission page, select “SOS”
8. Under Step 1 review the Eligibility criteria.  If you do not meet the criteria do not apply, the system will prevent entry, but it will waste manpower to review flagged applications.
9. If you meet the eligibility criteria, select “Check for Eligibility”.  This does not actually check eligibility, it only allows you to update your profile information.  Please ensure you provide a civilian email address that you can access.  Once your profile is updated, go to step 2 and select “next”.
10. Step 3 confirms your contact information has been updated.  Then click “Submit Application”
11. If you are military, the system will run checks and automatically enroll you in the program if eligible.  You should receive an email notifying you of your status.  If the email confirms you are admitted to the program, then expect another email from noreply-ulis@asu.edu within 2 business days to initiate the onboarding into the SOS DL program. 
12. If you do not have a CAC card or are not able to create an account for any other reason, please email your request to acsc.eschool.operations@us.af.mil.

• Civilians
• If you meet the program eligibility, complete the Civilian Enrollment Instructions