Main Office: Campus Center, CC-377
Phone: (414) 288-7682
Fax: (414) 288-7627
Website: https://www.msoe.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-scholarships/scholarships-and-grants/rotc-scholarships/
Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is an educational program that trains students to be officers in the United States military. ROTC students learn leadership skills in college in order to have a successful military or civilian career. Each branch of the armed services has an ROTC program.
Scholarship opportunities are available through all the ROTC programs in a variety of academic majors. A description of each of the ROTC programs offered as MSOE follows.
Air Force ROTC
Students have the opportunity to pursue a commission in the United States Air Force through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) program. Required AFROTC courses are offered at Marquette University and are taught by resident full-time Aerospace Studies faculty.
This program offers students the opportunity to prepare for initial active duty assignments as Air Force commissioned officers. In order to receive a commission, AFROTC cadets must complete all university requirements for a degree, complete courses specified by the Air Force, and maintain Air Force moral, academic and physical fitness standards. AFROTC courses are normally taken for credit as part of a student’s electives. The amount of credit given toward a degree for AFROTC academic work varies as determined by the student’s college and major. AFROTC offers three- and four-year programs leading to a commission as an Air Force officer. AFROTC cadets complete the General Military Course, a two-week summer Field Training experience between their sophomore and junior years followed by the Professional Officer Course, and must meet all required Air Force standards to obtain their commission upon graduation.
General qualifications:
- Be a full-time student
- Be a United States citize
- Be in good physical condition
- Be of good moral character
- For pilot or navigator training, fulfill all commissioning requirements before age 29
General Military Course: The first- and second-year educational program in Air Force Aerospace Studies consists of a series of one-hour courses designed to give students basic information on the role of the U.S. Air Force in the defense of the free world. All required textbooks and uniforms are provided free. The General Military Course is open to all students without advance application and does not obligate students to the Air Force in any way.
Professional Officer Course: The third and fourth years of Air Force Aerospace Studies instruction are designed to develop skills and attitudes vital to the professional officer. Students completing the Professional Officer Course are commissioned as officers in the U.S. Air Force upon college graduation. All students in the Professional Officer Course receive a nontaxable subsistence allowance of $450 per month during their junior academic year and $500 per month during their senior year.
Leadership Laboratory: Leadership Laboratory is a cadet-centered activity. It is largely cadet planned and directed, in line with the premise that it provides leadership-training experience that will improve a cadet’s ability to perform as an Air Force officer. The class length is four hours per week which includes two hours of physical fitness held at MSOE and UWM. For students pursuing an Air Force commission
The freshman and sophomore Leadership Laboratory program introduces Air Force customs and courtesies, drill and ceremonies, wearing the uniform, career opportunities in the Air Force, education and training benefits, and life and work of an Air Force officer. Experiences include preparing the cadet for individual, squadron and flight movements in drill and ceremonies and preparation for the field training assignment prior to the junior year.
The junior and senior Leadership Laboratory program involves the cadets in advanced leadership experiences. Cadet responsibilities include planning and directing the activities of the cadet corps, preparing briefings and written communications. They also provide interviews, guidance, information and other services geared to increase the performance and motivation of underclassman cadets.
Field Training: Students pursuing a commission must successfully complete Field Training in order to advance to the Professional Officer Course. Students are competitively selected to attend Field Training based on their performance in the AFROTC program to include their academic and physical fitness record. Field Training is conducted during the summer months at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL. The Air Force pays all expenses associated with Field Training. The major areas of study include physical training, drill and ceremonies, leadership skill development and application, career orientation and an introduction to Air Force expeditionary training and Air Force deployment environment.
AFROTC College Scholarship Program: This program provides scholarships to selected students participating in AFROTC. While participating in AFROTC, scholarship students receive paid tuition, fees, laboratory expenses and $600 per year for textbooks. Additionally, scholarship students receive a tax-free monthly stipend of $300 per month as freshmen, $350 per month as sophomores, $450 per month as juniors and $500 per month as seniors.
Requirements for scholarship and Commissioning:
- Be a U.S. citizen.
- Be at least 17 years of age on the date of enrollment and under 31 years of age on Dec. 31 of the estimated year of commissioning.
- Pass an Air Force physical exam.
- Be selected by a board of Air Force officers.
- Have no moral objections or personal convictions that prevents bearing arms and supporting and defending the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic (Applicants must not be conscientious objectors.).
- Achieve a qualifying score on the Air Force Officer Qualifying Test.
- Maintain a 2.5 grade point average.
AFROTC High School Scholarship Program: High school students may apply for an AFROTC scholarship prior to December 1 of their senior year. Interested students are encouraged to submit applications early. An online scholarship application is available at the U.S. Air Force ROTC website. High school students who receive an Air Force scholarship may also be eligible for further subsidies from their school.
For more information on the Air Force ROTC program, visit the Marquette University AFROTC website. http://www.marquette.edu/rotc/airforce/ or call (414) 288-7682.
Army ROTC
Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is a four-year program offered at 275 host schools and over 1,000 partnership and affiliate schools. This program trains college students to be officers in the active Army, Army Reserve or Army National Guard. AROTC students will learn the leadership and management skills essential to becoming an Army officer or having a successful civilian career. The Army ROTC mission is to commission the future officer leaders of the U.S. Army.
AROTC scholarships are available to students each year. These scholarships are awarded on merit, not financial need. Merit includes academic achievement and extracurricular activities, such as sports, student government or work. AROTC scholarships are awarded to students studying science, engineering, nursing, business and a variety of other academic majors. Any student may participate in AROTC, regardless of whether he or she has been awarded a scholarship.
Army ROTC for Milwaukee colleges and universities is based at Marquette University. Basic and Advanced classes are taught on the Marquette campus. All AROTC classes are taught by the Military Science faculty from Marquette University. For additional information, visit www.marquette.edu/rotc/army/ or call (414) 288-2051, call/text (414) 750-8324, or email armyrotc@marquette.edu.
Navy ROTC
The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) Program provides qualified commissioned officers to the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The mission is to develop midshipmen morally, physically, and intellectually for careers in the United States Naval Service. Graduates who complete all requirements will receive commissions and serve on active duty in the Navy or Marine Corps, with a minimum three-year commitment for non-scholarship students and four-year commitment for scholarship students.
All NROTC students fall into one of two broad categories: scholarship or non-scholarship (college program). Some students will enter MSOE with a four-year scholarship earned on a competitive basis while still in high school. Scholarships are for full tuition, fees, a textbook stipend, laboratory expenses and include a subsistence stipend. In addition, MSOE will honor a student’s MSOE Academic or Transfer Scholarship initially awarded by MSOE’s Admissions Office. At a minimum, MSOE will provide funds to cover a double room and a standard meal plan while receiving a ROTC scholarship. Students not on scholarship are termed college program students. They receive uniforms, naval science text books and a monthly stipend during their junior and senior years. All college program students are eligible to compete for Naval Education and Training Command scholarships. Students are selected on a competitive basis after completing a minimum of one term as an NROTC college program student.
A naval science class is required of all NROTC students each term, with few exceptions, for which MSOE grants credit toward graduation requirements. Students who enroll in NROTC at MSOE do so as “cross-town” students. Required NROTC courses are taught by the Naval Science faculty at the Marquette University campus. The remainder of their major is completed at MSOE. Midshipmen on scholarship and junior and senior college program students are also required to attend a paid summer internship for a period of four to six weeks each summer. This training introduces midshipmen to the fleet, and the life of a junior naval officer. Summer training also provides an orientation to each of the different warfare specialties (air, surface, submarine, and Marine Corps).
For additional information, contact the Department of Naval Science, Marquette University at (414) 288-7076 or visit our website at www.marquette.edu/rotc/navy/.