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 Officers’ 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 at MSOE follows.

Air Force ROTC

Students have the opportunity to pursue a commission in the United States Air Force through the Air Force Reserve Officers’ 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
• Maintain a minimum 2.0 grade point average
• Be a United States citizen
• 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 $900 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 minimum 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 Officers’ Training Corps. (AROTC) is a four-year program offered at 270 host schools and over 900 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 in any undergraduate academic major. Any student may participate in AROTC, regardless of whether he or she has been awarded a scholarship. High school students may apply for scholarships at the U.S. Army ROTC website.

Army ROTC for Milwaukee colleges and universities is based at Marquette University. Basic and Advanced classes are taught on the Marquette University campus. All AROTC classes are taught by the Military Science faculty from Marquette University. For additional information, visit https://www.marquette.edu/army-rotc or call (414) 288-2051, call/text (414) 350-0351, or email armyrotc@marquette.edu. 

Navy ROTC

NROTC is a commissioning program for Navy unrestricted line communities, the Navy Nurse Corps., and the Marine Corps. Students who enroll in our program will become Midshipmen in the United States Navy Reserve. Our Midshipmen are full-time students who have NROTC course requirements through the Marquette Naval Science department in addition to the course requirements for their degree. Upon graduation, they will become commissioned officers in either the United States Navy or Marine Corps.  There are two ways to join the NROTC program: via the College Program or by applying for the NROTC National 4-year Scholarship.

Interested students should first apply for the National 4-year Scholarship online (http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/). Awardees will receive full tuition, a book allowance, and a monthly 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 an ROTC scholarship. 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 primary undergraduate degree is completed at MSOE.

Many of our Midshipmen join NROTC through the College Program. Students who apply for our College Program and are accepted do not initially receive any monetary benefits from the Navy. College Program students are given several opportunities to apply for “Side-load” Scholarships (specifically, a 3-year, 2-year, or 1-year scholarship), which are similar to the 4-year scholarship except they cover three, two, or one year respectively. Once “on scholarship,” you will begin receiving tuition, a textbook allowance, and a monthly stipend just like the 4-year scholarship.

If a College Program student does not receive a scholarship by the start of their Junior year, s/he may be offered what is called Advanced Standing. Advanced standing is offered to our students who have not received a scholarship, but who are still recognized as individuals deserving of a commission. These students receive a monthly stipend and will still become naval officers after graduating.

Among other factors, an applicant’s degree choice may affect their competitiveness in the NROTC program. The Navy is preparing our future officers to meet the challenges in the next generation of technology and leadership. In structuring our academic programs to meet these challenges, undergraduate academic majors for NROTC Navy Option Midshipmen are divided into three categories or tiers: Tier 1 - engineering programs of Navy interest, Tier 2 - other engineering, math and science programs, Tier 3 - Foreign language and remaining academic programs. To keep pace in this high tech and diverse environment, approximately 85% of Navy Option NROTC scholarships will be awarded to students interested in completing a Tier 1 or Tier 2 academic major. Marine Options need not worry about academic major tiers as it will generally not affect their competitiveness. Nurse Option candidates must study nursing.

All of our Midshipmen, regardless of their chosen option (Navy, Nurse, or Marine), have a similar lifestyle. Each semester, our Midshipmen attend Naval Science courses taught by our staff of officers in addition to university classes required for their degree. A Midshipman’s term schedule and degree plan is something planned with a university academic advisor and a Navy advisor. Our Midshipmen attend physical training at Marquette on Mondays from 5:30 a.m. to 6:45 a.m. The Marine Option Midshipmen often attend additional physical training throughout the week. Every Thursday during the semester, our students also attend a general military training course called “Drill,” which is held at the Marquette Old Gymnasium from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the entire Midshipmen Battalion. All Naval Science courses and physical training also take place at the Marquette Old Gymnasium where the unit is located. Cross-town students studying at MSOE will be given a Marquette Student ID so they can register for Naval Science classes through Marquette. Cross-town students are not charged for these classes.

Before commissioning, our Midshipmen complete at least one summer training event (normally at-sea for Navy Midshipmen or at Quantico, VA for Marine Corps Midshipmen). Only Midshipmen who are on scholarship or Advanced Standing participate in summer training. Upon graduation, Midshipmen are commissioned as Ensigns in the Navy or Second Lieutenants in the Marine Corps. They will then be active duty members of the Navy or Marine Corps with service length requirements varying based on the career they have chosen or been assigned (typically this is four to five years). 

Please visit the NROTC website at http://www.nrotc.navy.mil/index.html and our local website at https://www.marquette.edu/navy-rotc/.

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