The Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) is a group of college and university-based officer training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. In exchange for a paid college education and a guaranteed post-college career, cadets commit to serve in the Military after graduation.
Note: High school students interested in ROTC are encouraged to apply early for an ROTC scholarship either during the summer before or the fall of their senior year of high school.
Belmont University students may serve in ROTC through partner universities while attending classes on the campus of Belmont as a traditional student. Service branches are detailed below.
Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) Officer Education Program
Belmont students may take and receive credit for Army ROTC through Vanderbilt University. In addition, Belmont students can elect to minor in military science through the Army ROTC programs at Vanderbilt University. Students may receive the minor after earning 18 credit hours. Belmont students may elect to use the ROTC hours as elective credits rather than a minor.
The Army Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC) provides pre-commission training for college-educated men and women who desire to serve as commissioned officers in the active Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard. As the Army’s largest commissioning source, it fulfills a vital role in providing mature young men and women for leadership and management positions in an increasingly technological Army. Admission is open to both men and women who meet mental, moral, and physical qualifications.
Training goes beyond the typical college classroom and is designed to build individual confidence and self-discipline, instill values and ethics, develop leadership skills, and increase physical endurance. The course load consists of one course per semester. Graduates are commissioned as Second Lieutenants and will enter active duty within sixty days. Educational delays may be granted for graduates who desire to pursue advanced degrees prior to entry on active duty. All University students in the Nashville area may participate in the Army ROTC Program at Vanderbilt University. While Vanderbilt serves as the host University, students at partnership schools are not charged additional tuition to take Army ROTC. Grades are transferred back to Belmont University and added to the students’ transcripts.
Students can earn merit scholarships in several ways. High school seniors and graduates compete for four, and three-year national scholarships that are determinded by a national board selection process. For more information, click here.
Students not awarded a four or three year national scholarship, can enroll in ROTC and compete for an on-campus scholarship for three or two years, once they meet selection critieria. College sophomores not enrolled in military science may enter the program by attending four weeks of summer training after their sophomore year at Fort Knox, Kentucky. These students are then eligible to compete at the national level for two-year scholarships. Enlisted members of the U.S. Army are eligible for Green-to-Gold scholarships that are determined by national competition or by the commanding generals of Army divisions and corps. Enlisted members of the Army Reserve or Army National Guard or outstanding students who are interested in joining the Army Reserve or Army National Guard may be eligible for two-year scholarships. They must have successfully completed two years of college to apply.
Scholarship students receive full tuition scholarships each year, an annual $1,200 book allowance, all uniforms, and a monthly tax-free stipend of $420 for all four years while in school. All students enrolled in the Army ROTC program are provided textbooks and uniforms at no expense. Contracted non-scholarship students also receive the monthly stipend of $420 per month while in school.
Students who participate in the Army ROTC program under the provisions of cross-town agreements receive all benefits, privileges, and compete for scholarships on the same basis as full-time students enrolled at Vanderbilt University.
Belmont students not in the cadet program but making arrangements to be admitted and attend ROTC courses may declare a minor in Military Science by notifying the Belmont University Office of the Registrar or their academic advisor plus taking the following and additional six hours at Belmont: 3 additional hours in the student’s major and 3 additional hours from a course in the School of Humanities.
Summer training
The five-week leadership exercise at Fort Knox, Kentucky, is a commissioning requirement. This is normally done between the junior and senior years. Travel, room, and board are provided free, and cadets are paid approximately $700. Other training opportunities exist for qualified applicants who volunteer.
Service Obligations
After the freshman year, scholarship students incur a service obligation of four years active duty and four years in the Inactive Ready Reserve. There are also opportunities to serve all eight years in the Guard or Reserves.
For more information contact David Clifford Scholarship & Enrollment Officer, at the enrollment office at the Vanderbilt University Army ROTC department at (614) 787-3808, toll free at (1-800-2VU-ROTC). Also see www.vanderbilt.edu/army.
Naval Reserve Officer's Training Corps (NROTC)
The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) unit at Vanderbilt University conducts the Naval Officer Education program which includes a cross-town agreement with the Belmont University School of Nursing. Only students who are pursuing a degree in Nursing at Belmont are eligible for an NROTC scholarship.
Challenging academic courses and experience-building events prepare a select group of highly accomplished students for the opportunity to serve their country as Navy Nurses and receive an education. The primary focus of the NROTC Nurse program is to develop the best leaders possible by building upon the academic strength of Belmont and providing essential military and leadership education.
Students participate in the NROTC unit in the scholarship program, the college program, or the naval science program. Scholarship students take the prescribed naval science courses during their freshman and sophomore years, participate weekly in naval science lab, and engage in a four-week, summer training program after each academic year. The college program is identical to the scholarship program except for tuition financial benefit and that students only participate in summer training upon completion of their junior academic year.
Scholarship students receive tuition, fees, $375 per semester for textbooks, uniforms, and a monthly stipend beginning at $250 for freshmen and increasing to $400 for seniors. College program students are provided with uniforms, textbooks for naval science courses, and, upon commencement of their junior year, a monthly stipend of $350.
For more information on enrollment contact the Vanderbilt NROTC department (615) 322-2671, toll free at (800) 288-0118. Also see https://www.vanderbilt.edu/nrotc/.
Air Force Reserve Officer's Training (AFROTC)
Belmont University students may participate in the Air Force ROTC program in cooperation with Tennessee State University (TSU). The Air Force Reserve Officer's Training Corps (AFROTC) provides pre-commission training for college men and women who desire to serve as commissioned officers in the United States Air Force. When combined with the academic disciplines offered at the college level, the program provides the student a broad-based knowledge of management, leadership, and technical skills required for a commission and subsequent active-duty service in the Air Force. Graduates are commissioned as Second Lieutenants and will enter active duty.
The main objectives of producing officers through the AFROTC program are (1) to procure officers with a broad educational base; (2) to provide a basic military education for college students; (3) to teach fundamentals and techniques of leadership, management, and decision making; and (4) to develop, in conjunction with other academic disciplines, individual character and attributes required of a commissioned officer in the United States Air Force.
Currently there is no charge for tuition to take Air Force ROTC. The grade and credit can transfer back for graduation.
The General Military Course (GMC) is 1 credit hour and is composed of the first four semesters of aerospace studies and is for freshmen and sophomores. The Professional Officer Course (POC) is 3 credit hours and constitutes the final four semesters of AFROTC study for juniors and seniors. The Leadership Lab is also 1 credit hour. Students who participate in Air Force ROTC are jointly enrolled as a TSU student and participate in Aerospace Studies (Air Force ROTC) at TSU.
In this program students are eligible to compete for scholarships (2.5+ GPA) that cover the cost of tuition and textbooks, and provide scholarship cadets with a monthly stipend.
For more information on enrollment contact the Tennessee State University Air Force ROTC program. Call AFROTC Detachment 790, (615) 963-5931, and ask for a Cross-Town Application. Also see http://www.tnstate.edu/afrotc/join.aspx.
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