Reserve Officer Training Corps
The Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a training function of the United States Armed Forces present on college campuses for the recruitment and education of commissioned officers. It is designed as a college elective, and studies focus on leadership development, problem solving, strategic planning, and professional ethics.
ROTC produces 60% of all officers in the Armed Forces, and 75% of U.S. Army officers.
Each of the services offer competitive, merit-based scholarships to ROTC students, often covering full tuition costs for college.
Army and Air Force ROTC students are referred to as Cadets, while Navy ROTC students are known as Midshipmen. Marine officer candidates commission through the Navy ROTC program.
Concerted efforts are being made at some Ivy League universities that have previously banned ROTC, including Harvard and Columbia, to return ROTC to campus. The program was expelled from many colleges and universities during the Vietnam War.
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