Classical Colleges ROTC

[Catiejoy]

Are there any Classical colleges that have ROTC programs or do most of them because they do not accept government fees- do not have ROTC programs?

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Are there any Classical colleges that have ROTC programs or do most of them because they do not accept government fees- do not have ROTC programs?

 

Well some like Hillsdale don't take government funds, but a school also has to have a ROTC unit or a cross town agreement in order for students to participate in ROTC. The thought of a school like St Johns having ROTC makes me laugh (little bit of that old croquet rivalry coming out, sorry).

 

There is a complete list of schools with Navy ROTC units here.

 

You can scan through and see if any strike you as classical. You might also look for schools that have smaller liberal arts colleges within a larger school. For example, there might be something at Miami University or Boston University that would have an emphasis on the classics.

 

There are also a couple programs that don't require students to participate in ROTC. USMC's Platoon Leaders' Class is one example. There used to be something similar for the Navy but I can't find my references to it right now.

[TravelingChris]

I am an AF wife and I have to agree with Sebastian. First of all, as she said, the classes you take in ROTC are not classical but rather practical. Secondly, at least with the AF and Navy, more and more of the ROTC scholarships are going to math/science/engineering majors.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I am an AF wife and I have to agree with Sebastian. First of all, as she said, the classes you take in ROTC are not classical but rather practical. Secondly, at least with the AF and Navy, more and more of the ROTC scholarships are going to math/science/engineering majors.

 

Well, yes and no on the STEM emphasis. There is still more than enough room in the military for liberal arts majors. I had an English degree, which I used to write lovely (and understandable) casualty reports for all of my engineering equipment as a boilers officer and damage control assistant.

 

One of my favorite naval officers (other than dh) is a friend who is a deputy commodore. He also has an English undergrad and is one of the most thoughtful officers I've encountered.

 

Adm Stravridis' book Destroyer Captain mentions prominently the books that he read on the bridgewing as a commanding officer.

 

There is demand for people in the military with STEM backgrounds, but I would argue that the military is one place that still highly values people who have learned how to think, and that liberal arts majors often fill that bill nicely. There is a lot of growth in fields like intelligence and information warfare (or in the new Information Dominance Corps). One of the cooler credentials I encountered in an officer was symantic systems which dealt with languages (both spoken and computer based) and how you organized and communicated information.

 

(BTW, I was a far better engineering watch officer than the divo with an MS in math. We used to joke that the junior sailors had to keep reminding him where his division spaces were on the ship. Could play a dozen games of chess at the same time but was also frequently very clueless and lacking in social skills.)

 

There are required courses for ROTC in science, math and military science and leadership. But that leaves lots of time for majors courses, which could be anything from electrical engineering to physics to history to English.

[LaJuana]

...a cross-town arrangement in which UD students can enroll in ROTC at University of North Texas. One of my former students is in the program now, and he really likes it a lot.

http://www.unt.edu/majors/urotc.htm