Military Science

The Department of Military Science, established in 1919, conducts the Army Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program at Lehigh University. This is one of the oldest ROTC programs in the nation. The Army ROTC program provides a means for students to qualify for a commission as an officer in the Active Army, Army Reserve, or Army National Guard.

OVERVIEW

The objectives of the military science program are to develop leadership and management ability in each student; to provide a basic understanding of the Army’s history, philosophy, organization, responsibilities, and role in American society; and to develop fundamental professional knowledge and skills associated with officership. These objectives are achieved through classroom instruction, leadership laboratories, realistic training scenarios, exposure to Army doctrine, professional development, leadership simulations, and individual assessment and counseling. Army ROTC offers a four-year program and a two-year program. The four-year program consists of a two-year basic course and a two-year advanced course. The two-year program consists of the two-year advanced course offered to students with previous military experience, and those who have successfully completed the four-week ROTC  Cadet Initial Entry Training.  Basic course students incur no obligation for service in the Army as a result of taking these courses.

Basic Course

The basic course, normally taken in the freshman and sophomore years, provides training and instruction in leadership, public speaking, and basic military subjects, such as the Army’s role and organizational structure, history and philosophy of the Army, basic tactics, land navigation, first aid, group dynamics, and leadership traits and characteristics. Basic course students incur no military obligation and is only available to freshman and sophomore students.

Advanced Course

The advanced course is normally taken in the junior and senior years. The instruction includes management, military skills, advanced leadership and tactics, logistics, administration, military law, ethics, and professionalism, and includes attendance at the ROTC Cadet Leadership Course (CLC). Students receive subsistence pay during their junior and senior years.

To enroll in the advanced course, an applicant must complete either the basic course or the four-week Cadet Initial Entry Training (CIET); or have received basic course credit for previous military experience.

Note: The Advanced course is a requirement for Scholarship and contracted cadets only and is not offered to participating students.

Uniforms and Equipment

Uniforms are provided to contracted and scholarship cadets only. In the event of lost equipment or uniforms, students will be charged for those items not returned upon leaving the program.

Transfers

Qualified students transferring from another institution may enter the ROTC program at the appropriate level and year, provided they have received the necessary credits, the recommendation of their former professor of military science (if applicable), and the approval of Cadet Command and the university. Please contact the ROTC office for details.

Obligation after Graduation

Upon graduation, a student will receive a commission as a Second Lieutenant in either the Active Army, Army Reserves, or National Guard. If offered active duty, scholarship students serve at least four years of active duty and four years of inactive ready reserve. If offered reserve duty, students normally serve eight years in a Reserve or National Guard unit.

Graduate Studies

ROTC graduates may request to delay their active service to pursue a full-time course of instruction leading to an advanced degree. The only four major areas of concentration are medical school, law school, veterinary school, and seminary. Delay does not lengthen the active service obligation unless the degree is obtained at government expense.

Course Credit

Students in the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business may substitute military science advanced credits for six hours of electives. In the College of Engineering and Applied Science, six credits of advanced ROTC work are permissible within the normal program of each student, irrespective of curriculum. For curricula that include more than six hours of personal electives in the junior and senior years, inclusion of the more than six hours of ROTC credit with normal programs can be effected only with the approval of academic advisers. All military science credits, including those in the basic course, apply toward the student’s overall cumulative grade point average.

Career Opportunities

Individuals are commissioned as officers in the United States Army after completion of the ROTC program including the Cadet Leadership Course (CLC), and the completion of their bachelors degree requirements. They then qualify in one of seventeen branches (specialties) such as the Corps of Engineers, Infantry, Armor, Aviation, Field Artillery, Air Defense Artillery, Signal Corps, Cyber Corps, Military Intelligence, Chemical Corps, Ordnance Corps, Finance, Transportation, Military Police, Adjutant General, Quartermaster, Medical Service Corps, or Nursing. Officers work as leaders/managers, specialists, or combinations of the two depending on the assignment.

Programs and Opportunities

ROTC Scholarship Program

This program offers an incredible financial benefit for outstanding young men and women in the ROTC program who are interested in a career as an Army Officer. Scholarships provide full annual tuition, a textbook allowance, and common fees; in addition students receive subsistence pay for the period the scholarship is in effect. Lehigh University also contributes a room and board scholarship for each semester the ROTC scholarship is in effect. Any enrolled Cadet with an established college GPA can compete for an Army ROTC scholarship within the Steel Battalion. 

Four-year scholarships are open to all eligible high school seniors. Rising seniors may apply for the scholarship at  https://www.goarmy.com/rotc/high-school-students/four-year-scholarship.html. 

Two-Year Program

Students who want to enroll in ROTC after their sophomore year may apply. Applicants must successfully complete a four-week Cadet Initial Entry Training (CIET) and have two years of undergraduate or graduate studies remaining. The student is paid for the four-week encampment and receives transportation costs to and from the camp. Additional scholarships may be available upon completion of basic camp (CIET).

Physical Facilities

Army ROTC uses areas on and adjacent to the university campus to conduct field training. These locations are excellent for most outdoor activities such as orienteering, patrolling, and survival training. Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation, located east of Harrisburg, PA, and Fort Dix, NJ, located east of Philadelphia, PA, are used for various weekend field exercises which allow cadets to apply the classroom leadership and Army doctrine in a training environment.

Off-campus U.S. Army Training Schools

Cadets may be selected to attend the following U.S. Army Schools: Airborne School (Fort Benning, Georgia), Air Assault School (Fort Campbell, Kentucky), Mountain Warfare School (Ethan Allen Training Center, Vermont), and Northern Warfare School (Fort Greely, Alaska) Combat Diver Qualification Course (Key West, Florida), Sapper Leader Course (Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri). This off-campus program is fully funded by the U.S. Army. Many other installations throughout the world may be visited through the Cadet Troop Leader Training program. Nursing students may choose to attend the Nurse Summer Training Program at Army hospitals located throughout the United States.

Commissioning Requirements

Individuals must complete either the two- or four-year programs, attend CLC, receive a college degree, have a cumulative GPA of 2.0, and complete all professional military education requirements to become commissioned officers in the United States Army.

Course Descriptions

Leadership Laboratory is conducted for all students once a week for 60 to 90 minutes. The Leadership Laboratory provides a forum for cadets to exercise their leadership skills amongst their peers.

Instruction at several levels on a variety of subjects with military application provides the context within which students are furnished opportunities to both teach and lead in a group setting. Responsibility is expanded as the student progresses through the program. In the senior year, the students assume the responsibility for the planning, preparation and conduct of the laboratory. Leadership Laboratory is mandatory for all students enrolled in military science courses.

CADET LEADERSHIP COURSE

This is a four-week training program normally conducted at Fort Knox, KY . Prerequisites are:

1. The completion of the basic 100 and 200 level military science courses or the equivalent which is the completion of the Cadet Initial Entry Training (CIET).
2. Scholarship/contracted cadets must have completed all level courses up to and including the 300 level military science courses.