Many students in American colleges and universities who participate in the United States Air Force Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) receive an Air Force ROTC scholarship that covers all or part of their tuition, books, room and board. Scholarships for four, three, or two years are available to students majoring in any subject deemed necessary by the Air Force. There are a variety of scholarships available for high school seniors, college students, and Air Force enlisted personnel who want to attend college and earn a commission.
The United States military recruits the vast majority of its officers from the country’s civilian colleges and universities, which provide students with specialized military training while they pursue their degrees. They are commissioned as officers after graduation, either as second lieutenants in the Army, Air Force, or Marines, or as ensigns in the Navy. The Air Force ROTC scholarship program offers a variety of scholarships tailored to the needs of students and enlisted personnel applying.
Scholarships from the Air Force ROTC can be used to pay for higher education at any of the nation’s over 1000 colleges and universities. One of the differences between the Air Force ROTC scholarship program and those offered by the other services is that the Air Force offers a scholarship contingent on the applicant pursuing a specific major field of study, which the Air Force selects from a list of three submitted by the candidate.
Students who are interested in competing for an Air Force ROTC scholarship should apply early in their senior year. There are basically three scholarships available to high school seniors. The most coveted Type 1 scholarship is awarded to students pursuing one of more than a dozen technical majors, such as Aeronautical Engineering or Meteorological and Atmospheric Sciences. It covers all tuition and most fees, as well as a generous textbook allowance and a monthly stipend for living expenses. Type 2 is similar, but it caps the tuition and fees award at a dollar amount roughly equivalent to what an out-of-state student would pay at a state college or university. Type 7 is the third option, and it limits the tuition award to the amount charged to in-state students. If the school does not differentiate between in-state and out-of-state tuition, the scholarship may be converted to a three-year second-type scholarship.
Candidates for an Air Force ROTC scholarship can major in any of two dozen different foreign languages or virtually any non-technical major, such as business administration, economics, or history, in addition to technical majors. Technical majors are almost always assigned to Air Force jobs that correspond to their majors.
The In-College Scholarship Program (ICSP) is available to first-time applicants who are already in their first or second year of college, as well as to enlisted military personnel from any branch of the service who want to attend college and earn a lieutenant’s commission. The academic majors available to applicants for an Air Force ROTC scholarship are not limited.
Regardless of whether the scholarship is for two, three, or four years, all Air Force ROTC scholarship recipients agree to serve in the US Air Force as a commissioned officer for a minimum of four years after graduation. After completing their service requirements, many people pursue military careers, while others pursue other careers, often in the aerospace industry.