Aerospace Studies
Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is a program that prepares you to become an Air Force or Space Force Officer. It's a challenge. It's an opportunity. It's a head start on a lifetime of success within the Air Force or Space Force and everything you choose to do. AFROTC provides you with a challenging program to hone your time management, physical fitness and analytical skills - and helps you push yourself to achieve your goals.
What is the Purpose of Air Force ROTC?
The AFROTC (Aerospace Studies) mission is to commission second lieutenants through the campus program offered at NDSU. Also, Aerospace Studies offers this program for students at Concordia College, Mayville State University, Minnesota State University Moorhead, University of Minnesota Crookston, University of North Dakota, Park University and students at the Grand Forks Air Force Base. Students enrolled in AFROTC earn college credits that can be used to fulfill elective requirements or to obtain a minor in Aerospace Studies. All full-time students (including graduate students) can pursue an Air Force or Space Force commission.
What is an Air Force or Space Force Commission?
An Air Force or Space Force commission is your ticket to work in top professional and management jobs in the United States Air Force or Space Force. Only college graduates can obtain an Air Force or Space Force commission, which is granted by the President of the United States.
Are You Interested in Flying?
The Air Force owns the most modern aircraft in the world. Those who meet the demanding physical, medical and academic qualifications are selected as pilot candidates and will attend Air Force pilot training at their first active duty assignment.
Are You Interested in Space?
The Space Force controls a vast assortment of satellites and other ground based architecture to meet the demanding requirements of space based systems. Those who meet the physical, medical and academic qualifications are selected as Guardians and will attend their respective space force training at their first active duty assignment.
Does a Technical or Management Career Interest You?
AFROTC graduates have opportunities in more than 250 specialized fields in which their education and training can be utilized. These specialties include physicists, space scientists, journalists, doctors, dentists, meteorologists, engineers, security and intelligence specialists, nurses and many others.
The General Military Course
The first two years of this four-year program begins with the General Military Course (GMC). It takes a time commitment of about five to six hours a week. Here, you'll learn the mission and structure of the Air Force and Space Force and take a look at what military life is like. You will study the strategies, doctrine and missions of aerospace power from early ballooning to today's use of space vehicles. You will learn about Air Force and Space Force career opportunities, educational benefits and the life and work of an Air Force or Space Force officer.
The Professional Officer Course
The Professional Officer Course (POC) is the second half of our four-year program and is taken during your junior and senior years. You will begin this course with an in-depth look at leadership styles and their applications. You will examine a broad range of American domestic and international military relationships and the environmental context in which American national security policy is developed and carried out. This class, combined with Leadership Laboratory, is where your leadership and management theories are applied. This is a competitive course and not all cadets who apply get in. Your performance during the GMC program is the driving factor of your selection into the POC program.
Scholarship Money?
AFROTC college scholarships are awarded to the best-qualified students and range in length from one to five years. These grants cover the cadet’s tuition, incidental lab fees and up to $900 a year for textbooks. In addition, cadets receive a tiered monthly allowance. For example, cadets enrolled in the Professional Officer Corps (POC) receive $450 per month during their junior academic year and $500 per month during their senior academic year.
Obligation?
If you are not on an AFROTC scholarship, you incur no obligation to the Air Force or Space Force during your freshman and sophomore years of school. You are able to keep all your options open while you take an in-depth look at the Air Force and Space Force and the opportunities they have to offer. The length of your commitment upon graduation is dependent on the career you pick when entering active duty. Those service obligations are typically 4 years for non-flying officers and longer for those who chose to serve in an aircrew career field.
Guaranteed Job/Salary/Benefits
Students who successfully commission into the Air Force or Space Force can expect the following as soon as they enter the Active Duty work force:
- Highly competitive salary, starting at $55,000/year with guaranteed raises every two years
- Tax-free housing and food allowance
- 30 days of paid vacation a year
- unlimited, full pay sick leave
- full medical, dental and vision coverage at no cost
- competitive retirement package
For more information on Air Force ROTC admission requirements and career opportunities, please contact the Unit Admissions Officer at 701-231-8186.