Prospective Cadets

The University of Louisville is a great school with lots of opportunities, and the Army ROTC Program is no different. Join our elite program and find out if you can become a "Symbol of Strength" for the Army. Looking for information on Army ROTC? Are you a: High School Student? College Student? National Guard Member? Army Reservist? Active Duty Soldier?

When you become a part of Army ROTC, you’re not just working toward a diploma, but an even brighter future as a leader alongside other motivated Cadets. But make no mistake, you’re a student first. You’ll have a college schedule like your fellow students, but you’ll also receive classroom and field courses that will challenge and excite you. Beyond that, you can take part in events and activities with fellow Cadets that will make your college experience even better.

Army ROTC is an elective curriculum you take along with your required college classes. It prepares you with the tools, training and experiences that will help you succeed in any competitive environment. Along with great leadership training, Army ROTC can pay for your college tuition, and provide other monetary benefits.  The best part of the ROTC program is that it allows you to have a normal college student experience like everyone else on campus, but then graduate as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

Commitments

Army ROTC students who receive an Army ROTC scholarship or enter the Army ROTC Advanced Course must agree to complete a period of service with the Army.

• You can serve full-time in the Army for three years (four years for scholarship winners).
• Selected Cadets may choose to serve part-time in the U.S. Army Reserve or Army National Guard while pursuing a civilian career.

Enrolling in the Army ROTC Basic Course does NOT involve a commitment of service to the Army unless you have received an Army ROTC scholarship. Enroll now, try it out and gain valuable tools that can propel you in civilian or military career.

Lifestyle

Our Cadets meet three times a week to conduct PT (physical training) and at least once a week for a Leadership Lab.  The PT sessions generally last an hour and work towards conditioning our Cadets physically to be leaders in the United States Army.  Leadership Labs are designed to develop Cadets into confident and competent leaders by providing education on necessary skills and placing the Cadets in leadership positions over their peers.  

Every semester there is a Leadership Training Exercise (LTX) where Cadets incorporate their knowledge and leadership skills into a cumulative event.  Between the Junior and Senior years Cadets travel to Ft. Knox Kentucky for seven weeks where they will learn valuable skills with all Cadets across the country. Summer training opportunities such as Airborne School, Air Assault School, and Cultural Understanding and Leadership Program (CULP) are available to Cadets as well.

Training Opportunities 

• Physical Readiness Training (PRT)
• Leadership Laboratories on Wed from 1500 to 1700
• Military balls, known as the Dining In and Dining Out
• Field Training Exercises (FTX)
• Combat Water Survival Training

Additionally, all Cadets attend Cadet Summer Training (CST) at Fort Knox, KY. Some Cadets will attend the Basic Leaders Course (Basic Camp) based upon their academic standing when they decide to enter the Army ROTC program. As well, all Cadets will attend the Advanced Leaders Course (Advance Camp) during the summer of their MSL III (Junior) year.

Summer Training

Over 9,000 Cadets from all over the nation fly into the heat of Kentucky to complete a thirty-one day course that will equip them for the future.

Cadet Summer Training will bring around 8,200 Cadets through Basic and Advanced Camp this summer on Fort Knox. These camps are designed to help challenge, grow and improve various skills and leadership qualities within the Cadets. If you think you have what it takes to be a Cadet or if you are interested in a job after college, stop in Dougherty Hall (RM 209).

Active Duty Green to Gold

INCENTIVES

• Soldiers selected to participate in this program will continue to receive their current pay and allowances while in the program (up to a maximum of 24 consecutive months).
• If qualified, Montgomery G.I. Bill / Army College Fund (MGIB/ACF) benefits.
• Normal PCS entitlements

CRITERIA

• U.S. Citizen (non-waiverable)
• Age - Be less than 31 years of age on 31 December of the year you complete all requirements for a commission and a college baccalaureate degree (waiverable)
• Cannot have been convicted of a Domestic Violence Crime
• Have a minimum of 2 years Active Duty as well as 3 months of active duty for every one month of specialized training (waiver can be requested)
• GT score of 110 or greater
• Pass the APFT within the last 6 months with score of 180 or higher, minimum of 60 points in each event
• Be a High School Graduate or equivalent
• Cumulative High School or College GPA of 2.5
• Letter of Acceptance to School of Choice offering Army ROTC
• Letter of Acceptance from the PMS of that Army ROTC Battalion
• Favorable National Agency Check (or have initiated the action)
• DODMERB Medical Qualification
• Be eligible to Reenlist
• Not be a conscientious objector
• No more than 3 dependents including spouse (waiverable)

Non-Scholarship Green to Gold

INCENTIVES

• A monthly stipend of up to 10 months each school year of $420 per month
• If qualified, Montgomery G.I. Bill / Army College Fund (MGIB/ACF) benefits

**Green to Gold Non-Scholarship Option members can also participate in the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP). As SMPs, Soldiers are members of either a drilling Reserve or Guard unit and the ROTC. SMPs are entitled to Reserve Component pay of E-5 under this program.

CRITERIA

• Age - Under 30 years old on 30 June of the year you commission (waivers can be granted) PMS can grant waiver up to 32 years
• For those over 32, waiver requests are forwarded to HQs, Cadet Command
• Have a favorable recommendation from Chain of Command
• Have Completed 2 years of College and be accepted as an Academic Junior
• Have a cumulative GPA of 2.0 on a 4.0 scale

On active duty and need a scholarship for school? Click to learn about the Green to Gold scholarships available.

You can be in the National Guard and be a member of the UofL ROTC program. This will entitle you to many more benefits than the Guard alone.

• 100% College Tuition Assistance
• MGIB (TAX Free) $362
• Drill pay (E5 under 2 years) $293
• SMP kicker (Tax free) $350
• ROTC stipend (Tax free) $420
• Total each month as an SMP Cadet: $1305 - $1505

You can be in the Army Reserve and be a member of the UofL ROTC program. This will entitle you to many more benefits than the Reserves alone.

• $4500 a year in Tuition Assistance
• MGIB (Tax free) $362
• Drill pay (E5 under 2 years) $293
• SMP kicker (Tax free) $350
• ROTC stipend (Tax free) $420
• Total each month as an SMP Cadet: $1305 - $1505

Already in the Guard or Reserve and need a scholarship? Click to learn about Reserve Forces scholarships

For more information contact us here: army@louisville.edu

The Cadet Basic Camp, or BC, is the premier leadership program of its kind in the United States. An intense four-week introduction to Army life and leadership training of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, the aim of the course is to motivate and qualify Cadets for entry into the Senior ROTC program.

BC is designed for college students who wish to enter ROTC and are 2 to 2.5 years from graduation. Upon successful completion of the course, graduates can take part in ROTC at their college as a third-year student in the four-year program.

While attending BC at Fort Knox, Ky., Cadets gain an experience that runs the gamut of Army life and the responsibilities of being an officer. The course instills confidence and decision-making abilities to become a leader, in the Army and in life.

Cadets spend their first few days learning Army basics under the tutelage of drill sergeants. They also take their first Army Physical Fitness Test, which consists of sit-ups, push-ups and a two-mile run.

Each Cadet takes on a leadership role among his or her peers while at BC. Senior officers and newly commissioned second lieutenants coach and mentor Cadets throughout the process, offering daily feedback and recommendations for improvement. As BC progresses, Cadets’ leadership responsibilities grow as they lead peers through simulated combat scenarios using paintball guns in a field training exercise and on urban-based squad tactics missions.

Personal strength to overcome fears is also part of the confidence-building aspect of training. Fear of heights is confronted on the high-ropes course and at the top of the 31-foot rappel tower. Fear of swimming is tackled during combat water survival training, where Cadets jump blindfolded off a 3-meter high dive while holding a rifle over their heads.

The four weeks of BC are mentally grueling and physically taxing. But the reward of graduation and meeting ROTC standards is the opportunity to enroll in the world’s greatest leadership program and to receive college tuition assistance.

• From BC, a Cadet can qualify for a 2 ½ or 2-yr scholarship
• Scholarship criteria to qualify is the same as a campus-based scholarship
• In some states, BC can be counted in lieu of Basic Training and AIT for the SMP program

For more information contact us here: army@louisville.edu

Alternate Entry Option

• Participation in the Alternate Entry Option (AEO) program. AEO allows students to ease into the program by taking their senior ROTC curriculum in the first year, then attending CIET their first summer in the program. CIET is followed by the final year in the program in which Cadets complete their junior level ROTC curriculum followed by the Cadet Leadership Course (CLC) at Fort Knox, KY.
• Under the AEO option, Cadets cannot receive a 2yr full tuition scholarship and will fall under the non-scholarship category for incentives.

Accelerated Cadet Commissioning Training (ACCT)

• The ACCT Program is available to students without any prior military experience, who demonstrate exceptional skills as Scholars-Athletes-Leaders (SAL). These candidates can complete an accelerated commissioning program in two years or six quarters while earning their undergraduate or graduate degrees. These students will satisfy basic course requirements through an accelerated training program, attend the Cadet Leadership Course (CLC) the summer between the junior and senior year normally, and be academically aligned and graduate. Typically an ACCT candidate will come from the population of current progressing sophomores, incoming community college students, transfers from other universities, and graduate students.
• Once the accelerated program is completed, the student will be eligible for a 2-yr Army ROTC scholarship
• This program should be used if the student, for whatever reason, did not/could not attend CIET.
• It is critical that ACCT prospects be academically aligned. Candidates who clearly cannot graduate on time will not be considered for ACCT, but may be better served to enter the program as three-year Cadets. It is not the intent of the program to create a large population of completion Cadets.
• The Region Commander will review and approve individual ACCT prospect packets. Packets will consist of a recommendation by the PMS that addresses the applicant’s SAL potential, academic alignment, transcript, and CC Form 104-R (Academic Planning Worksheet).
• Students chosen as ACCT participants are granted placement credit for the basic course and enter ROTC as MSL III Cadets. Thus, their commissioning sequence will be: MSL III, CLC, MSL IV, and commissioning. ACCT participants, in turn, are required to complete an early train-up period of critical tasks that must be mastered prior to integration into the Cadet battalion. Participants will be listed as “conditional” until this training is complete. If, for some reason, candidates cannot fulfill the train-up requirements, they will not be approved for ACCT.
• The required training must be completed within the first two weeks of the quarter, or earlier. The purpose of this training is to ease the transition of ACCT participants into the battalion by enabling them to acquire knowledge and skills that existing Cadets have already mastered. This training will help ACCT Cadets avoid the embarrassment and awkwardness that might otherwise accompany entering ROTC and assuming a leadership role as an MSL III Cadet. The training is not aimed at teaching ACCT participants all the tasks that are taught in the Basic Course. The estimated time to complete the training is 15-20 hours.
• The PMS will assign an MSL IV Cadet to sponsor/mentor each ACCT participant. The responsibilities of the sponsor/mentor are to expand and reinforce the initial training and provide an available, familiar source of information to the ACCT participant. The MSL III instructor and the MSL IV mentor are responsible for training the ACCT participant.
• Following are eight critical training tasks for all ACCT participants. Further details will be explained by a member of the AROTC Cadre and/or staff: The training subjects or tasks are shown below:
  • Structure and functioning of the ROTC Battalion
  • Introduction to the Leader Development Program (LDP)
  • Basic ethics, values, and respectful treatment of others
  • Army customs and courtesies
  • Wear of the uniform
  • Fundamentals of map reading and use of a compass
  • Drill and Ceremonies
  • Physical fitness training
• CLC will serve as the filter for this program. ACCT Cadets’ performance at CLC will determine necessary changes to the critical task list, training methods, training time, and/or additional training tasks.

If you are on Army ROTC scholarship and are using it to pay for your tuition & fees and you wish to request housing and subsistence funds from the Army ROTC program, you must follow the instruction document for Army ROTC Housing & Subsistence Scholarship Policy & Procedures.

If you plan to request housing and subsistence funds for the Spring semester, your completed request must be submitted by 15 Oct and if you plan on requesting housing and subsistence funds for next fall semester, your completed request must be submitted by 15 April. The complete request consist of:

1. Copy of your lease for the requested semester to Campus or Campus Affiliated Housing
2. Cadet Scholarship Request Form for Housing and Subsistence
3. Scholarship Benefit Election Memorandum

Army ROTC Living Learning Community

In partnership with Army ROTC, the Army ROTC LLC brings together students wishing to pursue a career in the Army as an officer in a dynamic and engaging environment. This residential community offers Army ROTC Cadets an opportunity to live with other Cadets to build stronger unit cohesion.

To learn more and apply for the Army ROTC LLC, please visit this link: http://louisville.edu/housing/options/llc/army-rotc