TAMIU Army ROTC

Considering College? Prior Service Has Advantages with Army ROTC.  

The Program

Army ROTC is traditionally a four-year program, which is divided into two parts: a Basic Course and an Advanced Course. The Basic Course is normally taken in the freshman and sophomore years. The Advanced Course is usually taken during the final two years of college and includes an Advanced Camp that is normally attended in the summer between the junior and senior years.

Credit for Military Service

If you have attended and completed basic training for any military branch, you are eligible to bypass the first 2 years of the ROTC curriculum and enroll as a Junior Cadet. As such, you would need to complete 4 semesters of ROTC in addition to attending Advanced Camp in the summer between your Junior and Senior years. This timeline is also applicable to students completing a master's degree. 

Financial Help During College

You may be eligible to compete for an ROTC scholarship while you're in college. The scholarship pays for tuition and on-campus educational fees, which are required of all students, and provides a fixed amount for books, supplies, and equipment. It also provides up to an additional $3,000 to $5,000 each year the scholarship is in effect. Even if you don't earn a scholarship, you will still receive the allowance for each year of the Advanced Course, along with your uniforms and military science textbooks and materials. Plus, all cadets are paid for attending Advanced Camp. And, if eligible, you may also collect any VA benefits to which you would normally be entitled.

Age at Commissioning

To be awarded an ROTC scholarship, you must be under 27 years of age on June 30 of the year you expect to graduate and receive your Officer's commission. However, as a veteran, you may receive up to three years extension for your past military service.
If you do not earn a ROTC scholarship, you must be younger than 30 years of age at the time you are commissioned. Requests for a waiver of age may be considered on an individual basis.

Join ROTC and the Guard or Reserve While You're in College

You may be able to take advantage of a program that allows you to participate in ROTC and enlist in the Army National Guard or Army Reserve at the same time, provided a vacancy exists in either a Guard or Reserve unit. It's called the Simultaneous Membership Program (SMP), and it means that while you're still in college you can be gaining valuable experience and earning extra income. Under the SMP, you will be paid at the rate of at least a Sergeant (E-5) for your Guard or Reserve service, and you'll receive the ROTC Advanced Course allowance as well.
You'll serve as an officer trainee in a Guard or Reserve unit and perform duties commensurate with the grade of second lieutenant. And once you graduate and are commissioned, you may continue your military service with your unit or apply for active duty in the U.S. Army.

Military Service Obligation

Following graduation, ROTC cadets are required to serve in the active Army, Army National Guard or Army Reserve.

All scholarship students will be required to serve in the military for a period of eight years. This obligation may be fulfilled by serving two to four years on active duty, followed by four to six years' service as citizen soldiers in the Army National Guard (ARNG) or U.S. Army Reserve (USAR), or by serving eight years in the ARNG or USAR preceded by a period necessary to complete the active component resident Basic Officer Leadership Course (BOLC).

Non-scholarship graduates may serve three years on active duty and five years as citizen soldiers, or they may select or be selected to fulfill their total military obligation as citizen soldiers. If Reserve Forces Duty is selected, graduates will serve a period of active duty necessary to complete the active component resident BOLC, and spend the remainder of the eight-year obligation in the ARNG or USAR.

Find Out More!

Army ROTC is a good deal for anybody. It's an even better deal for veterans like you, because Army ROTC helps you apply what you've learned to new situations as you train for a leadership role. You'll receive an Officer's commission and, when you return to active duty, your previous active duty enlisted time will count toward both longevity pay and retirement.

Contact the Office of Veteran Affairs at (956) 326-2254.

Veteran Affairs
Office of the University Registrar
Zaffirini Success Center 121K
Ph. (956) 326-2254
Fax: (956) 326-2249