Frequently Asked Questions

No. You must be a student at BU, BC or NEU to be part of the NROTC program. The MIT NROTC Unit has agreements with Harvard and Tufts. If you are at a community college, you can apply for the 2-Year NROTC Scholarship by February 15 of your sophomore year. You must also apply and get accepted to one of the aforementioned universities. Until you are enrolled in one of those five institutions, you cannot participate in the NROTC program.

You will not receive a NROTC scholarship unless you are found physically qualified for the NROTC program. It is imperative that you are physically and medically qualified before the beginning of classes. If you are attempting to gain a waiver for some disqualifying physical condition and you start classes at the university, you will be responsible for payment of tuition, fees and books for that semester. If you are later found physically qualified for a NROTC scholarship during that same semester (i.e. your waiver is granted), your tuition, fees and book expenses can be reimbursed (case by case basis). If you are found not physically qualified for the NROTC program, tuition, fees and book expenses will not be reimbursed. If you are not sure if you are physically qualified or if you need information on how to get a waiver, please contact NSTC or the recruiter who helped process your application.

If you don’t earn a scholarship by the end of your sophomore year, you automatically apply for Advanced Standing. If accepted, the Midshipman with a stipend every month during the school year for the remaining two years. Upon graduation, the Advanced Standing Midshipman receives the same commission as the Scholarship Midshipman. If the Midshipman has not been granted Advanced Standing by the beginning of the junior year, he or she will be disenrolled from the NROTC program.

Navy Option scholarship students who commission as Surface Warfare Officers, Submarine Officers, Special Warfare Officers, Explosive Ordinance Disposal Officers, and Nurse Corps Officers are obligated to serve 5 years of active duty service along with 3 years of inactive reserve service. Navy Option scholarship students serving as Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers are obligated to 8 and 6 years respectively of active duty service after receiving their wings of gold. Marine Option Scholarship students are obligated to 4 years of active duty service.

Boston NROTC Parent Handbook

College Program midshipmen are obligated to serve 5 years of active duty service along with 3 years of inactive reserve service. The length of active duty is extended to 6 years for Naval Flight Officers and 8 years for Pilots upon receiving wings.

The scholarship covers full tuition at one of our universities for two or four years, depending on when the student applies for a scholarship. Additionally, each scholarship student receives educational fees, uniforms, a book allowance, and a monthly subsistence stipend. NROTC pays for scholarship students’ freshman year transportation from home to school, alongside all transportation expenses to and from summer training.

No, the NROTC Scholarship does not pay for room and board. However, Boston University does offer a grant to qualified students that covers the full cost of room and board, if the student is attending BU on a NROTC scholarship. Boston College provides all midshipmen a meal plan and often provides senior year housing free of expense. All housing arrangements are made through the university, not through the NROTC unit.

Midshipmen are required to take one Naval Science class each semester for four years. These classes provide instruction on the history of the Navy to shipboard operations and engineering. Students are also required to attend a Leadership Laboratory in uniform every Wednesday morning, alongside physical training (PT) 1-3 times a week. If students are on scholarship, they are required to attend approximately one month of summer training for three consecutive summers.

Throughout a midshipman’s time in college, a number of “cruises” will be offered and/or required. The initial training, known as New Student Indoctrination (NSI), occurs prior to freshman year. This program, conducted at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois, provides foundational training for incoming midshipmen.

During the summer between freshman and sophomore year, scholarship midshipmen attend Career Orientation and Training for Midshipmen (CORTRAMID).  During CORTRAMID, students are familiarized with the various communities of the Navy and Marine Corps. One week is dedicated to the exploration of each community: surface warfare, submarines, aviation, and the Marine Corps. Depending on availability, Midshipmen may attend CORTRAMID either in San Diego, CA, or Norfolk, VA.

A scohlarship midshipman’s second class cruise occurs between their sophomore and junior years. For Navy options, the second class cruise will give midshipmen exposure to the enlisted community. While underway on a surface ship or submarine, the Midshipmen will be assigned a highly motivated enlisted “running mate” while performing duties at sea.  Marine midshipmen attend Fleet Marine Force (FMF), during which they are further exposed to the active duty Marine Corps. Midshipmen may also attend other summer programs during this timeframe, most notably ProjectGO: a program in which qualified ROTC students travel to partner countries to study languages of strategic significance.

First class cruises occur during the summer before a midshipman’s senior year. The first class cruise is designed to provide the Midshipman with exposure to their service communities of interest. On board submarines and surface cruises, Midshipmen are assigned a junior officer “running mate.” On aviation cruises, midshipmen are assigned to aviation squadrons. Candidates for special operations communities (SEAL/EOD) attend intensive screening processes. Limited opportunites exist for other cruises, such as a Foreign Exchange (FOREX) cruise with allied navies abroad. Marine option midshipmen attend Marine Officer Candidate School, a rigorous assessment of their physical, mental, and leadership potential. Upon graduation from OCS, candidates earn their Eagle, Globe, and Anchor (EGA) and their titles as United States Marines.

Nurse option Midshipmen are required to attend NSI. However, the rest of their cruises will be different, offering exposure to the nursing and medical communities of the fleet.

Scholarship and College Program Midshipman must maintain a 2.5 Grade Point Average on a 4.0 scale, have no failing grades in any subject required for their major or commissioning, progress on a prescribed timeline for graduation, and have a full academic load every semester (15-18 units).

Yes and no.  Marine Option Midshipmen attend all Battalion drills and functions. However, they are not required to take all of the classes that Navy Option Midshipmen are required to take.  Roughly 1/6 of the NROTC Program is Marine Options. Marine Option Midshipmen compete and are ranked against their fellow Marine Option Midshipmen. There is a Marine Officer Instructor (MOI) and an enlisted Assistant Marine Officer Instructor (AMOI) at the NROTC Unit that oversee all the Marine Options. Marine Option Midshipmen that are on scholarship are required to attend summer training; College Programmers do not. The first Marine summer training is identical to Navy Option Midshipmen; they are required to attend Cortramid. Between the Marine Options’ junior and senior year, he or she is required to attend Officer Candidate School. After commissioning, all Marines must attend The Basic School (TBS) regardless of their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS).

Yes, the Marine and Navy Scholarship process is different. However, some Midshipmen are allowed to transfer between Navy and Marine options if they so desire while they are in NROTC. College Program Midshipmen are also allowed to be Marine Options and work for a Marine Scholarship. College Program Marine Option Midshipmen must earn a scholarship by the end of their sophomore years in order not to be disenrolled. If the Marine Option Midshipman earns a scholarship, he or she is required to serve 4 years of active duty.

Registration will be handled by our office after you report to the unit.

Absolutely. If a student hasn’t been granted a scholarship, he or she can join the NROTC college program, and will be required to do everything a scholarship student does. College program students (students that don’t have scholarships) do not go on summer training. By demonstrating their motivation by joining the NROTC program without any guarantees, College Program students have improved chances of picking up a scholarship. The College Program students are reviewed for scholarship selection twice a year. Selection is based upon the student’s grades and overall aptitude in the program.

Yes. You can join NROTC with any undergraduate major at Northeastern University!