SJSU Home>Info.sjsu.edu>SJSU Catalog>Departments>Aerospace Studies Department (Air Force ROTC)>Introduction
Aerospace Studies Department (Air Force ROTC)
San José State University supports a wing of Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) with cadets from San José State University, Santa Clara University, Stanford University and many local community colleges. The Air Force ROTC program provides instruction in leadership, management, and national security studies along with military education and training. This program prepares the cadet for assignment to positions of responsibility and importance in the modern Air Force. Instruction is conducted on and off campus. This program offers all eligible SJSU students the opportunity to obtain an officer's commission in the United States Air Force while earning their college degrees.
Our faculty brings a wealth of experience and diversity to the program. Instructors are active duty Air Force officers from various career areas and provide students with a first rate academic education and military training experience. Each faculty member also acts as a student advisor to guide students through the program and help them reach the goal of an officer's commission in the United States Air Force.
College students wishing to commission as an Air Force officer through ROTC may enroll in a three, three-and-a-half, or four-year program. Students attend Air Force ROTC classes along with other college courses and receive elective academic credit.
After successfully completing all requirements, the cadets are commissioned as Air Force officers with a minimum four-year active duty service commitment.
Four-Year Program
The first two years of the Air Force ROTC four-year program, the General Military Course (GMC), consist of 1 hour of classroom work, two hours of leadership laboratory, and a minimum of two hours of physical conditioning each week. Upon completion of GMC requirements, cadets who wish to compete for entry into the last two years of the program, the Professional Officer Course (POC), must do so under the requirements of the POC selection system. This system uses qualitative factors, such as grade-point average, unit commander's evaluation, aptitude test scores and physical fitness test scores to determine a student's officer potential. After selection, students must successfully complete a four-week summer field training program at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, AL before entering the POC.
In the POC, cadets attend class three hours a week, participate in a weekly leadership laboratory lasting two hours, and perform a minimum of two hours of physical conditioning per week. Cadets apply what they have learned in the GMC and at field training. POC cadets conduct the leadership laboratories and manage the unit's cadet corps. Each unit has a cadet corps based on the Air Force organizational pattern of flight, squadron, group, and wing. POC classes are small, with emphasis on group discussions and cadet presentations. Classroom topics include leadership, communication skills and national defense policy. Once enrolled in the POC, all cadets enlist in the Air Force Reserve and assigned to the Obligated Reserve Section.
Current emphasis in the Air Force ROTC College Scholarship Program is to award scholarships to candidates pursuing undergraduate engineering or other scientific and technical disciplines. More than half of Air Force ROTC scholarships are awarded to students in these disciplines. Additionally, scholarships are available for foreign language majors; contact the Aerospace Studies department for more information regarding which foreign languages majors are eligible. Students in every degree program may enjoy scholarship opportunities, as the Air Force seeks to engage students who excel both academically and militarily.
Air Force ROTC offers several types of scholarships, awarded in increments of two, three, and four years. All types of awards provide an allowance for books, most required fees and a monthly nontaxable stipend. All scholarship cadets are required to meet certain academic, military, and physical fitness standards to earn and maintain scholarship benefits.
Field Training
Field Training, in many cases, is a cadet's first exposure to a working Air Force environment and the Aerospace Expeditionary Force (AEF) concept. The program develops military leadership and discipline, and provides Air Force officer familiarization, orientation and motivation. At the same time, the Air Force can evaluate each cadet's potential as an officer and entry into the POC.
Field training provides Air Force leadership opportunities, professional development, marksmanship training, team building, physical fitness, and AEF orientation. Lodging, meals and transportation (from the cadet's home of record or school) are provided at no cost.
Medical Professions
Nursing majors may apply for an AFROTC scholarship and graduates agree to accept a commission in the Air Force Nurse Corps and serve four years on active duty after successfully completing their licensing examination. Cadet premedical scholarship recipients who are accepted to medical school within one year of graduating may be sponsored in their pursuit of medical degrees.
Both first-year and second-year law students can apply for ROTC scholarships. Students complete either a one-year or a two-year ROTC program while attending law school.
Additionally, second-year law students can pursue an Air Force commission through Air Force ROTC's graduate law program. This program guarantees judge advocate duty after a student completes all Air Force ROTC, law school, and bar requirements. After graduating from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, the student must be admitted to practice law before the highest state court of any state or a federal court. The new lawyer is then commissioned into the Air Force in the grade determined by the laws and directives in effect at the time of call to active duty.
Aerospace Studies Minor
All undergraduate students are eligible for the minor in aerospace studies. Those wishing a career as an Air Force officer after graduation should contact the Department of Aerospace Studies.
San José State UniversityOne Washington SquareSan José, CA 95192