Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC)

ROTC is the cornerstone of Army officer training that develops students, known as Cadets, into future officers in the U.S. Army.

Majors & Minors

Why ROTC?

Any student may participate in military-science courses without military obligation. Men and women who choose to contract in and successfully complete the program receive a commission as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, U.S. Army National Guard or U.S. Army Reserve upon graduation.

Why ROTC at Gettysburg?

Opportunities

The Dickinson Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC), locally known as The Blue Mountain Battalion, is a leadership development program deepening the liberal-arts experience at Gettysburg by cultivating the ability to organize, motivate, and lead others.

Academics

The four-year ROTC program focuses on critical thinking, principles of leadership, management, ethics, and military history.

Community of Officers and Professors

Students who complete the Advanced Course and graduate are prepared for service as commissioned officers in the active Army or part-time in the Army Reserve or Army National Guard.

A two-part program

The four-year program focuses on critical thinking, principles of leadership, management, ethics and military history. It consists of two parts:

Basic Course: Typically taken during the first and second years. Includes one class per week, physical training and a leadership lab.
Advanced Course: Typically taken during the junior and senior years. Includes two classes per week, physical training and leadership exercises over a couple weekends each semester.

The curriculum includes classroom instruction and practical exercises such as orienteering, paintball, rappelling and field training exercises. In the summer between their junior and senior years, Cadets attend a four-week Advance Camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

Entrance criteria

Any student may take Military Science classes, but in order to contract into Army ROTC, a student must be:

Enrolled full-time, working toward a bachelor’s or graduate degree
Reasonably physically fit and medically qualified
A U.S. citizen
Under age 30 at graduation

Although the program is designed to start with new first-year students each fall, it is possible to enter the program as late as fall of the junior year. Students with prior military service or those who complete a 28-day summer training camp at Fort Knox, Kentucky, may bypass the basic course-level training.

Time commitment

Cadets are expected to complete the following during the program:

Approximately five hours per week of training during the first and second years
About 10 hours per week of training for juniors and seniors
A 29-day summer training course between the junior and senior years

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