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The Basics of AFROTC at UC Berkeley
Program
Program Overview
Air Force ROTC is a four year program that consists of 16 academic credits that are all centered around leadership, management, history, current events, and Air Force operations.
When to Start
Students are encouraged to start the first semester of their Freshman year as they will have more opportunities. Specifically
- Apply for scholarships
- Boost test scores that are used for competitive AF career fields (i.e. pilot)
- Learn more about the military before a commitment is needed
The AFROTC program has strict requirements regarding graduation dates. Please refer to the below graduation requirements for joining during the Fall and Spring semesters. If your graduation date does not currently match, you are allowed to delay your graduation date to meet AFROTC program requirements (if approved by your school).
- Fall: Must have at least three years until graduation
- Spring: Must have at least 3.5 years until graduation
Service Commitment
There is no commitment for 2 years or more (until you complete field training or accept a In-college Scholarship).
Air Force ROTC provides you with many opportunities to see what the Air Force is about before signing up. And while you are learning more, you are getting college out of the way and having a lot of fun.
How the Military Service Commitments Work: They are dependent on the amount of time and resources the Air Force must devote in order to sufficiently train you. Bottom line, the service commitment will depend on the career field.
Most fields require a four-year active duty service commitment, but some specific fields require a longer commitment. For example:
- Pilots—10 years
- Combat Systems Officers—6 years
- Air Battle Management—6 years
Scholarships
Scholarships
There are two avenues to receive a college scholarship.
High School High School Scholarship Program
- Overview: Student must apply on their own. Apply Here
- Deadline: December 1st of the student’s Senior year
College
- Overview: In-college scholarships are given out to students who have academically excelled during their first few semesters in college. Students do not apply for these scholarships, rather they request their ROTC Professors to consider them for a scholarship. The Professors are then responsible for submitting only qualified applicants to the national board.
- Opportunties: There are two opportunities
- Start of second semester of Freshman year
- Start of first semester of Sophomore year
Scholarship Types
| Type | Description | Availability | Percent Awarded* |
| 1 | Pays full college tuition and most fees | – High School Students – College Students** |
5% |
| 2 | Pays tuition and most fees up to $18,000 per year | – High School Students – College Students |
15% |
| 7 | Pays full tuition and fees but the student MUST attend a college/university where he/she qualifies for the in-state tuition rate.
Type 7 scholarship may be converted to a 3-year Type 2 Scholarship if the student wishes to attend an out of state or private college/university* |
– High School Students – College Students |
80% |
*Applies only to High School Scholarship
**Rare, roughly one given per year to a student currently in college
Time Commitment and Schedule
Time Commitments
The program requires roughly 6 hours per week from our Freshmen and Sophomore cadets during the school year. The activities consist of:
- 1 hour Academic Class
- 2 hour Leadership Lab
- 3 hours of Fitness Training
Schedule (Current schedule for Freshmen)
All activities for our Freshmen and Sophomore cadets are self contained within Friday. Below is a sample schedule for our Freshmen. For an accurate schedule, please view the application page.
| Type | ID | Section | Name | Day | Start | End |
| Class | AS1A | 2 | Foundations of USAF | Friday | 10:00 AM | 11:00 AM |
| Lab | LLAB | 1 | Leadership Lab | Friday | 12:30 PM | 2:30 PM |
| PT | PT | 1 | Berkeley PT | Wednesday | 6:45 AM | 7:45 AM |
| PT | PT | 1 | Berkeley PT | Friday | 6:45 AM | 7:45 AM |
| PT | PT | 1 | Warrior Sports (Team Sports) | Friday | 3:00 PM | 4:00 PM |
Cross-town Schools
What are Cross-town Schools: These schools are universities that have formal academic agreements with UC Berkeley, but do not have their own AFROTC program.
One hundred and forty-five AFROTC Detachments service over 1,100 universities. Here, we service 29 schools.
Academic Credit for AFROTC Classes: Attend AFROTC classes and receive academic credit from UC Berkeley while a full-time student at a Cross-town School.
To see a full list of cross-town universities, click here.
Additional Websites
