Introduction
When I applied for a NROTC scholarship in high school, I didn’t put much thought into how selecting my major would affect my competitiveness for selection or even my eligibility for certain branches of the U.S military. When I did my own research, I didn’t find a lot of helpful information so I’m writing this today to let you know everything there is about this subject. See my contact info at the end of this article for more.
But can you take any major in Navy ROTC?
You can apply for any branch in ROTC with any declared major. However, your chances of picking up a scholarship will be higher if you have a major on the tier list as some are more desirable depending on the military branch or also known as the Highly Desired Majors List.
Navy ROTC majors a Explained
When I was applying for the Navy ROTC program, I initially declared my major as computer science. If you take a look at the tier list below, you’ll find that most majors the Navy desires are in the field of math, science, or oceanography.
Highly Desired Majors Examples (many more exist if you click the link below)
| Navy | Air Force | Army |
| Aerospace Aeronautical Astronautical Engineering Chemical Engineering Electrical Engineering Mechanical Engineering Naval Architecture & Marine/Naval Engineering Nuclear Engineering Ocean Engineering Systems Engineering | Aeronautical Engineering Aerospace Engineering Agricultural Engineering Analysis and Functional Analysis Architectural Engineering Architecture Artificial Intelligence Astronautical Engineering Astronomy Biochemistry Engineering Biological Engineering | Criminal justice Engineering Computer Science Nursing Education Cyber Security Business Social Work Psychology Information Technology |
Important note: The Marine Corps will let you study anything you want, literally anything. They value you having a degree in some field and that you maintain a good GPA. My major was Geography and I switched to that from computer science once I got the scholarship. For more information specific to Marine ROTC, check out this article.
A good officer recruiter will encourage you to pick some thing on the tier 1 or tier 2 less, but preferably the tier 1 category. The Navy puts a high emphasis on these fields of study because it actually does relate to concepts will be expected to understand while on a ship or a submarine.
Marine ROTC Majors Explained
I personally think the Marine Corps is the best branch to do ROTC in. To further clarify, marine ROTC is really just Navy ROTC except you take different Naval science classes and training to go to OCS this summer after your junior year. The Marine Corps doesn’t have a preference to what major you study, they only care that you graduate with a decent GPA and get a bachelors degree. This means you can choose as challenging or easy of a major as you want. The Marines in my unit all study things like archaeology, Business, philosophy, political science, and history to name a few. When I went through the marine ROTC program, I changed my major from computer science to geography and geo spatial intelligence.
Important note: as a marine Option Inn the All NROTC program, it’s awesome to be able to study anything you want. However, you will also spend a big chunk of your time training and preparing for Officer candidate school, which is Officer Boot Camp. Oh you will also go to summer training exercises every summer that range from 2 to 4 weeks. It could be difficult to take summer classes as a Marine Option because of these summer trainings as well as OCS taking up a big portion of your junior year summer.
Army and Air Force Majors Explained
Army ROTC is definitely one of the more accepting branches and they do not have a specifically defined major list. What I do know is that they also have a lot more funding than the Marines and Navy ROTC program, which means you can take supplemental summer classes that are also covered by tuition. It is also not uncommon for cadets to double major while they are in this program and receive full coverage for both majors.
Changing your major is also not difficult in this program. I knew a couple guys in this branch that changed even up to the end of their sophomore year because they wanted to study some thing else. As long as you maintain a GPA based on the standard the command has said, and then you are in good light.
If you are seriously considering applying for a flight contract in the Air Force, it is discouraged if you change your major at any point in the process. In addition to studying something on there desired tier list, you will also make yourself competitive by acquiring your pilots license while in college. The Air Force ROTC branch is the most demanding with Academic performance. They also want to see exceptional GPA scores in the major you declare. This is also because Air Force ROTC doesn’t award scholarships the same way the other branches do. You have to apply for the program in college, and the scholarships can go year to year, but usually not covering 100% tuition unless you are extremely competitive.
West Point, Naval Academy‘s, Air Force Academy explained 1400
In short: you have to have a major on the desired tier list as well to be accepted. It’s the most competitive if you’re applying out of high school and your chances of being accepted go up if you already start college somewhere else. In addition to declaring a major on their tier list, you also need to have an exceptional GPA and SAT score.
If you’re seriously considering applying for the academies or a scholarship in high school, check out this article on the best ways to be competitive for a NROTC scholarship.
Can you change your major in ROTC?
You can change your major once you get accepted into the scholarship program, which is not uncommon. There is a little bit of a process involved, and your unit will likely approve it if you can still do it in the first four years you arrive to college. I had a few peers in the program that changed from mechanical engineering to calculus because they didn’t take enough AP classes in high school to reduce their semester workload in college. I also had another friend who was approved to switch to a major on the tier 3 list because of his application to try out for the Navy SEALs.
If you do decide the Navy resonates the most with you, I highly recommend starting a major that actually interests you and you feel you don’t mind being extremely busy with. Most guys in the Navy ROTC program have really demanding majors and they spend upwards of 25 hours a week studying. This is in addition to ROTC responsibilities and collateral duties.
Final Thoughts
After reading this I’m sure you’re well more informed than every other person applying for this scholarship. A lot of parents and kids didn’t understand the full process or how the desired majors list worked and it might have made a difference in their scholarship selection. While small, it’s still a significant point to bring up and be knowledgeable on.
Thanks for reading! If you have any other questions or comments, feel free to reach out at theyouculture@gmail.com and I’ll do my best to respond. If you have any other article topics be sure to send those over as well and I’ll do my best to respond. Until then be sure to check back regularly for new articles!