Prospective Cadets
What is Air Force ROTC?
Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps is a college program offered at more than 1,000 colleges and universities across the U.S. that prepares you to become an officer who is prepared to enter the Department of the Air Force. The Department of the Air Force is comprised of the United States Air Force (USAF) and the United States Space Force (USSF).
Clemson AFROTC provides you with a challenging program to hone your time management, physical fitness and analytical skills – and helps you push yourself to achieve your goals.
Through academic and practical skills training, you will be molded into an officer who is ready to enter the Air Force or Space Force. The academic class is available to any student who attends Clemson or cross-town schools. Students can take the freshman and sophomore classes free of obligation if they are unsure as to whether or not they wish to commit to the Air Force or Space Force. Students can pick any major the University has to offer. Students who complete our upper-level classes earn a minor in Aerospace Studies. Upon graduation, students will enter active duty (four-year commitment) as a commission officer, 2nd Lieutenant, in the Department of the Air Force.
For those who are up to the challenge, the rewards last a lifetime.
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Program Plans
Three-Year Program Overview
The Air Force ROTC two-year program is not typically offered at Clemson University. Highly qualified applicants should contact the Recruiting Flight Commander to discuss this option. The three-year program is usually the quickest way to complete AFROTC at Clemson. It consists of the freshman and sophomore classes being taken at the same time. It essentially accelerates the first two years of the program and completes them in a single year. The last two years are the same as listed below in the Professional Officer Course section of the Four-Year Program Overview.
Four-Year Program Overview
General Military Course
The first two years of the Air Force ROTC four-year program, the General Military Course consists of one hour of classroom work, two hours of physical training and two hours of Leadership Laboratory each week. These five hours are the only weekly mandatory requirements for first-year students and sophomore cadets. The General Military Course is an opportunity for students not on an Air Force ROTC scholarship to try out the program with no obligation. After completing the General Military Course requirements, if you wish to compete for entry into the last two years of the program, the Professional Officer Course (POC — ROTC course for juniors and seniors), you must do so under the requirements of the Professional Officer Course selection system. This system uses qualitative factors, such as grade point average, unit commander evaluation, physical fitness test scores and aptitude test scores, to determine if you have officer potential. After selection, you must successfully complete a four-week Field Training encampment during the summer to enter the Professional Officer Course. Once enrolled in the Professional Officer Course, you must attend class two and a half hours a week and participate in two hours of physical training and two hours of Leadership Laboratory each week.Professional Officer Course
In the Professional Officer Course, you apply what you have learned in the General Military Course and at Field Training. As a Professional Officer Course cadet, you actually 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. Professional Officer Course classes are small. Emphasis is placed on group discussions and cadet presentations. Classroom topics include management, communication skills and national defense policy. Once enrolled in the Professional Officer Course, you are enlisted in the Air Force Reserve and assigned to the Obligated Reserve Section. This entitles you to a monthly $300-$500 nontaxable subsistence allowance during the academic year. -
Program Requirements
Physical Training (PT)
Physical training sessions are conducted three times a week. Cadets participate in calisthenics, cardio and strength training workouts. PT enhances the physical fitness level of cadets and readies them to meet Air Force physical fitness standards and tests. Additionally, PT motivates cadets to pursue a physically fit lifestyle. PT is offered three times per week, and cadets are required to attend any two of those sessions.
Leadership Laboratory (LLAB)
All cadets must attend 80 percent of LLAB. LLAB will be held once a week at Clemson University on Thursdays between 1530-1730 hrs.
Academic Classes (AS XXXX)
All cadets must complete Aerospace Studies classes with nothing lower than a C- and pass all Leadership Laboratories (Pass/Fail). Cadets on scholarship must have a minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA and be enrolled as full-time students.
Explore the various requirements and standards that will help you succeed in the Air Force ROTC:
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Scholarship Information
Air Force ROTC can help you overcome the financial hardships associated with college, and when you complete your degree, you will have a guaranteed career, debt-free.
AFROTC can help with:
- Tuition
- Books and other school-type expenses
- Extra spending money
Are you ready to secure a better future for yourself?
Air Force ROTC offers four-year scholarships to recent high school graduates and up to three and a half year scholarships to current college students. Some technical scholarships are extendable up to one year. Scholarships are available for all majors, although the highest concentration of offers is in engineering, science, nursing and the strategic foreign language majors. Follow the links below to get more information about AFROTC scholarships:
To contact the Unit Admissions Officer, please use this form.
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CAP Incentive Flights
The Incentive Flight program offers cadets an opportunity to experience Clemson from the air and begin developing basic aviation skills. Experienced pilots from the Civil Air Patrol take cadets on hour-long flights over the beautiful Clemson University campus and the surrounding Blue Ridge Mountains. Cadets in the co-pilot seat will be given control of the yoke to fly, learning safety procedures, basic airplane controls and aerial navigation. Official flight hours are recorded and can help cadets obtain their private pilot's license and increase their chances of receiving a pilot training slot upon graduation and commissioning.
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Extracurricular Activities
Dances, Dinners and Parties
From summer to spring, informal and formal activities are planned, i.e. dining in, dining out, Military ball and more.
Sports
The cadet corps participate in various intramural sports at Clemson University, as well as compete against other detachments in the Annual Notre Dame Invitational Basketball Tournament, held at Notre Dame and GAMA CUP, held every spring semester. Physical fitness is an integral part of cadet and Air Force life.
Base Visits
Visits to Air Force bases across the United States are encouraged to allow for cadets to see firsthand the "real" Air Force and experience what life will be like on active duty.
Professional Development Training (PDT) Program
PDT's help cadets gain knowledge of the challenges they will face as junior officers. In the past cadets have participated in a variety of programs such as freefall, cadet combative course and orientation flights. Cadets participate in these programs during the summer; availability is dependent on current funding levels.
Others
Team ventures course, high ropes course, rafting trips, paintball, combat dining out and much more.
