Military Science Minor

24 Credit Hours

Classes and labs are held at Palm Beach Atlantic, Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University in Miami.

ROTC Military Science Minor Overview

The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) is a program offered as a Military Science Minor (21-24 credit hours) in the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences that incorporates extensive leadership, management, problem solving, fitness, and level-one military skills into the college student’s curriculum. The MLS minor is open to all full-time students, regardless of major. First-year and second-year students take courses on the PBA campus; third-year and fourth-year students take courses at both Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. The ROTC program has proven its unparalleled value to students, long after graduation and well into their desired career, whether civilian or military.

The ROTC courses introduce students to skills taught at U.S. Army Basic Training; they include military customs and courtesies, organization and rank structure, leadership assessment, patrolling, weapons handling and firing, map reading, first aid, and many others. Courses consist of outdoor/indoor instruction and are, by design, 80 percent practical “hands-on” training conducted both on campus and throughout South Florida. Juniors and seniors continue to use these hands-on techniques while the emphasis is on developing and refining leadership skills. Juniors and seniors and advanced course cadets are charged with teaching and mentoring basic course students. Closely monitored and supervised by experienced active duty military officers and senior-enlisted soldiers, these juniors and seniors plan and organize events and other training that encourages cadets to exceed personal expectations.

ROTC Military Science is a minor with three possible outcomes, divided into three Phases: 

1. PHASE ONE (EXPLORATORY): First-Year students may take 6 elective credits without any military obligation. At the end of the introductory phase, a student may opt out of ROTC and choose a different minor (with the MLS credits counting as lower-level general electives for the bachelor’s degree).
2. PHASE TWO (EXPLORATORY): This pertains to second-year students or transfers who have attended Basic Camp in Fort Knox, Kentucky. At the end of this phase, a student may opt out of ROTC and choose a different minor (with the MLS credits counting as lower-level general electives for the bachelor’s degree).
3. PHASE THREE (CONTRACTED CADETS): This pertains to either (1) a third-year PBA student, (2) a transfer student entering their third year, or (3) a student about to begin a two-year graduate program in the fall, after completing Advance Camp in Fort Knox, Kentucky. Having elected to continue with the program, upon completion of the program requirements the student earns a Bachelor’s degree (or graduate degree), and is awarded a commissioned as an officer in the active Army, Reserves, or National Guard.

NOTE: There is no military service obligation associated with the first two years of the program unless a student is an ROTC scholarship recipient.