ACADEMIC AND PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS
Military Science is an elective curriculum that ROTC students take in conjunction with their required college classes. It prepares them with the tools, training and experiences for succeed in any competitive environment.
From nurses to engineers, pilots to the famous Special Forces, from humanitarian relief to Wall Street, ROTC is the stepping stone for people who want to make a difference, and a path to leadership. Classes are designed to develop leadership skills through classroom and practical exercises that can be applied to all facets of school, work and personal life. Additionally, students will be oriented to what the Army is and how it works.
Villanova's Army ROTC program is part of a school partnership. Widener University is the host school—although Villanova students take all courses at Villanova—and other schools in the partnership include Cheyney University, Penn State Brandywine, Penn State Abington, Neumann College and West Chester University
MILITARY SCIENCE
If nursing is your professional goal, there is no better place to begin your career than in Army ROTC. Army ROTC offers you the unique opportunity to gain practical experience while receiving financial assistance for college. Army ROTC provides an opportunity for college nursing students to receive practical, hands-on leadership experience. As an ROTC nursing student, you will be able to combine college electives in military science and an invaluable nurse summer training experience with the Villanova nursing program.
In order to complete the Army Nurse Corps requirements you must:
- Enroll in Army ROTC classes and complete all requirements.
- Maintain a GPA of 2.0 or better on a 4.0 scale.
- Receive a BSN and pass the national board examination (NCLEX).
After graduation you will be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. You will attend the Army Medical Department Officer Basic Course at Fort Sam Houston, Texas en route to your first clinical assignment as an Army nurse. The active duty commitment is four years, you then will have an option to exit active duty, while completing the remainder of your eight year commitment in either the active or inactive reserves.
After just one year at your initial assignment, you may have the opportunity to attend a clinical specialty course in one of the following areas:
- Critical Care Nursing
- Emergency Nursing Course
- Pre-operative Nursing
- Obstetrical and Gynecological Nursing
- Psychiatric/Mental Health Nursing
- Community Health Nursing
In addition to the specialty courses listed above, Army Nurse Corps officers who are in a "career status" can apply for a graduate education program of their choice. Some of the more popular selections include anesthesia nursing, the family Nurse Practitioner, and health care or nursing administration.
ADDITIONAL AND ADVANCED TRAINING
All cadets are expected to pass the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) once per semester. The ACFT consists of deadlift, ball throw, pushup, sprint drag carry, plank, and a two mile run.
ROTC Cadets receive hands-on training in rappelling, outdoor survival, first aid, land navigation (map reading), marksmanship, tactics and other basic military skills. Below are just a few of the potential training opportunities available.
Qualified cadets have a multitude of exciting opportunities. You could learn to become a paratrooper, jumping out airplanes. Become air assault qualified, rappelling from helicopters. Learn to dive in tactile scenarios at the Army's dive school. Learn to survive the elements and the outdoors at mountaineering or cold weather survival training!
Cadets can apply for internships reserved only for ROTC! Internships could vary from assisting the command teams in Germany and Hawaii, to working at the Pentagon for some time in the summer. Cadets in engineering and medical fields also have the chance of interning with the Army Corps of Engineers or the Army Medical Department. These internships are competitively awarded across the nation and the Dauntless Battalion has a strong history of cadets who were selected each year.
Project GO is a Department of Defense initiative aimed at improving the language skills, regional expertise, and intercultural communication skills of future military officers. Cadets can win a scholarship to study over 15 different languages domestically or abroad.
