Education
Coming Soon to Montana Tech: Department of the Army Senior Reserve Officer Training Corps
Montana Technological University and the Department of the Army are finalizing an agreement to create a National Guard Extension Unit at the University that will create a Senior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (SROTC).
The United States Army offers ROTC programs nationwide at more than 1,000 colleges and universities. These programs provide classroom instruction and training from active-duty Army and National Guard officers and enlisted service members in areas of expertise, including military intelligence, aviation, logistics, combat arms, and more. Students can take Military Science and Leadership lower division courses as an elective, without a commitment to service. This allows students to explore service opportunities before committing to service or to take a fun elective course outside their major. Students learn skills that can lead to a successful military or civilian career. Some topics include resiliency, developing and executing a plan, map reading, risk assessment, and mitigation, and much more. Students who continue into upper division courses and/or receive educational funding agree to serve as military officers after completing their degree. Graduates of ROTC programs can enter the Army as highly respected 2nd lieutenants in the Army, Army Reserve, or National Guard. In return, students can get up to 100% of their tuition costs covered, and receive a stipend to assist with living expenses.
“We are extremely excited to provide the Army ROTC opportunity to students at Montana Tech,” Chancellor Les Cook said. “Our institutional mission is focused on preparing leaders in STEM who benefit humanity while meeting the changing needs of society. The synergies between what the military wants, the academic disciplines Montana Tech offers, and the type of students we attract, are perfectly aligned to do just that.”
Montana Technological University, located in Butte, Montana is the state’s only special focus STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) institution. The University is home to nationally and regionally ranked engineering, sciences, and health care programs. Montana Tech will be one of six campuses offering an ROTC program in Montana.
“The Montana Tech SROTC program will be an extension of the University of Montana Grizzly Battalion, which is ranked in the top 15 percent nationally based on Cadet performance and rankings. We are extremely excited to partner with Montana Tech and offer their high-quality students the opportunity to serve their country in any of the three components of the Nation’s Army,” said Lieutenant Colonel Ben Culver, UM Professor of Military Science.
In recent years, the University has strengthened its relationship with the U.S. Armed Forces through several partnerships that emphasize the University’s strengths in advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, as well as critical mineral and rare earth element supply chain development. In November 2022, the University signed a historic cooperative research and development agreement with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport, allowing for collaboration with and mentorship from Navy scientists and engineers. More than a dozen individual projects are underway on campus in conjunction with the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory that aims to use Montana as a "model" for identifying, mapping, exploring, extracting, and processing rare earth elements in the United States in innovative and environmentally responsible ways.
Students who enroll at Montana Tech enjoy a slate of state-of-the-art facilities, research groups, and academic centers on campus that provide world-class education experiences. They include the Lesar Family Nursing Simulation Center, the Underground Mine Education Center, the High-Performance Computing Cluster, the Electron Microscopy Laboratory, the Montana Tech Advanced Manufacturing Research Group, the Montana Tech Nanotechnology Laboratory, the Center for Advanced Materials Processing, and Center for Environmental Remediation and Assessment.
Interested students should contact Tracy Mitchell at Tracy.Mitchell@mso.umt.edu or 406-370-0450. To apply to Montana Tech, click here.
