Our son will be joining the Corps Class of 2020. He is a Construction Science major and there is a requirement for Internship during his Junior year. He will be Army ROTC Military Focus as he hopes to Commission as a 2nd Lt. Is there anyone out there who is doing this/or who has had to take a leave from the Corps your junior year because of academic requirements? We would like to hear suggestions or thoughts about situations like this during the junior year.

Yes ma'am, I was in the same situation.. I was on track to graduate in 4yrs, which meant I would need to miss a semester during my corps time. Many of my Co-Sci corps peers did 5 yrs and did the internship fall of their 5th year. I wanted to have a chance for senior leadership as well as wear my boots my entire senior year, not just one semester.. So I took my internship spring of my junior year.. However army ROTC was not happy at first. This meant I would miss summer training between junior and senior year. I ended up being an end of camp commission, meaning I graduated in May, went to LDAC, then commissioned at the conclusion of it. It worked out great for me in the long run.

Please ask all the questions you want. I am happy to help

Thank you for your quick response! "I ended up being an end of camp commission, meaning I graduated in May, went to LDAC, then commissioned at the conclusion of it." Can you explain what you mean by this? Thanks again!

received your email! Will reply shortly

Yes you can, one of my buddies did no issue. The Corps knows about it.


Its great that you want to help your son and all but I'd suggest starting to let him figure some of this out. Don't be that mom all the time, trust me. The fish with parents always involved with everything they do perform the worst.

Thanks for taking the time to confirm membership in the Corps would not be affected by this specific academic requirement.

This internship issue has been around for decades. One of my buddies co-oped during our Junior Year - so he was actually working in mechanical engineering in Lufkin Texas for a full semester.

The Corps will make it work, though there will be trade-offs. As noted on here, there have been folks in this same and similar situations.

It may be particularly helpful if you and your son identify all questions regarding the Corps, academic, extracurriculars, etc. and have your son open a dialog with Sam Hawes in the Office of the Commandant. Sam is highly knowledgeable on these issues and will be happy to copy you on his responses to your son.

The Corps won't be an issue, but whichever Service your son eventually signs a ROTC contract with might be, so he should take particular care to ensure that Service's senior rep at the Trigon signs off on his internship's timing well in advance.

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The Corps won't be an issue, but whichever Service your son eventually signs a ROTC contract with might, so he should take particular care to ensure that Service's senior rep at the Trigon signs off on his internship's timing well in advance.

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While it is important to make sure they are aware of it, there shouldn't be a problem. Its a requirement of the construction science program to take a semester long internship so if they didn't allow it, no cosc majors would ever contract.

Thank you, CharlieBrown17.
You are exactly right. I see that in school all the time as I've taught school for 11 years. We all have to figure out our own stuff and follow our own hearts. I have vowed to allow our son to grow into who God made him, not who I think he should be. Nonetheless, your reminder is well taken.

Our family is excited and proud that one of us is going to be an Aggie and has chosen to serve our country.
The whole thing is all new to us and we're curious as he'll be leaving soon.
He's gotten this far on his own, and with our loving support, respectful encouragement and belief in him.
It's apparent he'll be in good hands. I have all faith in his decision making and the Corps of Cadets, and I'm thankful for the Aggie family that he is now a part of.

Internships are very much a part of the Corps experience now. Many academic majors require an internship or study abroad and we actively encourage our cadets to to both. The ROTC programs are also great about supporting these requirements as well. The important thing is to start planning for these activities early to make sure you meet the requirements to participate as well as meet your ROTC requirements if you are trying to commission. Colonel (Ret) Sam Hawes, Corps of Cadets Recruiting