U.S. Air Force Academy, CO

Office of the Registrar
U.S. Air Force Academy
Suite 2G13
2354 Fairchild Dr.
USAF Academy, CO
80840-6210

Email: DFR.CustomerService@usafa.edu
Phone: (719) 333-3970
DSN: 333-3970
Fax: (719) 333-6650


THE USAF ACADEMY
Designed for the future, the United States Air Force Academy campus boasts state-of-the-art facilities, including laboratories, observatories and a library containing over 700,000 volumes. Other landmarks include the cadet chapel with its seventeen spires that soar 150 feet toward the Colorado sky. Spanning 18,000 spectacular acres nestled against the Rocky Mountains, the Academy draws thousands of visitors from around the world each year.

The Air Force Academy Mission is to educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.

The Air Force Academy Vision is to be the Air Force's premier institution for developing leaders of character.


ACADEMICS
The U.S. Air Force Academy is recognized as one of the nation's finest four-year institutions of higher learning. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society, the Computing Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, and the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the academic curriculum provides cadets with a solid foundation appropriate to an Air Force career and the activities of a responsible American citizen.

The faculty consists of approximately 565 professors and instructors under the direction of the Dean of the Faculty. Career Air Force officers provide most of the instruction, complemented by sister service officers, foreign officers, permanent civilian faculty, visiting professors from civilian institutions, and representatives from several federal government agencies. The Academy has reached an approximate steady state of 70 percent military and 30 percent civilian faculty members. Approximately 53 percent of the faculty possesses a doctorate or terminal degree. There are 22 authorized Permanent Professors including the Dean of the Faculty who serves in the grade of brigadier general.

A core curriculum provides the common body of knowledge that prepares all cadets for the Air Force profession. The academic core consists of 45 semester hours in the engineering and basic sciences and 45 semester hours in humanities and social sciences. This 90 semester-hour total, which equals 30 courses, makes up approximately 60 percent of the total academic curriculum. Other core requirements include five semester hours of physical education courses, six semester hours of military strategic studies, and one semester hour of First Year Experience bringing the total core requirements to 102 semester hours.

The Academy offers 32 academic majors: aeronautical engineering, astronautical engineering, basic sciences, behavioral sciences, biology, chemistry, civil engineering, computer engineering, computer science, economics, electrical engineering, English, engineering mechanics, environmental engineering, foreign area studies, general engineering, geography, history, humanities, legal studies, management, mathematical sciences, mechanical engineering, meteorology, military strategic studies, operations research, physics, political science, space operations, social sciences, systems engineering, and systems engineering management. Minors in foreign language and philosophy are also offered. All cadets may pursue the major and minor of their choice. All cadets must have a major and may choose their courses from more than 500 offered each year.

Cadets are awarded letter grades that denote the character of their academic work and are assigned grade points on a four-point scale. To graduate from the Academy, cadets must achieve a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 overall, a core GPA of 2.00, and a cumulative GPA of 2.00 in their major. Those who excel academically (3.0 GPA or higher) are placed on the Dean’s List for that semester.

To foster better communication between cadets and students from other institutions, the Academy hosts numerous conferences. A notable example is the Academy Assembly. Since 1959, more than 140 students from colleges and universities throughout the United States and Canada have come together annually in this forum to discuss major public policy issues. Senior participants to this conference are leaders in government, academia, business and politics, as well as representatives from international organizations. These policy experts share their views on the selected topic and lead undergraduate roundtable discussions. Each year, under the guidance of the senior participants, the student delegates debate issues associated with the topic and develop a consensus report that is published and distributed to many policy makers, universities and libraries across the United States and Canada.

Throughout the academic year, cadets may also attend presentations by distinguished political, academic, business, media, cultural, and military leaders. These include events such as the Ira C. Eaker Lecture on National Defense Policy, the Harmon Memorial Lecture, and the Reich Lecture Series. Guest speakers for individual classes are sponsored by the Faculty Speakers Program. Recent distinguished speakers included General Renuart, Commander, North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, MG Jack Catton, Director, Operational Plans and Joint Force Development, J-7, Joint Staff, Washington DC; Ambassador Martin Palous, Ambassador from the Czech Republic to the US; General Joseph P. Hoare, USMC, Retired; former Secretary of State James Baker; Priyankar Upadaya, Professor at Banaras Hindu University, India; BG Charles Dunlap, Staff Judge Advocate, Air Combat Command; The Right Honorable Henry McLeish; and Deborah Palmieri, President & CEO, Russian-American Chamber of Commerce.

Each summer, through the Cadet Summer Research Program, approximately 190 selected cadets spend five weeks at various Air Force, Department of Defense, and other research facilities around the world. Participants apply knowledge from the classroom to military research topics such as development of the airborne laser research and UAV development and testing. Besides participating in the Cadet Summer Research Program, cadets often work with faculty in research and consulting for Air Force agencies during the academic year. In addition, the faculty may spend their summer working in technical and policy areas throughout the Department of Defense. Faculty members also conduct seminars and workshops for other Air Force and DoD agencies.

The total academic curriculum is designed to develop future Air Force officers whose minds are innovative, analytical, and resourceful. The excellent education that Academy graduates receive reflects in the number of prestigious postgraduate scholarships and fellowships they have been awarded. Since the Academy’s founding, cadets have won more than 2,500 of these prestigious awards, including 35 Rhodes and 9 Marshall Scholarships. In addition, Academy cadets have won an impressive 14 Truman Scholarships in the last 13 years. In 2001 the Academy was named a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution; one of only four institutions awarded this recognition that year. To motivate academic excellence even more, the Academy has a graduate school program that annually allows selected cadets to attend advanced degree programs immediately after graduation. This program prepares graduates for a possible future assignment back to the faculty. Additionally, the National Competitive Scholarship Program allows cadets to attend prestigious international and national graduate schools for advanced educational opportunities. Also, based on the needs of the Air Force, a limited number of graduating cadets are allowed to attend medical and dental school. In total, 88 members of the Class of 2008 attended graduate school and medical school immediately after graduation.

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