Aerospace Studies

The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) Detachment 585 functions as the Department of Aerospace Studies at North Carolina Central University.  AFROTC offers students the opportunity to earn a presidential officer’s commission, as a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force upon graduation.  AFROTC selects, educates, trains, and commissions college men and women through a three-year to four-year curriculum.  The program consists of both the General Military Course (GMC), a course sequence normally taken during the freshman and sophomore years, and the Professional Officer Course (POC) taken during the junior and senior years.

The GMC is open to freshmen and sophomore who meet AFROTC qualifications.  Students who complete the GMC program may compete for competitive continuation into the POC.  Becoming a POC requires successful completion of a four-week field-training encampment, generally offered the summer between the sophomore and junior years.  Also, during summer breaks, students are given the opportunity to volunteer for Air Force sponsored advanced training programs in a variety of different areas.

Students may compete for various types and lengths of scholarships.  These scholarships pay up to full tuition, a monthly tax-free stipend of $300-$500, and an annual book allowance.  All members of the POC receive the tax-free stipend even if not on scholarship.  Upon program completion and graduation students are commissioned and assigned to active duty with the United States Air Force for a period of at least four years.

For further information, please direct inquiries to the Department of Aerospace Studies, Room 265 Trent Hall Building, (919) 660-1869, Email:  det585@duke.edu or visit afrotc.duke.edu.