ROTC (Reserve Officers Training Corps)

For students seeking to serve as commissioned officers in the United States Army, Air Force, or Space Force upon graduation, Lewis & Clark has partnered with the Army ROTC Battalion and the Air Force ROTC Detachment located at the University of Portland. This partnership enables students to integrate their military education and training with Lewis & Clark’s traditional liberal arts education.

ROTC Coordinator

Students enrolled or interested in Army or Air Force ROTC are encouraged to contact the ROTC coordinator as soon as possible. The ROTC coordinator will serve as a first year advisor until they declare a major. (Students may also have an advisor who is teaching one of their first year classes.) Thereafter, the ROTC coordinator will meet with students regularly to review their academic performance and to help them plan their course schedule and balance their studies with their ROTC commitments and commissioning requirements.

Gordon Kelly, Associate Professor with Term in Humanities, currently serves as Lewis & Clark’s ROTC coordinator. He may be reached at gkelly@lclark.edu or 503-768-7413.

Academic Credit

Lewis & Clark students may earn up to two credits of practicum credit per semester, to a maximum of eight credits, while they are actively enrolled as cadets in Army or Air Force ROTC. To do so, these students should enroll in ROTC 244: Practicum at Lewis & Clark. Students may satisfy the Army ROTC military history requirement by completing HIST 299: “Themes in Military History,” a directed study offered on campus. Students also may transfer up to four semester credits for physical education classes completed in ROTC training.

Financial Aid

ROTC cadets are eligible for a variety of scholarships and benefits. To learn more, visit the Army ROTC or Air Force ROTC websites.