Military Schools

A military academy is a military educational institution. Their exact definition depends on the country.

There are three types of military academies: High school-level institutions, university-level institutions, and those only serving to prepare officer cadets for commissioning into the armed services of a state. Most countries only have the last category, and in some countries, such as the United Kingdom, they are more appropriately called service academies, since the term "military" is usually reserved for the army.

 

Canada

Canada currently has one military-theme private boarding school open for students at the pre-university level, Robert Land Academy (RLA), which is located in West Lincoln, Ontario. Founded in 1977, it is an all-boys' institute whose funding arises solely from tuition fees. The Academy is an institute fully accredited by the province of Ontario, which accepts students from Grade 7 to Grade 12 (the Ontario Academic Credit level).

 

United States

The term Military School primarily refers to pre-collegiate (middle and high school) institutions.

The term Military Academy commonly refers to all pre-collegiate, collegiate, and post-collegiate institutions, yet graduate institutions, catering for officers already in service, are often considered separately and termed staff colleges.

Military academies can be either private or have government sponsorship from regional (state) or national government.

Note: The term college and the term university are interchangeable in the below discussion. They will both be used to denote an institution of higher learning which a person might attend after attending high school, typically at age 17, 18, or 19.

 

Pre-collegiate institutions

A Military school teaches various ages (middle school, high school, or both) in a manner that includes military traditions and training in military subjects. The vast majority are in the United States. Many military schools are also boarding schools, and others are simply magnet schools in a larger school system. Many are privately-run institutions, though some are public and are run by either a public school system (such as the Chicago Public Schools), or by a state.

A common misperception results because some states have chosen to house their child criminal populations in higher-security boarding schools that are run in a manner similar to military boarding schools. These are also called reform schools, and are functionally a combination of school and prison. They attempt to emulate the high standards of established military boarding schools in the hope that a strict structured environment can reform these children. This may or may not be true. However, this should not reflect on the long and distinguished history of military schools; their associations are traditionally those of high academic achievement, with solid college preparatory curriculums, schooling in the military arts, and considerably esteemed graduates.

Popular culture sometimes shows parents sending or threatening to send unruly children off to military school.

 

Private college-prep military schools

Admiral Farragut Academy (St. Petersburg, Florida; coeducational)

Army and Navy Academy (Carlsbad, California)

Camden Military Academy (Camden, South Carolina)

Carson Long Institute (New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania)

Chamberlain-Hunt Academy (Port Gibson, Mississippi; coeducational)

Culver Military Academy (Culver, Indiana)

Fishburne Military School (Waynesboro, Virginia)

Florida Air Academy (Melbourne, Florida; coeducational from 2005)

Fork Union Military Academy (Fork Union, Virginia)

Georgia Military College (Milledgeville, Georgia; coeducational)

Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia)

Howe Military School (Howe, Indiana; coeducational)

Lyman Ward Military Academy (Camp Hill, Alabama)

Marine Military Academy (Harlingen, Texas)

Marion Military Institute (Marion, Alabama; coeducational)

Massanutten Military Academy (Woodstock, Virginia; coeducational)

Missouri Military Academy (Mexico, Missouri)

New Mexico Military Institute (Roswell, New Mexico; coeducational)

New York Military Academy (Cornwall on Hudson, New York; coeducational)

Oak Ridge Military Academy (Oak Ridge, North Carolina; coeducational)

Randolph-Macon Academy (Front Royal, Virginia; coeducational)

Riverside Military Academy (Gainesville, Georgia)

St. Catherine's Military Academy (Anaheim, California; begins at kindergarten level)

St. John's College High School (Washington, DC; first JROTC school in the USA; coeducational)

St. John's Military School (Salina, Kansas)

St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wisconsin)

St. Thomas Academy (Mendota Heights, Minnesota)

Staunton Military Academy (Staunton, Virginia)

Valley Forge Military Academy and College (Wayne, Pennsylvania)

Wentworth Military Academy (Lexington, Missouri; coeducational)

Public military schools

Carver Military Academy (Chicago, Illinois)

Chicago Military Academy (Chicago, Illinois)

Forestville Military Academy (Forestville, Maryland)

Franklin Military Academy (Richmond, Virginia)

Toole Military Magnet Academy (Charleston Heights, South Carolina)

Fictional military schools

Bunker Hill Military Academy, from the movie Taps (Note: filmed at Valley Forge Military Academy, see above for link.

Davidson Military Academy, from the movie Damien: Omen II. It was filmed at Northwestern Military Academy and St. John's Military Academy (now merged as St. John's Northwestern Military Academy). Northwestern was founded by Harlan Page Davidson.

Fort Berk Military Academy, in King of the Hill, Cotton Hill's old military school, which Bobby attended for one episode.

Kent Military School, from the movie Child's Play 3, 1991. Note: filmed at Kemper Military School and College, Boonville, Missouri. This school closed in 2002.

Marlin Academy in Malcolm in the Middle, which Francis attended prior to his emancipation.

Rommelwood Military Academy in The Secret War of Lisa Simpson episode of The Simpsons.

Adult institutions

A college level military academy is an institute of higher learning of things military. It is part of a larger system of military education and training institutions. The primary educational goal at military academies is to provide a high quality education that includes significant coursework and training in the fields of military tactics and military strategy. The amount of non-military coursework varies by both the institution and the country, and the amount of practical military experience gained varies as well.

Military academies may or may not grant university degrees. In the U.S., graduates have a major field of study, earning a Bachelor's degree in that subject just as at other universities. However, in British academies, the graduate does not achieve a university degree, since the whole of the one-year course is dedicated to military training.

There are two kinds of military academies: federal (government-run) and state/private-run.

National academy graduates are typically commissioned as officers in the country's military. The new officers usually have an obligation to serve for a certain number of years. In some countries (e.g. Britain) all military officers train at the appropriate academy, whereas in others (e.g. the United States) only a percentage do and the service academies are seen as institutions which supply service-specific officers within the forces (about 15% of the US military officer corps).

State or private-run academy graduates have no requirement to join the military after graduation, although some schools have a high rate of graduate military service. Today, most of these schools have ventured away from their military roots and now enroll both civilian students and military students in their student body (Texas A&M, the Citadel, Norwich, etc). The only exception is the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), which remains all-military.

Private/State college-level military academies (United States)

Georgia Military College (Milledgeville, Georgia; two-year junior college)

Marion Military Institute (Marion, Alabama; two-year junior college)

New Mexico Military Institute (Roswell, New Mexico; two-year junior college)

North Georgia College and State University (Dahlonega, Georgia; four-year public university)

Norwich University (Northfield, Vermont; oldest private military college in the United States)

Texas A&M University (College Station, Texas; state-supported; largest military cadet body outside the national service academies)

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina (Charleston, South Carolina; state-supported)

Valley Forge Military Academy and College (Wayne, Pennsylvania; two-year transfer college)

Virginia Military Institute (Lexington, Virginia; oldest state-supported military college in the United States)

Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Virginia; state-supported)

Wentworth Military Academy (Lexington, Missouri; two-year junior college)

Government-run higher-level military academies

Australia Australian Defence Force Academy

Royal Military College, Duntroon

Belgium Royal Military Academy - Brussels

Canada Royal Military College of Canada - Kingston, Ontario

Republic of China (Taiwan) Chinese Military Academy - Fongshan

Chinese Naval Academy

Chinese Air Force Academy

Finland Finnish National Defence College

France École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr - Coëtquidan

École Navale

École de l'Air

École Polytechnique (though still under military management and with most undergraduate students military cadets, is not a military academy any more)

Greece Hellenic Army Academy - Athens

Japan Japan National Defense Academy - Yokosuka, Kanagawa

Japan National Defense Medical College - Tokorozawa, Saitama

Japan Coast Guard Academy - Kure, Hiroshima

South Korea Korea Military Academy - Taerung

Malaysia Akademi Tentera Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

Netherlands Koninklijke Militaire Academie - Breda

Koninklijk Instituut Marine - Den Helder

Norway Norwegian Army War Academy - Oslo

Royal Norwegian Air Force War Academy - Trondheim

Royal Norwegian Naval War Academy - Bergen

Philippines Philippine Military Academy - Loakan, Baguio City

Poland Academy of National Defence - Warsaw

Military University of Technology in Warsaw

Tadeusz Kosciuszko Land Forces Military Academy - Wroclaw [3]

Air Forces Military Academy - Deblin

Military Naval Academy - Gdynia

Medical University of Lódz, Faculty of Military Medicine

Romania Romanian Military Technical Academy - Bucharest

South Africa South African Military Academy - Saldanha

Sweden Swedish Armed Forces Military Academy - Karlberg Castle, Stockholm

Swedish National Defence College - Stockholm

Switzerland MILAK - Zurich

Thailand Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy - Hin Kong

Turkey Turkish Military Academy - Ankara

United Kingdom Britannia Royal Naval College - Dartmouth

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst - Camberley

Royal Air Force College - Cranwell

Royal Military Academy - Woolwich (closed in 1939)

United States United States Military Academy - West Point, New York

United States Naval Academy - Annapolis, Maryland

United States Air Force Academy - Colorado Springs, Colorado

United States Coast Guard Academy - New London, Connecticut

United States Merchant Marine Academy - Kings Point, New York

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