Texas A&M Commits $50 Million To Full Rides For ROTC Scholarship Recipients

Aggies taking the Uniformed Services Oath at a Texas A&M commissioning ceremony. Texas A&M Division of Marketing & Communications

Credit: Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications and Corps of Cadets Communications

Texas A&M University announced today it will award $5 million in scholarships annually for 10 years to cover room and board for members of the Corps of Cadets who are ROTC scholarship recipients, which currently is more than 700 students.

ROTC scholarships cover all tuition and fees, but not room and board, so Texas A&M’s funding will close the gap, providing full ride scholarships.

This new funding, known as “Texas A&M University Patriot Scholarships,” will go into effect immediately, retroactively covering room and board for the fall 2021 semester. The scholarships will continue to cover room and board for all ROTC scholarship recipients for every subsequent semester. All cadets on any ROTC scholarship are eligible to receive the additional scholarship dollars.

“Not that there was ever any doubt, but the Patriot scholarship proves that Texas A&M is the most military-friendly university in the country,” said Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp. “The Texas A&M community always will do whatever it can to support our troops and those preparing to serve our country in the armed forces. Also today, Dr. Banks showed us her strong commitment to the Corps of Cadets.”

Texas A&M President M. Katherine Banks shared the announcement on Veterans Day.

“Throughout history, Aggies have answered the call to serve and protect our country,” she said. “The Patriot scholarships will help us continue to fulfill our core values of leadership and selfless service by investing in young men and women who truly embody what it means to be an Aggie.”

ROTC scholarships are awarded nationally to students who are a part of the Army, Navy/Marine and Air Force/Space Force ROTC programs at Texas A&M. The school is a designated Senior Military College and provides cadets the opportunity to commission into one of the nation’s five military branches.

“Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets have a long, proud history of military service,” said BG Joe E. Ramirez, Jr., Interim Vice President for Student Affairs, who previously served as Texas A&M’s Commandant of Cadets for more than a decade. “Texas A&M’s commitment of these scholarships is a testament to their strong support of that legacy, and the young men and women in our Corps of Cadets and ROTC programs today who will one day become the next generation of military leaders.”

Texas A&M produces more officers for the U.S. armed forces than any other school in the nation outside of the service academies.

The Patriot scholarships will support university and Corps efforts to grow the number of cadets to 3,000; this fall there are about 2,100 cadets enrolled.

Interim Corps Commandant Col. Byron Stebbins said the additional funding will also position Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets to attract some of the best students in the nation, with a particular emphasis on increasing the number of first-generation students, underrepresented minority populations and out-of-state students.

“The university’s commitment of additional scholarship dollars significantly enhances the Corps’ ability to attract high-quality students who have an interest in serving their country,” Stebbins said. “This support will allow our ROTC programs to do what Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets have done for 145 years, and that’s produce leaders prepared to serve our communities, state and nation.”

Ramirez added, “These scholarships are truly a ‘game changer’ for Texas A&M, the Corps of Cadets and the ROTC programs.”