United States Naval Academy Information

The United States Naval Academy (also known as USNA, Annapolis, or simply Navy) is a four-year coeducational federal service academy adjacent to Annapolis, Maryland. Established on 10 October 1845, under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft, it is the second oldest of the United States five service academies, and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The 338-acre (137 ha) campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County, 33 miles (53 km) east of Washington, D.C. and 26 miles (42 km) southeast of Baltimore. The entire campus (known to insiders as "the Yard") is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites, buildings, and monuments. It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum, in Philadelphia, that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis.

Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination, usually from a Member of Congress. Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen. Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation. Approximately 1,200 "plebes" (an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word plebeian) enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer. About 1,000 midshipmen graduate. Graduates are usually commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, but a small number can also be cross-commissioned as officers in other U.S. services, and the services of allied nations. The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country according to starting salary. The academic program grants a bachelor of science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmens performance upon a broad academic program, military leadership performance, and mandatory participation in competitive athletics. Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academys Honor Concept.

The United States Naval Academys campus is located in unincorporated Anne Arundel County, Maryland, adjacent to Annapolis, at the confluence of the Severn River and the Chesapeake Bay.

In its 2016 edition, U.S. News and World Report ranked the U.S. Naval Academy as the No. 1 public liberal arts college and tied for the 12th best overall liberal arts college in the U.S. In the category of High School Counselor Rankings of National Liberal Arts Colleges, the Naval Academy is also tied for No. 1 with the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy, and is tied for the No. 5 spot for Best Undergraduate Engineering program at schools where doctorates not offered. In 2016, Forbes ranked the U.S. Naval Academy as No. 24 overall in its report "Americas Top Colleges".

Prospective candidates must either be nominated by certain public officials—or be the child of a Medal of Honor recipient, which entitles a qualified candidate to automatic admission without nomination. Nominations may be made by members of and delegates to Congress, the President or Vice-President, the Secretary of the Navy or certain other sources. Candidates must also pass a physical fitness test and a thorough medical exam as part of the application process. The class of 2020 had 1,355 offers of appointment made to 17,043 applicants. In the 21st century, there have been about 1,200 students in each new class of plebes (freshmen). The U.S. government pays for tuition, room, and board. Midshipmen receive monthly pay of $1,017.00, as of 2015. From this amount, pay is automatically deducted for the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, services, and other miscellaneous expenses. Midshipmen only receive a portion of their total pay in cash while the rest is released during "firstie" (senior) year. Midshipmen fourth-class (plebes) to midshipmen second-class (juniors) receive monthly stipends of $100, $200, $300, respectively. Midshipmen first-class receive the difference between pay and outstanding expenses.

Students at the naval academy are addressed as Midshipman, an official military rank and paygrade. As midshipmen are actually in the United States Navy, starting from the moment that they raise their hands and affirm the oath of office at the swearing-in ceremony, they are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, of which USNA regulations are a part, as well as to all executive policies and orders formulated by the Department of the Navy. The same term covers both males and females. Upon graduation, most naval academy midshipmen are commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps and serve a minimum of five years after their commissioning. If they are selected to serve as a pilot (aircraft), they will serve 8–11 years minimum from their date of winging, and if they are selected to serve as a naval flight officer they will serve 6–8 years. Foreign midshipmen are commissioned into the armed forces of their native countries.

The graduating class of 2017 had inducted exactly 1,200 midshipmen in 2013 and graduated 1,053 in 2017. 768 were commissioned as Navy Ensigns and 259 as Marine 2nd Lieutenants. This graduating class was composed of 242 women and 811 men Since 1959, midshipmen have also been eligible for an interservice commission in the Air Force or Army, provided they meet that services eligibility standards. Starting in 2004, midshipmen also became eligible to seek Coast Guard commissions. Every year, a small number of graduates do this—typically three or four. In 2017, two members of the class were commissioned as Air Force 2nd Lieutenants. A small number of foreign students are admitted each year. In 2017, 17 foreign midshipmen were graduated.

At the beginning of their second-class year, midshipmen make their commitment, also known as signing their "2-for-7." This represents a commitment to finish two years at the academy and then an additional five years on active duty. Upon graduation, midshipmen are obligated to serve at minimum 5 years of service after graduation. Those selected for post-graduate education will continue concurrently with their commissioning obligation for officers in the U.S. Navy and consecutively for officers in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Midshipmen who entered the academy from civilian life and who resign or are separated from the academy in their first two years incur no military service obligation. Those who are separated—voluntarily or involuntarily – after that time are required to serve on active duty in an enlisted capacity, usually for two to four years. Alternatively, separated former midshipmen can reimburse the government for their educational expenses, though the sum is often in excess of $150,000. The decision whether to serve enlisted time or reimburse the government is at the discretion of the Secretary of the Navy. Midshipmen who entered the academy from the enlisted ranks return to their enlisted status to serve the remainder of their enlistment.

The Navy operates the Naval Postgraduate School and the Naval War College separately. The Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS), in Newport, Rhode Island, is the official prep school for the Naval Academy. The Naval Academy Foundation provides post-graduate high school education for a year of preparatory school before entering the academy for a very limited number of applicants. There are several preparatory schools and junior colleges throughout the United States that host this program.[clarification needed]

The history of the Academy can be divided into four eras: 1) use of original Fort Severn 1845-1861, 2) "Porters Academy" 1865-1903, 3) "Flagg Academy" 1903-1941, 4) modern era 1941–present.

The academys Latin motto is Ex Scientia Tridens, which means "Through Knowledge, Sea Power." It appears on a design devised by the lawyer, writer, editor, encyclopedist and naval academy graduate (1867), Park Benjamin, Jr. It was adopted by the Navy Department in 1898 due to the efforts of another graduate (also 1867) and collaborator, Jacob W. Miller. Benjamin states:

The trident, emblem of the Roman god Neptune, represents seapower.

The institution was founded as the Naval School on 10 October 1845 by Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft. The campus was established at Annapolis on the grounds of the former U.S. Army post Fort Severn. The school opened with 50 midshipman students and seven professors. The decision to establish an academy on land may have been in part a result of the Somers Affair, an alleged mutiny involving the Secretary of Wars son that resulted in his execution at sea. Commodore Matthew Perry had a considerable interest in naval education, supporting an apprentice system to train new seamen, and helped establish the curriculum for the United States Naval Academy. He was also a vocal proponent of modernization of the navy.

Originally a course of study for five years was prescribed. Only the first and last were spent at the school with the other three being passed at sea. The present name was adopted when the school was reorganized in 1850 and placed under the supervision of the chief of the Bureau of Ordnance and Hydrography. Under the immediate charge of the superintendent, the course of study was extended to seven years with the first two and the last two to be spent at the school and the intervening three years at sea. The four years of study were made consecutive in 1851 and practice cruises were substituted for the three consecutive years at sea. The first class of naval academy students graduated on 10 June 1854. They were considered as passed midshipmen until 1912, when graduates were first sworn in as officers.

In 1860, the Tripoli Monument was moved to the academy grounds. Later that year in August, the model of the USS Somers experiment was resurrected when USS Constitution, then 60 years old, was recommissioned as a school ship for the fourth-class midshipmen after a conversion and refitting begun in 1857. She was anchored at the yard, and the plebes lived on board the ship to immediately introduce them to shipboard life and experiences.

The Civil War was disruptive to the Naval Academy. Southern sympathy ran high in Maryland. Although riots broke out, Maryland did not declare secession. The United States government planned to move the school, when the sudden outbreak of hostilities forced a quick departure. Almost immediately the three upper classes were detached and ordered to sea, and the remaining elements of the academy were transported to Fort Adams in Newport, Rhode Island by the USS Constitution in April 1861, where the academy was set up in temporary facilities and opened in May. The Annapolis campus, meanwhile, was turned into a United States Army Hospital.

The United States Navy was stressed by the situation as 24% of its officers resigned and joined the Confederate States Navy, including 95 graduates and 59 midshipmen, along with many key leaders who influenced USNAs founding. As the first superintendent of the United States Naval Observatory, Commander Matthew Fontaine Maury who advocated for creating the United States Naval Academy also resigned his commission.

The first superintendent, Admiral Franklin Buchanan, joined the Confederate States Navy as its first and primary admiral. Captain Sidney Smith Lee, the second commandant of midshipmen, and older brother of Robert E. Lee, left Federal service in 1861 for the Confederate States Navy. Lieutenant William Harwar Parker, CSN, class of 1848, and instructor at USNA, joined the Virginia State Navy, and then went on to become the superintendent of the Confederate States Naval Academy.