Military academy

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.

Soviet Union

Main article: Soviet military academies.

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 6 to Grade 12 (the Ontario Academic Credit level).

Canada formerly had three university level service academies, the Canadian Military Colleges. These included the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston, Ontario, Royal Roads Military College (RRMC) in Victoria, British Columbia and the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean (CMR) in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec. RMC was founded in 1876, RRMC in 1941 and CMR in 1954. By the 60s all three institutions were providing military education to officer cadets of all three elements in the Canadian Forces; the navy, army and air force; and RMC received the authority to grant academic degrees in Arts, Science and Engineering. Graduates of the Colleges are widely acknowledged to have had a disproportionate impact in the Canadian services and society, thanks to the solid foundations provided by their military education. In the modern era, emphasis was placed on a broad based, liberal education including core couses in the humanities, social, pure and applied sciences. Military discipline and training, as well as a focus on physical fitness and fluency in both of Canada's two official languages, English and French, provided cadets with ample challenges and a very fulfilling experience. In 1995 the Department of National Defence was forced to close RRMC and CMR due to budget considerations, but RMC continues to carry the proud tradition eduating Canada's future leaders into the twenty-first century.

United States

The United States is almost unique amongst all the nations in that the term "military academy" does not necessarily mean an institution run by the armed forces to train its own military officers; it may also mean a middle school, high school or tertiary-level college, whether public or private, which instructs its students in military-style education, discipline and tradition.

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

France

École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM, "Special Military School of St Cyr") is the foremost French military academy. It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr.

Founded by Napoleon in 1802, and initially located in Fontainebleau, it was moved first to Saint-Cyr l'École in 1808, and then to Coëtquidan (Brittany) in 1945.

Indonesia

Akademi Angkatan Bersenjata Republic Indonesia (Indonesia Military Academy) Founded in Yogyakarta October 13, 1945 in order of General Staff Chief of Indonesia Army Leut.Gen Urip Sumoharjo with name Militaire Academie (MA) Yogyakarta

China

Whampoa Military Academy

PLA National Defense University

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.

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 types of military academies: national (government-run) and state/private-run.

Graduates from national acacdemies 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 percent of US military officers).
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 military and civilian students. The only exception in the United States is the Virginia Military Institute which remains all-military.

External links

Military schools in the USA

Military academies | School types

Liste des écoles militaires | Militaire academie | Krigsskole

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