Foreign cadets at the service academies

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1. Three routes into an American academy

One section of title 10 governs how foreign students come to the three service academies. They are the United States Military Academy, the United States Naval Academy and the United States Air Force Academy (10 U.S.C. 347(d)). It sets up three separate routes. Foreign persons may be admitted for the full course of instruction. Students of foreign military academies may attend for a semester in exchange for American cadets or midshipmen. And foreign students, officers and other representatives may visit for up to four weeks for cultural exchange. Each route has its own numbers, costs and rules.

2. Full-course foreign cadets and midshipmen

The Secretary of each military department may permit persons from foreign countries to receive instruction at the academy under that Secretary’s jurisdiction (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(1)). They are in addition to the authorized strength of the Corps of Cadets, the Brigade of Midshipmen or the Cadet Wing. No more than 80 may be receiving instruction at each academy at any one time.

Countries and numbers are decided centrally. With the approval of the Secretary of Defense, the military department Secretary determines the countries from which persons may be selected and the number from each (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(2)). The Secretary may set entrance qualifications and methods of competition, and selects the individuals (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(3)). Priority goes to applicants who have a national service obligation to their countries on graduation (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(4)).

3. Pay, and who reimburses it

A foreign cadet or midshipman is paid like an American one. The person is entitled to the pay, allowances and emoluments of a cadet or midshipman appointed from the United States, from the same appropriations (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(5)).

The sending country pays the bill. Each country must reimburse the United States for the cost of instruction, including that pay, at rates the military department Secretaries prescribe (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(6)(A)). The rates may not be less than the cost of providing the same instruction, pay, allowances and emoluments to an American cadet or midshipman. The Secretary of Defense may waive reimbursement in whole or in part, and sets the amount waived in a partial waiver (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(6)(B)).

4. The same rules, with three exceptions

Unless the military department Secretary decides otherwise, foreign students are subject to the same regulations on admission, attendance, discipline, resignation, discharge, dismissal and graduation as American cadets and midshipmen (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(7)(A)). Three differences are written into the statute.

The first concerns classified information. The Secretary may prescribe different rules on a foreign student’s access to it (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(7)(B)). The second concerns commissioning. "A person receiving instruction at a Service Academy under this subsection is not entitled to an appointment in an armed force of the United States by reason of graduation from the Academy" (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(8)). The third concerns the oath. Foreign students are not subject to the oath of admission provisions that apply to American cadets and midshipmen at each academy (10 U.S.C. 347(a)(9)).

5. Semester exchanges with foreign military academies

The second route is an exchange. A student enrolled at a foreign military academy may receive instruction at an American academy in exchange for a cadet or midshipman going the other way. The basis is an exchange agreement between the military department Secretary and the foreign country (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(1)). Exchange students are in addition to the full-course foreign students.

The numbers are balanced and capped (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(2)). Exchanges are on a one-for-one basis each fiscal year. No more than 100 cadets or midshipmen from each academy, and a comparable number of foreign students, may be exchanged in a fiscal year. An exchange may last no longer than the equivalent of one academic semester.

The money works differently from the full course (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(3)). An exchange student receives no pay or allowances, and the Defense Department may not pay the student’s international travel to and from the sponsoring country. During the exchange, the academy may provide subsistence, transportation within the continental United States, clothing, health care and other services. It does so to the same extent the foreign country supports the exchanged American cadet or midshipman.

Each academy bears the costs from its own appropriations, and from non-appropriated funds available to support cultural immersion, regional awareness or foreign language training connected with the exchange. Appropriated spending on the exchange program may not exceed $1,000,000 per academy in any fiscal year (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(3)). The classified information, commissioning and oath rules apply to exchange students too (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(4)). The military department Secretary prescribes regulations, which may include qualification criteria and selection methods (10 U.S.C. 347(b)(5)).

6. Short cultural visits

The third route is the lightest. A military department Secretary may authorize an academy to host students, officers and other representatives of a foreign country for periods of no more than four weeks (10 U.S.C. 347(c)(1)). The Secretary must determine that their attendance contributes significantly to cadets’ or midshipmen’s foreign language development, cross-cultural interaction and understanding, and cultural immersion.

Visitors are not enrolled students and do not count against the other two routes (10 U.S.C. 347(c)(2)). The Secretary may pay their travel, subsistence and similar personal expenses. The academy bears the cost from its appropriations and any non-appropriated funds for cultural immersion, regional awareness or language training, with appropriated spending capped at $40,000 per academy per fiscal year (10 U.S.C. 347(c)(3)).

7. How the routes compare

The full course brings a place at American pay rates, reimbursed by the sending country unless waived. The exchange is a single semester, paid for by the academy within strict reciprocity. The cultural visit is a short stay with a small budget. Partner cadet enrollments are also counted each year in the Department’s country-by-country report, described in the annual security cooperation report.

Key terms

Service Academy	The Military Academy, the Naval Academy or the Air Force Academy.
National service obligation	A duty to serve the home country after graduation, which gives an applicant selection priority.
Reimbursement rate	The cost a sending country pays, never less than the cost for an American cadet or midshipman.
One-for-one exchange	The balance rule for semester exchanges with foreign military academies.
Cultural exchange visit	Attendance of up to four weeks by foreign students, officers or representatives.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

How Sentfore supports this

Partner students and visiting delegations need support for travel and movement around their studies. Sentfore works at the delivery end of defense programs in difficult environments, providing secure movement, protective security, facilities and life support. Requirements can be sent through the contact page.