Chris,
If you don't have your degree yet I think you can enter NROTC now (sans any funding/stipend from the Navy) at least for your undergrad degree. Yes, there are programs where those that are already in NROTC can go on and get a master's degree and have the Navy foot the bill. I'll quote from the NROTC newsletter from the Berkeley unit:
http://navyrotc.berkeley.edu/focsle/focsle_spr02.pdf
"Graduate School: Another “career opportunity” of sorts for midshipmen is the chance to go to graduate school. You may be interested in order to pursue a field of study that sparked your interest as an undergrad, or to help advance your career (both in and out of the military). Most of the Navy and Marine Corps’ graduate school programs are for people who have (continued CAREER) finished their first tour; for example, junior officers at NROTC units usually are able to work on a masters degree. For the purpose of this article, I will focus on those opportunities that exist to do graduate school before your first tour:
**Finish in four years: Hotrunning midshipmen who can squeeze in masters requirements as well as their BS/BA can finish in four years. This usually works best for humanities majors; for example, now-LTJG Deal finished both a bachelors and masters degree in English at Stanford in four years.
**Finish in four-and-a-half (or four-and-a-third) years: Another option is to take a personal leave of absence for one semester/quarter, but continue to take classes (often at another university, which can be cheaper). Since the Navy “owes” you four full years of tuition, this gives you an extra quarter/semester to finish up your graduate school. MIDN Moses did this option, studying in Australia during his LOA.
**Graduate School LOA: A relatively obscure section of the NROTC Administrative Manual (NAM) notes that one can apply for a year’s LOA in order to pursue graduate studies. As you are on leave of absence, it is up to you to pay for tuition and living expenses. You have to send in a copy of your acceptance letter to the graduate program, as well as a letter from the CO, at the start of your 1/C year. I did this option, and will be finishing up my masters next spring, to be commissioned with the now-2/C midshipmen.
**“Scholarship Program”: The Navy offers a”“Scholarship Program” allowing a select number of midshipmen to attend graduate school after being commissioned but before going to their first duty assignment. As a prerequisite, you must have received acceptance to graduate school as well as a scholarship that covers at least 25% of your tuition. The advantage of this program over the LOA is that you are commissioned, so you receive full pay and benefits. The disadvantage is that you incur additional service obligation, three years for each year you’re in graduate school. However, this service is served concurrently with your existing NROTC obligation, so if you finish your grad school in one year, there is effectively no additional obligation!
**Aviation Immediate Graduate Education Program: A final option for engineering students who will be naval aviators is getting a masters in Aeronautical Engineering at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) in picturesque Monterey, CA. MIDN Cross will be enrolling in this program; talk to him to learn more about this opportunity. (Note that the Naval Academy version of “IGEP” is also open to future SWO and submarine candidates who major in technical fields. It is possible that similar opportunities exist for NROTC midshipmen, although I’ve been unable to find information about them.)
**Another option, which one applies to during NROTC but in which one doesn’t actually attend grad school until after one’s first tour, is the Burke Program (see OPNAVINST 1520.18G). Note that people interested in grad school should look into taking the GRE, or Graduate Readiness Exam, which is like a slightly more difficult version of the SAT. As for professional degrees (like Law or Medicine), see the earlier part of this article on the restricted line and staff corps."
Hope that helps.
James
