Our origins
Military Science and Tactics have been a part of Iowa State University since its first classes in 1869. Although a student could not obtain a commission under the program in the early years, he could obtain a degree by completing the four-year course in “Military Tactics and Engineering,” in which all male students of the college (except those excused by proper authority) were required to complete to become members of the College Battalion. The ROTC program was formally introduced at Iowa State in 1919, it became voluntary in 1962, and women were accepted into the program in 1972. More than 5,000 officers have been commissioned through ISU Army ROTC since its inception. Those officers serve Iowa, the country, and the world as active duty soldiers in a variety of fields, from science to intelligence to combat.