Corps of Cadets

More Than a Degree

You’re not just choosing what you’re going to study. You’re choosing who you want to become.

Maybe you want college to do more than prepare you for your first job. You crave challenge. You want real responsibility. Here, you will test yourself, learn what you’re capable of, and become part of a community that will push you and support you along the way. 

Maybe you already know where you’re headed. Or you’re still figuring that out. Either way, you know you want to make the most of these four years. The Norwich University Corps of Cadets offers a structured, military-style way to experience college, one built around challenge, responsibility, leadership, service, and community. 

People choose the Corps for different reasons. Some arrive planning to pursue military service.  Others arrive with different ambitions. What they have in common is that they aren't looking for the easiest path. They want an experience that will motivate them, expect something of them, and prepare them not just for a career, but for life.

While the Corps of Cadets isn’t for everyone, it is for anyone willing to challenge themselves to discover just how far they can go.

Why Choose the Norwich University Corps of Cadets?

It's about becoming the person you aspire to be. 

That has been the Norwich idea from the beginning: educate and develop the whole person. Captain Alden Partridge believed a complete education should develop both intellect and physical fitness, advocating for “a sound mind in a sound body.” Today, that philosophy still shapes the Corps experience—challenging you academically, physically, and personally while developing your capacity to lead, serve, and take responsibility for yourself and others.

In the Corps, that development happens through everyday experience. You’ll wear a uniform, work within a structure, participate in early morning physical training, and be held to standards. You’ll have responsibilities to other people. There will be times when you lead and times when someone else does. You’ll make decisions, live with the results, learn from mistakes, and figure out what to do when the first solution doesn’t work.

These experiences give you repeated opportunities to practice courage, integrity, discipline, leadership, resilience, and service—not as abstract ideas, but when your choices affect other people. 

Explore what makes the Norwich University Corps experience different—and decide whether it’s the experience you’re looking for.