Students who graduate from the U.S. Naval Academy go on to serve in either the Navy or Marine Corps. It is located in Annapolis, Maryland, and is the second-oldest of the five U.S. service academies.
Officers entering the U.S. Navy in its earliest years received most of their training onboard ships. Their designation of "midshipmen" refers to their historical job of ferrying messages from the quarterdeck to forecastle.
War shaped the history of the Naval Academy from the very beginning. Following its creation in 1845, the academy began commissioning officers the very next year, speeding up the process in order to supply officers to fight in the Mexican-American War.
Unsure of the side Maryland would take in the Civil War, the federal government in 1861 sent the 8th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment on a steamer to temporarily evacuate the Naval Academy to Newport, Rhode Island, as Navy officers -- and even the academy's first superintendent -- resigned to join the Confederacy.
Today, about 4,400 students attend the Naval Academy in a given year. The school offers 26 majors taught by a 600-member faculty of military and civilian personnel.
Students who are admitted receive free tuition, room, board, medical and dental care, and base pay equal to a third of that of a second lieutenant, $1,339.50 for calendar year 2024. Expenses come out of that, and as of the 2024-2025 academic year, cash pay amounts to $100 a month during incoming freshmen's "plebe summer"; $200 a month for the rest of their freshman year; and increasing increments thereafter.
Among applicants to the Class of 2027, 9.4% received offers of appointment.
Led by Vice Adm. Yvette Davids, a 1989 graduate who began serving as the academy's superintendent in January 2024, the Naval Academy's mission is to develop midshipmen "morally, mentally and physically and to imbue them with the highest ideals of duty, honor and loyalty in order to graduate leaders who are dedicated to a career of naval service and have potential for future development in mind and character to assume the highest responsibilities of command, citizenship and government."
Getting into the Naval Academy
To become a Naval Academy midshipman, a student must be at least 17 years old, but not yet 23, by July 1 of the year they would enter the school. For the most part, they must be U.S. citizens and have a valid Social Security number (SSN). The Naval Academy may have up to 60 international students at a time, but they must apply through their own governments. Candidates must be unmarried with no dependents.
High school students start the application process by filling out a preliminary application during their junior or senior year. The preliminary application requires the student's scores on standardized tests such as the ACT, SAT or PSAT, along with other identifying information (PSAT scores will be accepted for preliminary qualification only, not final acceptance). Eligible students who complete the preliminary application receive a login to the candidate portal with the full application. The start of new applications may not be accepted after Dec. 31 of the student's senior year in high school.
Applicants must receive a nomination to the Naval Academy from one or more of the following: their representative in Congress, either of their state's U.S. senators or the U.S. vice president; or be eligible for a service-connected nomination as:
- A current Navy or Marine Corps member or reservist
- A Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) member
- The child of a deceased or disabled veteran, prisoner of war, service member missing in action or Medal of Honor recipient.
Students must take the ACT or SAT by Jan. 31 of their senior year in high school; submit their high school transcript; and complete a medical examination, fitness assessment and official interview. Most find out whether they're accepted by April 15 of their senior year.
Learn More: Overview of Military Education Benefits
Academic and Character Requirements
The Naval Academy considers applicants' grades, their scores on standardized tests, their participation in activities and the overall quality of their high school when applying. It doesn't require a minimum GPA but says students "should strive to be at least in the top 20 percent" of their high school class.
The Naval Academy Admissions Board will apply the highest scores from ACT or SAT tests sent to the school directly from the testing services. The ranges of ACT and SAT scores for the middle 50% of the Class of 2027 were:
- SAT verbal: 610-700
- SAT math: 610-710
- ACT English and reading: 51-64
- ACT math: 26-31
In terms of high school coursework, the Naval Academy advises applicants to take:
- Four years of math, with pre-calculus and calculus "highly encouraged"
- One year each of chemistry and physics, preferably with a lab
- Four years of English "with special attention to the study and practice of effective writing"'
- At least two years of a foreign language
- A full year of U.S. history and, where available, a full year of European or world history
- introductory computer and typing courses
Among those accepted into the Class of 2027, 90% were varsity athletes; 72% took part in community service; 68% were captains or co-captains of a sports team; 56% were members of the National Honor Society; and 51% were student-body leaders.
Physical and Medical Requirements
Like its fellow military service academies, the Naval Academy requires applicants to prove they can meet the physical demands. The Candidate Fitness Assessment consists of six events, with maximum scores as follows:
- Basketball throw (women 66 feet, men 102 feet)
- Pull-ups for both men (18) and women (7); women who can't do one pull-up may substitute the flexed-arm hang
- Shuttle run (women 8.6 seconds, men 7.8 seconds)
- Modified sit-ups (women 95, men 95)
- Push-ups (women 50, men 75)
- Mile run (women 6:00, men 5:20)
Candidates are responsible for finding a qualified adjudicator to administer the test, such as a physical education teacher, a coach, their Blue and Gold Officer (academy liaison), a military officer or a Junior ROTC instructor.
Candidates must complete a medical exam, and the academy will automatically consider any candidates who are competitive for admission for a waiver. They may not, however, have had any procedures to correct their vision, because "it is prudent to delay" such procedures until the eye has stopped growing, "beyond age 21 for many people."
After Graduating from the Naval Academy
Graduates of the Naval Academy become either ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps.
Students submit their service assignment preferences in August of their senior year and receive their assignments later in the year based on the needs of the two services. In the Class of 2023, 768 graduates joined the Navy, including 231 new pilots and 212 surface warfare officers; and 260 joined the Marine Corps, including 75 new pilots.
They serve on active duty for at least five years. Many go on to serve 20 years, when they're eligible to retire, or longer, and they often serve lifelong careers, reaching the highest ranks of the Navy and Marine Corps.
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