This entry is a subentry of Service Academies.
The U.S. Coast Guard Academy located in New London, Connecticut, was founded in 1876. It educates young men and women for a career as Coast Guard officers. Admission is based upon academic competition without congressional appointment. In the 1995–96 school year 862 cadets were enrolled. The student body included 24 percent women, 21 percent minorities.
The curriculum is designed to meet the needs of the service. In addition to teaching professional skills, providing practical seagoing experience, and ensuring that cadets learn integrity, maritime law, and the importance of public service, the curriculum provides humanistic, scientific, and technical knowledge. An emphasis on interactive learning assures that tomorrow's graduates will have the analytical skills needed to cope with a changing international maritime world.
The faculty consists of a mix of permanently assigned commissioned officers, rotating officers, and civilians. They provide a stable base of academic excellence and continuous interaction with the operational Coast Guard.
Cadets concentrate in one of eight majors (civil, electrical, mechanical, or marine engineering; government; management; operations research; or marine science) and graduate with a bachelor of science degree and a commission as an ensign in the U.S. Coast Guard.
[See also Coast Guard, U.S.; Coast Guard Reserve.]
Bibliography
- Paul Johnson and Bill Earle, U.S. Coast Guard Academy,
The Bulletin , Centennial Issue (1976). - Irving H. King, The Coast Guard Expands, 1865–1915, 1996
