CUA Deemed a Gold Standard for Military-Affiliated Students; Army ROTC’s Perspective

Image courtesy of the Georgetown Army ROTC Instagram account 

By Jack Cherico

The Catholic University of America has earned the gold standard for military-affiliated students and ranks in the top 52 out of 1,200 universities. Catholic University was evaluated by Military Friendly, a company that evaluates universities worldwide and assigns a tier score based on how friendly and accessible the school is to veterans and ROTC cadets and midshipmen.

Everyone in the Catholic University Army platoon agreed that the University is an excellent place for veterans and military-affiliated students. 

“The respect shown by the students and teachers at CUA is high; everyone has been super accommodating and understanding,” said senior Kevin Malone, fall 2020 platoon leader.

To achieve this ranking, the company evaluated the military-affiliated and veteran student GPAs, the graduation rate, and the number of diverse student demographics that are military-affiliated at the university. Military Friendly also dug deeper and looked at the emphasis that the university placed on the recruitment and sustainment of military-affiliated students. 

The Army ROTC programs of American University, George Washington University, and Catholic University are all under the umbrella of the prestigious “Hoya Battalion” of Georgetown University, which ranks among one of the best in the country. For more than 220 years, the Hoya battalion has commissioned 4,100 officers, including former Army Chief of Staff General George W. Casey, Jr. 

The Hoya battalion ranks so high because of its cadre, the officers that teach cadets, all of which have extensive experience in the field and numerous army branches. Army ROTC cadets have multiple commitments in the battalion, such as leadership positions, physical training, and military science classes. There are a multitude of other activities available, such as a color guard or the 10-miler team, a team of cadets who enjoy running. Many participants find ROTC to be an excellent program, and Catholic has been flexible to the needs of their students. 

This recognition would not have been possible without immense effort from the person in charge of military operations at Catholic, Captain Stephan Murphy. Captain Murphy has proven instrumental in advocating for ROTC students and veterans who want to attend Catholic University. 

Because of the battalion’s structure, Catholic University cadets sometimes have a hard time getting to events held near the Georgetown campus. However, thanks to the work done by Captain Murphy, cadets have found it much easier to attend events and seen an increase in resources allocated to military-affiliated students. 

Senior cadet executive officer of the battalion Grace Winton said, “Captain Murphy came and made things a lot better than they were before him.  There was no bussing to events, we were not able to secure buildings for meetings and events, and because of him, we were given more resources to train better and put more focus into becoming the best cadets we can be.”

Captain Murphy is an excellent resource to anyone military-oriented who wants to attend Catholic University. As he has said to numerous cadets and midshipmen over this past year, “I hope that you all feel comfortable coming to me with any issues, concerns, or just to be someone to talk to if needed.”