How likely is it that the Air Force will let an AFROTC candidate directly go to grad school after an undergraduate education? Also, do most officers going to grad school get a master's degree, or do some go for the PhD?
There is a program you can apply for during your senior year. I believe cantidates could attend either AFIT or any other university. To say the least, this program is highly competitive.
A more common alternative is applying for an AFIT billet as your first follow-on assignment.
PhDs can also be obtained from AFIT. I'm sure there are other programs out there that are slipping me for master's and PhD oportunites.
A lot of it depends on the degree you're looking at. AFIT is mostly for technical degrees (no surprise there), so for a liberal arts grad like me, the options weren't really there.
My university offered a 4+1 program: for a couple extra classes your senior year, you could get your masters degree with just one more year. That may have required me to defer my commission for the additional year (I wasn't interested even in the possibility, so I didn't pursue the matter).
If you're so inclined, you can always sign up for evening / online classes whenever you're ready.
As far as how advanced a degree most officers get, a Masters degree is the only one that's "required", meaning it can be a deciding factor for promotion later on.
Personally, I'm doing an online Masters program that will leave me in a position to pursue a PhD later.
Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate it. I have a follow up question: Do you know if officers can attend evening classes at a local college while working?
