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The NROTC Marine Corps Program Option allows aspiring Marine Officers the opportunity to complete their studies at a participating college or university and earn a commission in the United States Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Program Option prepares participants for a physically intensive, high-pressure career in the Marine Corps. Midshipmen who graduate from the program will have traveled a demanding path, but they will be completely prepared for commissioning into the Marines as Second Lieutenants. Fewer in number, the Marine Corps receives personal attention from Marine Corps Instructors stationed at their unit, take a different series of courses, and participate in their own set of Summer Cruises.
During the year, Marine Corps Program Option Midshipmen participate in all Battalion activities in addition to some of their own. To meet the physical qualifications for the Marine Corps, additional physical training sessions are, typically, held each week. Similarly, since Marine Corps careers demand a different set of skills and other areas of knowledge, courses such as Amphibious Warfare, Marine Leadership, and Evolution of Warfare must be completed. Also, some courses such as Calculus, Physics, Computer Science and English requirements do not have to be completed by Marine Options.
Each summer Midshipmen are given the opportunity to spend a month or so getting a real taste of what military life is like. All Midshipmen go to CORTRAMID their first summer, which provides a view of the different Navy Unrestricted Line communities. The summers after their sophomore and junior years, though, the Marine Corps Program Option Midshipmen split off to participate in their own activities. Their third and final summer, they go to Officer Candidate School to prepare them for the arduous yet rewarding career ahead of them.