The core curriculum consists of 96 semester hours, with an even balance between basic sciences and engineering sciences on one hand and social sciences and humanities on the other. Cadets may choose one of 31 academic majors. About half major in science or engineering. Each cadet takes 6 semester hours of physical education during four years at the Academy. In addition, cadets must participate in intercollegiate or intramural sports throughout the academic year.
Cadets have two intramural seasons.
Each squadron fields a team in 16 sports. Men and women compete as teammates in all but a few contact sports, such as boxing and football. Academy fields intercollegiate teams in 18 men's and 10 women's sports. All cadets take a formal course in ethics and receive honor, ethics, human relations, and other character development instruction and experiences as part of their education and training program throughout their four years at the Academy. The human relations education program promotes an understanding of how gender, racial, ethnic, and cultural differences affect the transition, attrition, performance, and quality of life for cadets in the Cadet Wing.