The deadline for applying is December 1 of the senior year. The Four Year College Program is open to all Auburn University students meeting eleigibility requirements. Each year, the Professor of Naval Science nominates outstanding college program students with above average aptitude, an academic average of B- or better, and the ability to complete one year of calculus and engineering physics for transfer to scholarship status. The scholarship boards meet in March and July of each year. All Scholarship students participate in three, four to six-week, training periods each summer in order to gain exposure to the operational Navy and Marine Corps.
Training is conducted at naval stations and at sea throughout the world.
Due to the clinicals required by the nursing school during the summer before the senior year, nurse option students only participate in two summer training periods. College Program students are only required to participate in one summer training period prior to their senior year. The amount of credit for these courses that can be applied towards the student's degree varies with each curriculum. Consult the Auburn University Bulletin for specific details. After one or two years in the ranks, midshipmen are given the opportunity to hold billets and develop their leadership skills.