Claim: The United States Naval Academy is a service academy.

The United States Naval Academy -LRB- also known as USNA , Annapolis , or simply Navy -RRB- is a four-year coeducational federal service academy in Annapolis , Maryland , United States . Established on 10 October 1845 , under Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft , it is the second oldest of the United States ' five service academies , and educates officers for commissioning primarily into the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps . The 338 acre campus is located on the former grounds of Fort Severn at the confluence of the Severn River and Chesapeake Bay in Anne Arundel County , 33 mi east of Washington , D.C. and 26 mi southeast of Baltimore . The entire campus is a National Historic Landmark and home to many historic sites , buildings , and monuments . It replaced Philadelphia Naval Asylum , in Philadelphia , that served as the first United States Naval Academy from 1838 to 1845 when the Naval Academy formed in Annapolis .   Candidates for admission generally must both apply directly to the academy and receive a nomination , usually from a Member of Congress . Students are officers-in-training and are referred to as midshipmen . Tuition for midshipmen is fully funded by the Navy in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation . Approximately 1,200 `` plebes '' -LRB- an abbreviation of the Ancient Roman word plebeian -RRB- enter the Academy each summer for the rigorous Plebe Summer , but only about 1,000 midshipmen graduate . Graduates are usually commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps , but a small number can also be cross-commissioned as officers in other U.S. services , and the services of allied nations . The United States Naval Academy has some of the highest paid graduates in the country according to starting salary . The academic program grants a bachelor of science degree with a curriculum that grades midshipmen 's performance upon a broad academic program , military leadership performance , and mandatory participation in competitive athletics . Midshipmen are required to adhere to the academy 's Honor Concept .