V - 12 Navy College Training Program The V - 12 Navy College Training Program was designed to supplement the force of commissioned officers in the United States Navy during World War II . Between July 1 , 1943 , and June 30 , 1946 , more than 125 , 000 men were enrolled in the V - 12 program in 131 colleges and universities in the United States . V - 12 was similar to the Army Specialized Training Program ( ASTP ) which ran from 1942 to 1944 with a goal of providing more than 200 , 000 Army officers . Richard Barrett Lowe , future Governor of Guam and American Samoa , was one of the early commanding officers . History . The purpose of the V - 12 program was to grant bachelor ' s degrees to future officers drawn from both the U . S . Navy and the Marine Corps . Once they completed their baccalaureate program , the next step toward obtaining a Navy commission was to attend a U . S . Naval Reserve Midshipmen ' s School where the future officer was required to complete the V - 7 program , a short course of four months , including one month spent in indoctrination school . Graduates from the midshipmen schools were commissioned as ensigns in the U . S . Naval Reserve and the majority entered into active duty with the U . S . fleet . Graduates in the V - 12 Program from the Marine Corps reported directly to boot camp and were later enrolled in a three - month Officer Candidate Course . Once they completed the training , participants received their commission as Marine Corps second lieutenants . Program inception . When the United States entered the Second World War in the early 1940s , American colleges and universities suffered huge enrollment declines because men who would have normally gone to college were either drafted or volunteered for service . As a result , some colleges worried they would have to close their doors . After the V - 12 Program was established on July 1 , 1943 , public and private colleges enrolled more than 100 , 000 men in the V - 12 program which reversed the trend of declining college enrollment . The V - 12 Program , offered by the federal government under the direction of the U . S . Navy , paid tuition to participating colleges and universities for college courses that were taught to qualified candidates . The list included naval enlisted personnel who were recommended by their commanding officers , U . S . Navy and Marine Corps ROTC members and high school seniors who passed a qualifying exam . Captain Arthur S . Adams from the Training Division of the Bureau of Naval Personnel , was the officer - in - charge of the Navy College Training Program , V - 12 . Individuals who were accepted in the program were paid $ 50 per month and were required to wear Navy uniforms . The candidates also were subjected to rigorous physical training . Depending on students ' past college curriculum , the candidates were enrolled in three school terms , or semesters , which lasted four months each . After the student successfully completed the V - 12 Program , cadets in the Navy Reserve spent four months at a U . S . Naval Reserve Midshipmen ' s School while those from the Marine Corps reported to boot camp and after successful completion , they enrolled in a three - month Officer Candidate Course at Quantico , Virginia . Once they completed the training , participants received their commission as either Navy ensign or Marine Corps second lieutenants . Coordination with colleges and universities . The primary purpose of the program was to " give prospective Naval officers the benefits of a college education in those areas most needed by the Navy . " The Navy did not want to interrupt the " normal pattern of college life , " but instead , the goal was for the participants to complete a degree in their field of study ; while supplementing their course work with Navy classes , for which the colleges awarded regular academic credits . The Navy ' s plan was to contract not only classroom , mess hall and dormitory space for a " stipulated amount of instruction , " but also plans were made to make use of each campuses instructors and administration ; a much needed infrastructure that was already in place . The students were expected to " have the benefits of faculty counseling , of extracurricular activities - - in short , the best undergraduate education the colleges can offer . " Vice Admiral Randall Jacobs , USN , the Chief of Naval Personnel announced plans for the joint venture between the Navy and the colleges and universities during a national conference which was held at Columbia University on May 14 and 15 , 1943 . Administrators from 131 colleges and universities under contract with the Navy attended the conference along with Naval officers from the Bureau , who were designated as the administrators of the V - 12 Program . The colleges and universities were " expected to keep academic standards high " and were ultimately placed in charge of the implementation , which was accomplished in six months . Captain Adams stated that the Navy had no intent of " taking over the colleges , " but instead , the Navy wanted to take " full advantage " of each institution ' s academic resources and to make use of the experience and knowledge of the college administrators . This included all details of the program such as the length of the college day , scheduling of exercises , meals , recreation , textbooks and class time . Colleges and universities . During the advent of World War II , the U . S . Navy turned to liberal arts colleges to provide a basic education for their recruits .