Royal Imperial Academy The Royal Imperial Academy , also known as the Coruscant Imperial University , was the main campus of the Galactic Empire ' s military training program on the planet Coruscant . In the years leading up to the Galactic Civil War , the Academy ' s head was Commandant Deenlark . Kallus and Jovan graduated from that Imperial Academy at the same time . Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree both graduated prior to the Battle of Yavin . History . The Royal Imperial Academy was established on Coruscant during the Age of the Empire to train Imperial cadet s into officers in the Imperial Navy . Due to its relationship with the Imperial Navy , the Royal Imperial Academy was regarded as the most prestigious of the Empire ' s network of Imperial Academies . In the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin , Deenlark served as the Commandant of the Academy . One of his policies as Commandant was to encourage cadets to put aside their local loyalties and redirect their allegiance to the Galactic Empire . While the Royal Imperial Academy mainly serviced the Navy , some of its cadets also went to work in the Imperial Security Bureau . After the Chiss Thrawn made contact with the Galactic Empire , he and his " translator " Cadet Eli Vanto were assigned to the Royal Imperial Academy as part of a three – month orientation program on Imperial procedure , equipment and terminology . Being from the Unknown Regions and Wild Space respectively , the two encountered derision and hostility from both Commandant Deenlark and the predominantly Core Worlds student body . Thrawn and Vanto later played a game of cards with the cadets Spenc Orbar and Rosita Turuy . After Thrawn beat them , the cadets hired three assailants including Gimm to assault them . While Deenlark was unwilling to discipline the culprits due to the high - level status of their parents , Thrawn convinced Deenlark to send the three troublemakers to the Skystrike Academy in order to frighten Orbar and Tury into submission . Despite the odds stacked against them , Thrawn and Vanto graduated second and third place from the Royal Imperial Academy and joined the Imperial Navy . Later , the Jelucan i cadets Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree won a place at the Royal Imperial Academy ; a special achievement for two inhabitants of a former Separatist world . The two friends excelled in their studies including the Small Craft Flight course and befriended friends such as Nash Windrider , Jude Edivon , and Kendy Idele . However , the Office of Student Outcomes was unhappy with the close friendship between individuals from the same world and tried to turn the two against one another by sabotaging their laser cannon assignment . This incident strained their friendship but the two reconciled . Both would serve in the Imperial Navy but Thane and Berisse later defected to the Rebel Alliance following the destruction of Alderaan . Iden Versio , a young woman from the planet Vardos , attended the Imperial Academy after graduating from the Future Imperial Leaders Military Preparatory School at the top of her class with honors . Versio would likewise graduate from the Imperial Academy with honors , at the top of her class . Curriculum and organization . The Royal Imperial Academy had a rigorous three - year program that was known for its intense competition and high washout rate . Imperial cadets were required to study science , mathematics , pilot ing , and physical training . Frequent tests were held to challenge the mental , physical , and emotional limits of the students . Due to the rigorous curriculum , classes were known to shrink to about half their original size each year of the three - year program . Ciena and Thane ' s class consisted of 8 , 000 students in its first year . At the age of sixteen years , cadets were recruited from all over the galaxy including Alderaan , Coruscant , and the Outer Rim world of Jelucan . Prospective cadets from former Separatist worlds like Jelucan were personally handpicked by the Academy ' s instructors . All Imperial cadets at the Royal Academy wore a dark jacket , dark trousers , and black boot s , which was intended to instil a sense of uniformity among the students . In addition , cadets wore a physical education uniform consisting of a grey shirt , black shorts , and regulation shoes . Senior cadets in the command and elite fighter tracks wore specialized uniforms denoting their assignments . Most of the Academy ' s faculty and students were human s from the Core Worlds , who treated alien cadets and humans from Wild Space with disdain . The Royal Imperial Academy taught a wide range of different courses including target practice , physical combat , operating laser cannon s , and flying speeder bike s TIE fighters , and battle simulation . Some known programs included Small Craft Flight , Core Worlds Classical Culture , and Destroyer - Level Craft Operations . The Academy had a class ranking system that was based on academic achievement . Points were awarded for academic achievement and deducted for misdemeanours like cheating ; which was also punishable by expulsion . Due to its reputation for academic rigour , the Academy frowned upon activities like dating among cadet , sleeping in , and missing lectures . The Academy also had at least one metallurgy laboratory . The Academy was headed by a Commandant and had a large number of instructors including professor s and Imperial officers . The Academy also had an Office of Student Outcomes , which was responsible for testing students to their limits . Student Outcomes sought to discourage factional loyalty among students and was known to sabotage students ' assignments in order to create friction among students from the same homeworld . This was done to redirect their loyalty to the Galactic Empire . Campus . The Royal Imperial Academy was located in the galactic capital Coruscant near the Museum of Multispecies Sciences and the Imperial Palace . It sported multiple lecture halls , residential rooms , workshops , hangar bays , and gyms for physical exercise and training . During Small Craft Flight , the surrounding area was cordoned off to allow students to ride through Reitgen Hoop s on a speeder bike . The Academy also had a running track at the roof known as the Sky Loop . Behind the scenes . The Royal Imperial Academy was first mentioned in Martin Fisher ' s comic story " Kallus ' Hunt " , which was published on April 22 , 2015 , as part of " Star Wars Rebels Magazine 4 " . The Academy later appeared in Claudia Gray ' s young adult novel " Lost Stars " , which debuted on September 4 , 2015 .