Bowman Scholar Program
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Bowman Scholar Program: |
Program Summary. Each year, a small group of Naval Academy midshipmen second class (juniors), who are seeking initial service assignments in the nuclear Navy, may be offered the opportunity to compete for appointments as Admiral Frank Bowman Scholars. Prior to selection as a Bowman Scholar, candidates will be interviewed for the Navy's nuclear power training pipeline by the Director, Naval Reactors. If selected for nuclear power training and subsequently selected as a Bowman Scholar, the Scholar will participate in a tailored research internship during one of the summer training blocks preceding first class year and will participate in a special research-based learning opportunity during their last year as a midshipman. During the first year of commissioned service after graduation from the Academy, Bowman Scholars will likely be offered immediate, one-year graduate education experiences at the Naval Postgraduate School, resulting in a masters degree in a technical discipline. Midshipmen appointed as Bowman Scholars will be awarded (in second class year) any incentive monetary bonus associated with the Scholar's acceptance into the nuclear power training pipeline.
Therefore, the Bowman Scholar Program has four components:
research project + summer internship + graduate education
+ early selection in the Nuclear Navy
Ideally, there will be ten to twenty Bowman Scholar appointments per year, however, the actual number of appointees for a given academic year will be dependent upon the number of applicants among the second class midshipmen, the quality of the applications and the available funding resources.
Eligibility. (1) Application to the Admiral Frank Bowman Scholar Program is open to Naval Academy second classmen who stand in the top 15 percent of their class by Academic Order of Merit (AOM) and who are in the top 50 percent by Military Order of Merit (MOM) at the end of the first semester, second-class year. (2) Applicants must have satisfactorily completed five semesters of work at the Naval Academy, and must be on schedule to graduate with the applicant’s Academy class. (3) Each applicant must be interviewed by the Director, Naval Reactors for acceptance into the nuclear power training pipeline and, if accepted, must commit in writing, during the spring semester of second class year, to a service assignment in the submarine or surface (nuclear) community following graduation from the Naval Academy.
To remain eligible for competition to and participation in the program, Bowman Scholars will be expected to maintain the same high level of performance during the remainder of their Naval Academy and subsequent graduate education assignments.
Trident Scholar applicants and Voluntary Graduate Education Program (VGEP) applicants are eligible to be appointed as Bowman Scholars. Separate applications are required for each program.
Midshipmen with academic majors in any of the three divisions (Engineering & Weapons, Mathematics and Science, Humanities and Social Sciences) are eligible to apply for appointment as Bowman Scholars.
Actions.
a. Admiral Frank Bowman Scholar Program Applicants
Research Project Course: Midshipman applicants to the Bowman Scholar Program must consult with a prospective faculty adviser in planning their research-based projects and in preparing their applications. A formal application is due from each midshipman candidate to the chair of the sponsoring academic department, in accordance with the application format and schedule of deadlines promulgated annually in the fall semester.
The Bowman Scholar Program requirement for the project course is met via a one-semester research course (a XX495 or a XX496 course) or via appointment as a Trident Scholar. NOTE: Applicants who also intend to apply to the Trident Scholar Program must provide a XX495 and/or XX496 proposal as part of their Bowman Scholar Program application. Design courses and/or capstone courses may not be substituted for the required research course. Two-semester research courses are encouraged, but not required.
Summer Internship: Midshipman applicants to the Bowman Scholar Program should seek out and consult with the faculty members in the academic departments who are knowledgeable about summer internship opportunities. These faculty members may be in the midshipman's "home" department, but an internship coordinator may also be a faculty member associated with another department. (e.g., A faculty member in the USNA Physics Department serves as the liaison and coordinator for internship opportunities at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.)
During the fall semester of 2/c year, a Bowman Scholar Program applicant should identify from available opportunities an internship that might be integrated with other aspects of the program. Information that must be provided for the proposed internship includes, but is not limited to: (1) host name and location; (2) length; (3) description of the internship project; (4) expenses associated with the proposed internship (e.g., travel to/from the location, meals per diem, lodging per diem, etc.); (5) level and type of financial support available from the host institution, laboratory or government office for the internship; and (6) level and type of expenses not covered by the internship host.
During the fall semester, and into the spring semester as necessary, a Bowman Scholar applicant should meet with the faculty member designated in the academic division (for his/her major) as the coordinator of summer internships for the division. This faculty member can provide general guidance for internship information, and may, in turn, advise the program applicant to engage in further internship conversations with additional faculty coordinators.
Each applicant to the Bowman Scholar Program is responsible for the coordination of plans during 1/C summer as it applies to his/her requirements and desires for the training blocks, leave time, an internship, etc.
When the Bowman Scholar Program application is submitted at the end of the fall semester, details of the internship may not be complete. The applicant should address the proposed plan for his/her internship, to the depth and details known at the time. During the review of the application (early in the spring semester), the reviewing committee will contact the applicant to gather more definitive information about the planned internship experience.
Graduate Education: Midshipman applicants to the Bowman Scholar Program must consult with the Graduate Education Program Manager at the Naval Academy, to identify graduate opportunities at the Naval Postgraduate School (via the Immediate Graduate Education Program, IGEP) and at civilian universities via scholarships. Each applicant to the Bowman Scholar Program is responsible for his/her own applications to graduate schools and for providing all requisite information to the Graduate Education Committee, via the Graduate Education Program Manager.
Back to Top Program Application: Templates for the documents required for a Bowman Scholar Program application will be provided to USNA midshipmen by the Associate Director of Research for Midshipman Research (ADMR).
A complete application consists of the following components, assembled in the indicated order:
Cover memorandum written by the applicant
The Midshipman Research Project Course Proposal
A white paper describing the integration of the research project course, the proposed internship opportunity and the graduate education plan of study
A letter of endorsement, with stated agreement to serve as the project advisers, from each faculty member mentoring the proposed research project
A letter of endorsement, on behalf of the department, from the chair of the applicant's academic major
In general, the completed applications (with all components and endorsements) will be due to the Associate Director of Research for Midshipman Research, at the end of the fall semester. A specific date will be announced annually.b. Chairs of Academic Departments
As part of the academic department’s endorsement of the applicant and the application, a department chair will certify that the applicant meets the stated Order of Merit and Military Order of Merit requirements of the Bowman Scholar Program, and that the proposed research-based project will satisfy existing academic requirements of the student’s academic major.
c. Associate Director of Research for Midshipman Research (ADMR)
During the final exam period of the fall semester, the Associate Director of Research for Midshipman Research will collect all Bowman Scholar Program applications from the chairs of the academic departments. The ADMR will serve as the co-chair of the application reviewing committee, and will serve as the program manager for the Bowman Scholar Program on all administrative and financial issues.
d. Trident Scholar - Bowman Scholar Committee
During the application review process, the Trident Scholar - Bowman Scholar Committee will evaluate each application, considering the specifics of the research proposed for the first class year project, the specifics of the internship proposed during one of the blocks of 1/C summer, and the proposed graduate education plan of the applicant. In addition, all endorsements and supporting materials of the application will be considered by the committee. Following their review and deliberations, the committee shall provide the Academic Dean and Provost with a ranked list of midshipman applicants recommended for subsequent spring-semester interviews with the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion.
Back to Top e. Academic Dean and Provost
During the application review: The Academic Dean and Provost shall review the Bowman Scholar Program applications and the Trident Scholar - Bowman Scholar Committee's ranked list of midshipman applicants recommended for the requisite interviews with the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion. The Dean will provide, to the Naval Academy's Submarine Force Officer Representative, a list of midshipmen approved to continue in the Bowman Scholar Program selection process.
At the conclusion of the review process: Upon acceptance of certain Bowman Scholar Program applicants by the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion, for subsequent nuclear power training, the Academic Dean and Provost will finalize a list of the second class midshipmen recommended for appointment as Bowman Scholars for the next academic year. This list will be presented to the Naval Academy Superintendent for review and possible appointment to the Bowman Scholar Program.
f. Submarine Force Officer Representative Stationed at the Naval Academy
During the application review: Using the list of 2/C midshipmen applicants approved by the Academic Dean and Provost, the Submarine Force Officer Representative at the Naval Academy will coordinate scheduling the Bowman Scholar Program applicants for interviews with the Director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion. Following the completion of all interviews in the spring semester of 2/C year, the Submarine Force Officer Representative shall provide the Academic Dean and Provost, via the ADMR, with an executive summary of the outcomes of the interviews.
After the Superintendent has approved the names of the midshipmen to be appointed as Bowman Scholars, but prior to the formal announcement of the names: The Submarine Force Officer Representative at the Naval Academy will obtain the formal, written commitments to a service assignment in the submarine or surface (nuclear) community following graduation from the Naval Academy. A signed commitment paper must be obtained - prior to the formal announcement of the names of the Bowman Scholars appointees in a given year-group - from each midshipman selected and approved for appointment as a Bowman Scholar.
g. U.S. Naval Academy Superintendent
The Naval Academy Superintendent will review the Academic Dean and Provost's list of recommended nominees for formal designation as Bowman Scholar Program appointees. The Superintendent will appoint that year's Bowman Scholars from among the Dean's nominated group of midshipmen. The formal announcement is anticipated by 1 May each year.
Back to Top Program Benefits.
Since midshipmen designated as Bowman Scholars will already have been accepted into the nuclear power training pipeline, they can expect to receive the following benefits. Each Bowman Scholar will
- be awarded, as a second class midshipman, any nuclear power training accession incentive monetary bonus associated with the Scholar’s acceptance into the nuclear power training pipeline.
- participate in a tailored research internship program during one of the summer training blocks of the Scholar’s midshipman first class summer.
- be eligible to receive some level of financial support from the Bowman Scholar Program to support the travel costs and other monetary obligations associated with the afore-mentioned summer internship.
- be eligible to receive some level of financial support from the Bowman Scholar Program to purchase requisite supplies and equipment and to underwrite any travel requirements associated with the research-based project undertaken by the Scholar during first class year.
Program Continuation.
The Bowman Scholar Program was established in 2003, with the review and appointment of fifteen Class of 2004 midshipmen as the inaugural cadre of Bowman Scholars. The number of midshipmen appointed to the program for a given academic year will be dependent upon the number of applicants among the second class midshipmen, the quality of the applications and the available funding resources.
Last updated 27 October 2008POC: Associate Director of Research for Midshipman Research admr@usna.edu