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 have attained an overall QPR of 3.2 or better and who are in the top 50 percent by Military Order of Merit (MOM) at the
end of the first semester, second-class year. Waiver of the military order of merit requirement
may be requested by individuals who have current military performance grades of A or B.
(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 Nuclear Power Program 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 nuclear surface 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 their academic major department, in accordance with the application format and
schedule of deadlines promulgated by their department.
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 academic major
department, but an internship coordinator may also be a USNA 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, 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 current
graduate opportunities at the Naval Postgraduate School (via the Immediate Graduate Education
Program, IGEP) and at civilian universities via scholarships for qualified applicants. 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.
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Program Application: Instructions and templates for the documents required
for a Bowman Scholar Program application will be provided to USNA midshipmen by the
Associate Director of Midshipman Research (ADMR).
Initial application to the Bowman Scholar program is accomplished through an electronic application
form that may be found on MIDS, in the USNA Programs section. The electronic application registers
the applicant’s intention with the Associate Director of Midshipman Research, provides applicant
information to Bowman Scholar Committee members, and triggers requests for recommendations
from the applicant’s company officer and major department head.
A Bowman Scholar Committee, comprised of representatives from the academic divisions, graduate
education office and nuclear community will screen all electronic applications. Results of this
screening will be forwarded to all applicants. Those that meet initial requirements will be asked
to submit a written “white paper” that:
-
Describes the project that they will undertake in their XX495/496 research course.
-
Describes the integration of their proposed research, their proposed internship and their
graduate education plan of study.
Written portions of applications will be due to the ADMR,
by a date (typically in mid-February) that will be announced annually in an Academic Dean and Provost Notice.
b. Chairs of Academic Departments
As part of the academic department’s endorsement of the applicant and the application, a department chair
will affirm that the applicant meets all department requirements to take a XX495/496 research course.
c. Company Officers
Company Officer endorsements of applicants should comment on the applicant’s suitability for nuclear service.
Additionally, endorsements should discuss the merits of the individual if a waiver for military order of merit
is being requested by the applicant.
d. Associate Director of Midshipman Research (ADMR)
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.
e. Bowman Scholar Committee
During the application review process, the 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.
f. Academic Dean and Provost
During the application review: The Academic Dean and Provost shall review the Bowman Scholar Program
applications and the 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.
g. 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.
h. 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.