NMMI is the only state-supported, nationally accredited, fully integrated co-educational college preparatory four-year high school and two-year university parallel junior college in the United States. Serving the educational needs of a diverse student population, the Institute has high admissions standards that yearly result in an enrollment of students who come from more than 40 states, the District of Columbia, and over 13 foreign nations.
With both an embedded Service Academy Preparatory Program, a US Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program, NMMI also enjoys a long history of appointing its graduates to the nation’s 5 Military Service academies, as well as to important appointments in our nation’s government and military forces.
Since 1891, NMMI has been the breeding ground for many talented young men and women desiring to take on a demanding challenge – in academics, leadership, and physical development – that prepared them for the next step in their continuing education. NMMI graduates are leaders of character at local, state, and national levels across the nation.
As a premier New Mexico educational institution, NMMI’s most distinctive feature is its continuing commitment to excellence in educating the “whole person.” Academic, leadership, and physical development have been, and continue to be, the foundation of the NMMI experience for all cadets. The totality of that commitment instills in each cadet the camaraderie and passion for excellence that transcends time. The hallmark of the experience and education is the Cadet Honor Code, established by unanimous consent of the Corps of Cadets in 1921, which simply states that: “a cadet will not lie cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.” Neither the Code nor a cadet’s honor is for sale at any price.
As an institution of higher and secondary education, the Institute has the mission of developing leaders by enabling individual development through challenging academic preparation in a structured learning environment that affords extensive opportunities for leadership and character development. The Institute’s treatment of all cadets places key value on trust, knowledge, integrity, service and responsibility all within the framework of the NMMI credo – “Duty, Honor, Achievement.”
Through a demanding set of challenges designed to test and grow a cadet’s talents and capabilities, cadets are encouraged to reach beyond existing, often self-imposed, limits in academic, leadership, and physical activities. The focus is on each cadet’s success through individual attention and mentoring by their instructors and their leaders in the Corps of Cadets. Graduating cadets are well-equipped to handle the challenges of college life after NMMI, as well as those of their chosen profession – business, industry, public service, education, the professions, or careers in the military. Surveys of graduating classes show that consistently 95 percent of NMMI graduates go on to complete their four-year degree at such outstanding schools as Penn State, Stanford, Rice, Cornell, University of Texas, Arizona State University, University of Colorado, and the nation’s Service Academies.
NMMI grants High School diplomas, Associate of Arts and of Science degrees, and Certificates to those cadets completing NMMI’s Service Academy Preparatory Program. Leadership training is provided at the college level through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program, and at the high school level through the Junior ROTC program. The ROTC Program offers college cadets the opportunity to receive a commission in the U.S. Army through the 2-Year Early Commissioning Program.
In addition to an educational and leadership philosophy with a college preparatory focus, the Institute’s emphasis on honor, character, responsibility and accountability in every cadet contributes to our uniqueness as an educational institution. NMMI is unique – a shimmering jewel in the crown of New Mexico and the nation’s educational institutions!
