Starfleet Academy has been making Star Trek officers out of fresh-faced cadets since the Federation first uttered the school’s motto: “Ex Astra, Scientia” (“From the stars, knowledge”). Ironically, it all started with war – the bloody Battle of Cheron, to be exact. Tellarit, Human, Andorian, and Vulcan alike joined forces to drive out the Romulan Star Empire in 2161. The rest was history as those same beings went on to found the United Federation of Planets. This also led to the establishment of a training academy in which young people with dreams of traveling the stars can gather in their pursuit of knowledge and adventure.Cadets can even personalize their paths of growth depending on the departments in which they one day hope to work. No one is expected to pick a path and stick to it for the entirety of their Starfleet education. As fans learn in Star Trek: Lower Decks, cadets are encouraged to work in various departments. This way, they can see if what they want to do actually fits them, while learning more about the various facets of joining Starfleet. For example, a cadet might start with dreams of working on the infamous warp drive, only to realize that their true passion lies with gathering data as a science officer.While the main priority of Starfleet Academy is preparing cadets for academic pursuits, it also gets them ready for potentially having to do battle. Some Starfleet officers go their entire careers without having to fight. It depends on when they graduate from the academy, what ship crew they join, and whether they have the misfortune of becoming active during a larger battle – like the devastating Dominion War from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Starfleet Academy is modeled like a military training academy for reasons good, bad, and morally dubious. Everyone answers to a superintendent (aka a commandant), usually an admiral who may or may not have field experience of their own.
Cadets are expected to follow strict protocols, respect their commanding officers, and progress forward in rank levels as they pass required testing. In some ways, they are being trained to put their best foot forward should they successfully graduate. The galaxy is a large place filled with a variety of beings. Cadets need to be able to navigate it safely, both for themselves and their fellow crewmembers. In other ways, though, the Federation has been accused of indoctrinating cadets to see the Federation's way of life as flawless. This can be especially dangerous when cadets become officers who refuse to allow change because they don’t believe it’s necessary – even when that’s objectively false.Regardless, Starfleet Academy offers a wide array of learning opportunities in personal development, science, culture, and battle strategies. It even offers extracurricular activities such as sports, creative pursuits, and other ways for cadets to socialize. Many of these lessons can be seen throughout Star Trek properties, like fans learning in season 2 of Discovery that Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was a recipient of the Rigel Cup for his ability to pilot ships at non-warp speeds. As age varies among different alien races (i.e. a Vulcan in their 30s is the equivalent of a Human in their early 20s), candidates can join at any time as long as they are deemed emotionally and physically mature for their species.All Federation citizens can join, and even non-Federation citizens still have a chance as long as they’re sponsored by a Starfleet command-level officer. Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) took some convincing to sponsor Nog (Aron Eisenberg) in season 4 of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, but eventually agreed. There’s also a popular fanon theory that Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) sponsored Worf (Michael Dorn) after the two bonded over their nostalgic connection to Russia. The final consideration comes from an admissions test as well as a psychological evaluation, both of which can be completed from any Starfleet base around the galaxy.
Speaking of testing, Starfleet Academy cadets endure much of it during their four-year curriculum. Planets such as Relva VIII offer space-bound provisions for cadets completing their flight training, for example. This skill comes in handy when Star Trek officers find themselves having to flee for their lives when an away mission inevitably goes awry. One of the bigger assessments occurs in the second year and prepares cadets for a field training assignment.Starfleet officers also have the option to utilize academy training and gain or re-learn skills necessary in their line of work. It’s pretty much like any school, except students work closely with beings from different planets, intergalactic travel is actually a real thing, and every day is a new chance for even wilder hijinks than the day before.The 1997 PC game Star Trek: Starfleet Academy puts cadets in life-threatening situations and challenges their ability to survive them. It includes interactive scenes, cameo appearances from legacy cast members, and engaging combat abilities. Though it inspired the creation of Star Trek: Klingon Academy, it was not a huge success. However, on March 30th, Paramount Plus finally gave the green light to Star Trek: Starfleet Academy as a live-action TV show:
Set in the 32nd century, it will follow First Officer Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) after her first foray into teaching in Star Trek: Discovery. In season 4, episode 4 “All is Possible,” Tilly helps a group of cadets fight their way off of a class M desert moon. In the new series, Tilly will be joined by other officers in guiding a new generation of Starfleet Academy cadets into their own unique adventures. Like those before them, they will experience all that Star Trek has to offer in terms of adventure, life, love, and the pursuit of star-based mischief. If they’re lucky, they’ll even make it to graduation without being recruited by a secret spy group or a mysterious time jumper.