Founded in 1839, Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is the oldest state-supported military college in the United States. Throughout its storied history, VMI has produced leaders and individuals whose daily lives reflect the integrity, fairness, and appreciation for the value of hard work that is instilled at the Institute.

The Institute's purpose is unwavering: educate, train, and inspire leaders of character for the military, public service, and the private sector. As such, the experience on post - VMI's campus - is transformative. Cadets rise to meet academic rigor, commit to a disciplined lifestyle, and embrace an honor-bound culture that sustains them when challenges loom.

Rooted in tradition, driven by vision, and focused on preparing cadets to lead with confidence, VMI blends history with forward momentum. Barracks, memorials, and the Parade Ground reflect generations of service, while modern classrooms, laboratories, and technology align with today’s academic and professional demands. To understand about the institute is to see how tradition and innovation work together with purpose.

U.S. News & World Report has ranked VMI among the nation’s top undergraduate public liberal arts colleges since 2001. The Institute’s efficacy is well demonstrated by generations of VMI graduates. Among the alumni of VMI are a Nobel Prize winner, 11 Rhodes Scholars, seven Medal of Honor recipients, a Pulitzer Prize winner, college presidents, generals and flag officers, and leaders across the private and public sectors, including current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. John Dan Caine '90.

No other college or university in America is so attentive to and so proud of its product: citizen-soldiers prepared both for civilian leadership in their professions and for military leadership in times of national need.

For the individual who wants an undergraduate experience more complete and transformative than an ordinary college or university can provide and more versatile in its applications than a military service academy affords, VMI offers a superb education.

Leadership and Character

VMI Values

• Honor is the heart and bedrock of the VMI experience. The VMI Honor Code has been fundamental since the school’s beginning in 1839. “A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, nor tolerate those who do.” VMI’s unique, single-sanction Honor System is foundational to the culture of the Institute. Living the Honor Code establishes the framework for an honorable life.
• VMI has a long history of excellence. The cadet experience is predicated on pushing cadets to be the best version of themselves, reaching targets and goals that stretch themselves to new limits. 
• Self-discipline is developed throughout a VMI cadetship, with young men and women balancing the three-legged stool of academics, military duties, and athletics.
• Cadets display courage each day - from their choice to apply to No Ordinary College to following VMI honor code and holding each other to its high standards, from their oath at Matriculation through the oaths taken by those who commission into the U.S. armed forces.
• The close-knit community of VMI is seen in the esprit de Corps found both on and off post. Cadets, employees, family, and alumni all work together for the common goal of supporting VMI's unique system and each other.
• Pride takes a backseat to selfless service as VMI inspires cadets to participate in civic engagement, volunteer their time and skills in the Lexington area and beyond, and for over half of the average graduating class, to commit to military service.
• Resilience is tested daily at the Institute. Cadets get tired, get knocked down, and take some tough hits, but it’s how they react and recover that makes them special, rising to the occasion and becoming the best versions of themselves through adversity.

Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)

Athletics