Statement of Vision
Achieving excellence in the education and development of principled leaders.
Core Values
The mission of The Citadel is achieved with the focus on the three core values of Honor, Duty, State, and Country.
Honor
Honor begins with the Honor Code of The Citadel. A cadet “will not lie, cheat or steal, nor tolerate those who do.” This is the rock upon which everything else stands. This commitment reaches beyond the gates of The Citadel and lasts a lifetime. Honor includes integrity: “doing the right thing when no one is watching.” Honorable people also show the moral courage to “do the right thing when everyone is watching.” The Honor Code is the foundation of our college.
Duty
In the words of General Lee, “Duty is the sublimest word in the English language. You should do your duty in all things. You can never do more, you should never wish to do less.” Duty calls you to take on your responsibilities and carry them out. At The Citadel, your primary duty is to excel in your studies and to serve the Corps of Cadets and the campus community. You must accept the consequences of your actions. Once you hold yourself accountable, you must hold others accountable too. Duty is also a call to serve others before self, demonstrating respect for others, both those in authority and those you serve.
State and Country
Duty to State honors The Citadel’s unique history and its ties to South Carolina. It also honors the role of states within the United States federal system.
Duty to Country demands unwavering loyalty to the United States of America. It means upholding the Constitution, honoring our founding principles, and serving the Nation. It calls for a lifetime of selfless service and a commitment to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution. It means putting the United States, the Constitution, and the American People above personal interests.
Mission
As The Military College of South Carolina, The Citadel’s mission is to educate and develop principled leaders and citizen-soldiers, prepared to serve their state and nation, and to lead with integrity by instilling the core values of Honor, Duty, State, and Country in a disciplined and intellectually challenging environment.
The Citadel strives to produce graduates who have insight into issues, ideas, and values that are of importance to society. It is equally important that Citadel graduates are capable of both critical and creative thinking, have effective communication skills, can apply abstract concepts to concrete situations, and possess the methodological skills needed to gather and analyze information.
Throughout its history, The Citadel’s purpose has been to educate undergraduates as members of the South Carolina Corps of Cadets and to prepare them for post-graduate positions of leadership. This is accomplished through academic programs of recognized excellence supported by the best features of a military environment. The cadet lifestyle provides a structured environment that supports growth and development of each student’s intellect, discipline, physical fitness, and moral and ethical values. The four pillars which define The Citadel experience for cadets consist of these four developmental dimensions.
A complementary purpose of The Citadel, realized through The Citadel Graduate College is to provide the citizens of the Lowcountry and the State of South Carolina opportunities for professional development by offering a broad range of educational programs of recognized excellence at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. These programs accommodate the needs of non-traditional students seeking traditional and demanding academic challenges.
Through its undergraduate and graduate programs, The Citadel Graduate College serves a degree-seeking population of approximately 1,200. The primary service area is the South Carolina Lowcountry. The Citadel Graduate College offers three baccalaureate degree programs (Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering) and seven graduate degree programs (Master of Arts, Master of Science, Master of Arts in Education, Master of Arts in Teaching, Master of Education, Master of Business Administration, and Specialist in Education). Meeting the needs of the South Carolina Lowcountry in terms of instruction, public service, and research, including such initiatives as cooperative programs with other educational institutions, is an important part of The Citadel’s mission.
Together, the Corps of Cadets and The Citadel Graduate College enroll approximately 3,200 students, about three-fourths of whom come from South Carolina.