Department of Physical Education (DPE)

Prospective Faculty

Why Join DPE?

In the Department of Physical Education (DPE), we have an outstanding mix of rotating military officers and permanent civilian faculty with a variety of backgrounds and are proven leaders of operational units who are dedicated to careers in the U.S. Army. It's a great job in an exceptional work environment. 

Current and incoming instructors represent all the commissioning sources (OCS, ROTC, USMA) and most branches. DPE instructors have a variety of undergraduate degrees and come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Current and incoming DPE instructors have combat/operational-deployment leadership experience. DPE officers maintain a lifestyle focused on physical fitness and wellness.

We are looking for instructors to develop warrior leaders of character who are physically fit and mentally tough by engaging cadets in activities that promote and enhance physical excellence. 

  Apply to Join the DPE Now.

Instructor speaking at Kinesiology open house

What's It Like to Teach in DPE?

The United States Military Academy (USMA) is the sole college in the nation whose only responsibility is to prepare each student for professional service as a regular Army officer. Thus, the physical education taught in the West Point environment is comprised of experiential, cognitive, and psychomotor learning domains designed to promote critical thinking, disseminate knowledge, integrate discovery, and develop expertise. 

Physical development provides leaders with:

  • skills
  • self-confidence
  • a warrior spirit
  • respect for fair play 
  • a commitment to maintaining physical fitness

The impact of achieving these objectives is far-reaching and serves to strengthen the officer corps and the Army.

Apply to Join the DPE Now.

What would I be teaching?

DPE Instructors are assigned to one of four Teaching Committees - Military Movement (applied gymnastics), Boxing, Combatives, or Aquatics (survival swimming). You will generally teach four sections in your committee per round (quarter), in addition to teaching one of our cognitive courses - PE215 Personal Fitness or PE450 Army Fitness Development. The fitness courses are lecture/lab courses that provide cadets with a baseline of knowledge and exposure to applications in wellness, personal fitness, and organizational fitness. Depending on your interests and skills, you may also teach a variety of lifetime sports (e.g. Strength Development, Golf, Basketball, Aerobic Fitness, Alpine Skiing, SCUBA, Rock Climbing, Snowboarding, etc.).  

In addition to teaching, other duties can include:  

  • Administrative Duty: each member of the faculty is assigned an administrative duty such as Testing, Guidance, Operations, Admin, Recruiting, Supply, etc. 

  • Sport Educator: Supervise the execution of a company athletic program 

  • Company Guidance Officer: work with cadet leadership to ensure physical performance scores are meeting USMA standards, and assist cadets with various fitness program development 

  • Mentor: all aspects of cadet development, including Values Education training, competitive sports programs, various cadet clubs, and more  

Apply to Join the DPE Now.
Photo of Jen Warkynski on Daly Field
Cadets performing daily physical training

What is DPE looking for in a candidate?

You must be a competitive category Army CPT or 1LT(P) and have your completed application submitted by 01 November to be given full consideration. Additionally, the following eligibility criteria apply for the December board that selects officers to begin graduate school in the summer of the following year:  

Must be within the primary year groups stated in the application process Must be branch qualified prior to the start of graduate school.

The oldest eligible year group criterion is set to ensure that Captains who come to West Point and serve three years as an Instructor will have sufficient time to get branch qualified as a Major prior to their primary zone (PZ) LTC promotion board.

You may start a file at any time during your career, but in order to be considered for selection to an Instructor position you must be a branch qualified Captain prior to beginning graduate school (not prior to submitting your application to DPE).

Apply to Join the DPE Now.

What are my options for graduate school?

DPE Instructors can attend graduate school at Texas A&M, University of Indiana, or UNC Greensboro. All programs offer a masters degree in kinesiology.

The degree programs are set up to prepare you for your duties at USMA. Generally, the program of study includes pedagogy, curriculum development, motor learning/control, and exercise physiology courses while also allowing you the opportunity to assist in teaching some basic physical education activity classes.

The degree programs are all one year in length and immediately precede your 3-year utilization tour here at USMA. 

Apply to Join the DPE Now.
Faculty at a graduation

Frequently Asked Questions

Each December, we conduct a selection board that chooses officers to join the DPE faculty. Your packet is due 01 November of the applicable year. You may begin your file online utilizing the T.E.A.C.H. system. 

Eligible Graduation Years

Board Deadline

Begin Grad School

Report to USMA

Depart from USMA

YG16-18

DEC 2022

JUN 2024

JUN 2025

JUN 2028

YG17-19

DEC 2023

JUN 2025

JUN 2026

JUN 2029

YG18-20

DEC 2024

JUN 2026

JUN 2027

JUN 2030

YG19-21

DEC 2025

JUN 2027

JUN 2028

JUN 2031

Final selection is competitive based on academic and military qualifications. We typically select six Captains and receive 20-30 applications per year.

Officers selected as an instructor in DPE will serve in this capacity for three years. On rare occasions, an officer may be eligible for a two-year utilization tour based on several factors (year group, available key development time as a major, and ILE selection).

Most incoming instructors have a June arrival date at West Point. After in-processing, officers serve in some capacity as physical readiness training monitors for the Cadet Summer Training Program. During this time, officers also undergo cross-training with their course directors.

If requested in writing (a brief memo is fine), we will consider incomplete applications of deployed personnel. We understand that deploying and preparing to deploy should be your priority, but we still encourage you to quickly complete as much of the application as you can. Though we will consider files with missing items from our deployed candidates, past applicants have, through prior planning, found a way to submit needed items from their combat postings. The recruiting officer is poised to help you complete your packet and have it in prime condition for the board.

Once selected, officers apply to graduate school (Texas A&M, University of Indiana, or UNC Greensboro) where they earn a master's degree in kinesiology. The degree programs are all one year in length and immediately precede your 3-year utilization tour here at USMA. The degree programs are set up to prepare the officer for their duties at USMA. Generally, the program of study includes pedagogy, curriculum development, motor learning/control, and exercise physiology courses while also allowing you the opportunity to assist in teaching some basic physical education activity classes.

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Civilian Teaching Opportunities

Are you a civilian interested in working in DPE? All current civilian job postings can be found at USAJOBS. You can also email DPES1@WestPoint.edu to be advised of potential future job postings.

 

Get Started!

 

Initiate your application and begin the process of joining our team!

Apply Here

Questions?

 

For any other questions about joining the DPE faculty, please email us.

DPES1@WestPoint.edu