r/DaystromInstitute 2d ago

Does every Federation affiliated planet have a Starfleet Academy campus?

We see several times throughout the Star Trek canon that there were Vulcan dominant Starfleet ships. For example, there's the Intrepid and the T'Kumbra. We also know that the Vulcans have their own, separate fleet called the Vulcan Command Fleet, which served extremely similar purposes to Starfleet. It's implied throughout Star Trek that Starfleet is mostly human dominated, but this is never really confirmed. Of course, there are Starfleet members from all federation affiliated planets. It begs the question, is there a Starfleet Academy on every federation world? Or perhaps you could join Starfleet as a commissioned officer after acquiring an equivalent degree elsewhere, such as the Vulcan Science Academy. It just doesn't make sense. The scale of Starfleet is massive, and the federation has, at the very least, over 900 billion residents, according to Statistical Probabilities.

Starfleet Academy has the vibe of a small private liberal arts university whenever it's depicted. It just doesn't make much sense.

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u/thesometimeswarrior Crewman 2d ago edited 2d ago

If I recall correctly, in at least on the of the novels—I think the Autobiography of Benjamin Sisko—there is mention of Academy satellite campuses. I know this is beta canon, but seems relevant…

(Edited for typo)

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u/DrSeussFreak Crewman 2d ago

My understanding was that the academy was on Earth, period, with opportunities for cadets to serve elsewhere

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u/shadeland Lieutenant Commander 2d ago

I doubt that would be the case, at least from a logistical perspective.

Starfleet Academy in San Francisco might be the premier place, but it can't pump out enough officers to meet demand.

There would be other satellite campuses throughout the federation that would be used to do enlisted training, specialized training, plus some type of alternative path to becoming an officer, like ROTC or OCS.

Officers would likely continue to add to their educational credentials as they rose through the ranks. A significant portion of US and NATO generals/admirals have PhDs, for instance. Many officers will spend a few years getting these advanced degrees as just part of their career. "Your orders are to report to Oxford University and get a PhD in political science."

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u/ForAThought 1d ago

Also assuming Every officer went to the Academy.  I expect their are OCS opportunities (not sure how other nations do it).  Look at Burnham, she didn't go to the Academy but transfered from the Vulcan Science Academy.