Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP)

During World War II, the War Department, in conjunction with the Army, created the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) to educate and train soldiers on college and university campuses in place of the usual basic training.

The University of South Dakota established its Army Specialized Training Program in the fall of 1943. Arthur M. Pardee, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, was the coordinator, and G.L. Abernethy was the assistant coordinator. Colonel Joseph Church, the head of the ROTC, was the military commander until he was replaced by Major Fred E. Sims in 1944. I.D. Weeks was the president of the university while ASTP was active. The curriculum was divided into the basic phase, which focused on general knowledge, and the advanced phase, which focused on engineering or medical training. Approximately 600 cadets participated. The program existed at the University of South Dakota for three terms and was discontinued on 4 March 1944.

For more about the history of the Army Specialized Training Program, see:

Cummins, Cedric, and University of South Dakota. Alumni and Faculty. The University of South Dakota, 1862-1966. Dakota Press, 1975.

The Archives and Special Collections has 2 linear feet of Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) papers, dating from 1943 to 1945. These papers are in the USD Archives.

The finding aid for the collection is online.

This image is from the Army Specialized Training Program papers, box 2, folder Publication, Manuals.