Atuda, or Academic Atuda (, literally: Academic Reserve), is a program of the

Israeli Defense Forces Israeli may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the State of Israel * Israelis, citizens or permanent residents of the State of Israel * Modern Hebrew, a language * ''Israeli'' (newspaper), published from 2006 to 2008 * Guni Israeli (b ...

which enables high school graduates to defer the draft and attend university prior to their military service. After they complete their studies, they join the army and serve in a position that fits the professional knowledge they gained during their studies. The program is similar to other programs worldwide such as the American

Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps The Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (AROTC) is the United States Army component of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. It is the largest Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program which is a group of college and university-based officer tr ...

Programs

Israelis are drafted at 18 years old, generally after graduation from high school. In many fields, the army needs soldiers with a much broader education and academic background, such as

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

nurses Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

, and

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

s. The Atuda program was created for this purpose. An Israeli soldier who participates in the Atuda program is called an Atudai (Hebrew: ), or an Atudait (Hebrew: ) for a female academic soldier. After finishing his or her studies, the Atudai serves two years and eight months of obligatory service in the army, like any other male soldier, female soldiers also sign to extend their service to the same length as their male counterparts, and then serve an additional two or three years of regular service, depending on the degree they study. The difference between obligatory service and regular service is, among other things, reflected in the salary they earn. Usually, the Atudai attends officer training after completing their studies, but before starting obligatory service. In addition to the Academic Atuda program, the IDF operates the Technologic Atuda (Hebrew: ) program, which trains future soldiers in technology. This program is shorter (one or two years instead of three or four), and usually takes place in technological colleges instead of universities. Upon completion, the soldiers are granted a

technician A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different special ...

or a

practical engineer A practical engineer (Technical Engineer , P.Engineer)() is a professional degree awarded by technological colleges in Israel and validated by the National Institute for Technological Training of the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor.< ...

diploma. The

tuition payments Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

are partially paid by the army. If the enrollees wish to opt out of the program, e.g. if they changed their mind, they will have to settle the prior tuition payments with the army, which, as a consequence, turn into debt.

References

Israel Defense Forces Education in Israel Words and phrases in Modern Hebrew Military exemption {{Israel-mil-stub

Programs

See also

References