Aspirant is usually an

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

rank used in armies, navies and air forces. In

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

, an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

Religious use

, the term is also used in reference to religious vocations as one who is discerning the religious life. This is followed by the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, temporarily professed, and then perpetually professed. In Buddhism, the

Four stages of enlightenment In Buddhism, the fruits of the noble path (Sanskrit: āryamārgaphala, Pali: ariyamaggaphala; Tibetan: ’phags lam gyi ’bras bu; Chinese: shengdaoguo 聖道果) are four stages on the path to full awakening (''bodhi''). These four fruits or s ...

are referred to as four aspirant levels in

Theravada Buddhism ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' ( anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or '' Dhamma'' in ...

Academic use

An aspirant is also a title for doctoral education candidates in German and other European universities. In post-Soviet states, this educational step leads to a scientific degree called

Candidate of Sciences A Candidate of Sciences is a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD-equivalent academic research degree in all the post-Soviet countries with the exception of Ukraine, and until the 1990s it was also awarded in Central and Eastern European countries. It is ...

Military use

Argentine Military

In the Argentinian Armed Forces, an "aspirante" is a student in any of the five NCO academies. The term is also used to refer to a candidate to enter an officers academy.

Brazilian Military

In the Brazilian Military, "Aspirante" (officially ''Aspirante a Oficial'') is a rank for a graduate of a Military Academy, either from the Armed Forces or from State

Military Police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...

Departments. It is the first rank in the "Commissioned Officer" career and it is temporary. Normally, "Aspirantes" hold that title from 6 months to 2 years, depending on the Branch. Aspirantes have the same job as 2nd Lieutenants and are treated as such by their subordinates.

Royal Canadian Navy

Like French, the Royal Canadian Navy uses the French-language rank of "Aspirant de marine" (AspM) to denote a junior officer under training. The same rank in the English language is referred to as "Naval Cadet" (NCdt). An aspirant de marine does not hold the Queen's commission and must either acquire a university degree or complete his first trades qualification to earn a promotion.

Estonian Defence Forces

Junior sergeant conscriptees having passed the Reserve Platoon Commander Course get ranked aspirants, meaning they will be given officer ranks (ensign or junior lieutenant) in case of mobilisation and war. Some aspirants also get promoted during reserve war games.

French Military

Aspirant ( :fr:Aspirant) is an

officer candidate Officer candidate or officer aspirant (OA) is a rank in some militaries of the world that is an appointed position while a person is in training to become an Officer (armed forces), officer. More often than not, an officer candidate was a civilia ...

rank in the ''

Armée de terre The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, French Ai ...

'' (Army), the '' Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace'' (Air and Space Force), the ''

Marine nationale The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in the world recognised as being a blu ...

'' (Navy) and the ''

Gendarmerie nationale Gendarmerie Nationale most commonly refers to: *Gendarmerie Nationale (France) * Gendarmerie Nationale (Belgium), merged with Belgian police in 2001 Gendarmerie Nationale may also refer to: * Gendarmerie Nationale (Algeria) * Gendarmerie National ...

''. Technically, it is not a commissioned rank, but it is still treated in all respects as one. Aspirants are either officers in training in military academies or voluntaries, serving as temporary officers. The aspirant must have been previously ''élève officier'' (

Officer Cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

). He can afterwards be commissioned as a ''sous-lieutenant'' or ''enseigne de vaisseau de deuxième classe''. His insignia is a single curl of gold lace, disrupted by "flashes" of wool. It was widely used during both

World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World War I ...

s for providing young educated people with an officer's authority.

German Bundeswehr

Officer aspirant (de. Offizieranwärter) designates in the German

Bundeswehr The (, ''Federal Defence'') are the armed forces of the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. The is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part consists of the four armed forces: Germ ...

a military person or member of the armed forces assigned to an officer's carrier in Heer, Luftwaffe or Marine.

Portuguese Armed Forces

''Aspirante-a-oficial'' is the first rank in the officer corps, coming below Alferes in the army and air force and Guarda-Marinha (Naval School graduates) or Sub-tenente (temporary officers graduated from civilian universities) in the navy.

Romanian Navy

In the Romanian Navy,

aspirant Aspirant is usually an officer cadet rank used in armies, navies and air forces. In Western Christianity, an aspirant is the first stage in becoming a monastic. Religious use In Western Christianity, the term is also used in reference to rel ...

is the lowest commissioned rank, equivalent to the rank of

ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

Other uses

In Norway, the "Aspirant Course" is a three-year trainee programme for students intending to work for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, i.e. prospective diplomats.

References

{{reflist Members of Christian religious orders Military ranks of France Military ranks of Romania