# § 7453. Cadets: degree and commission on graduation
**(a)** Under such conditions as the Secretary of the Army may prescribe, the Superintendent of the Academy may confer the degree of bachelor of science upon graduates of the Academy.
**(b)** Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a cadet who completes the prescribed course of instruction may, upon graduation, be appointed a second lieutenant in the Regular Army under section 531 of this title.
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**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 245, § 4353; Pub. L. 85–861, § 1(103), Sept. 2, 1958, 72 Stat. 1489; Pub. L. 96–513, title V, § 502(26), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 2911; renumbered § 7453, Pub. L. 115–232, div. A, title VIII, § 808(c)(1), Aug. 13, 2018, 132 Stat. 1839.)
| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 4353(a) 4353(b) | 10:486a (less last sentence).10:506c(f) (1st sentence, less last 43 words). | May 25, 1933, ch. 37 (less last sentence); restated Aug. 9, 1946, ch. 932 (less last sentence); restated Aug. 4, 1949, ch. 393, § 13; restated Aug. 18, 1949, ch. 476 (less last sentence), 63 Stat. 615. |
| | | Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 512, § 506(f) (1st sentence, less last 43 words), 61 Stat. 892. |
In subsection (a), the last 27 words are substituted for 10:486a (last sentence). The words “rules and” and “from and after the date of the accrediting of said Academy” are omitted as surplusage. The word “conditions” is substituted for the words “rules and regulations”.
In subsection (b), the words “except ” are inserted to reflect the authority to appoint graduates of one service academy as officers of another service.
| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 4353(b) | 10 App.:506c–4(c) (1st sentence). | July 20, 1956, ch. 646, § 103(c) (1st sentence), 70 Stat. 583. |
It is unnecessary to include a reference to section 541, since that section does not derogate from the authority granted in this section.
## Editorial Notes
### Amendments
2018— renumbered as this section.
1980—Subsec. (b). inserted “under ” after “Regular Army”.
1958—Subsec. (b). struck out “except ” after “provision of law”.
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Effective Date of 2018 Amendment
Amendment by effective , with provision for the coordination of amendments and special rule for certain redesignations, see , set out as a note preceding .
### Effective Date of 1980 Amendment
Amendment by effective , see , set out as a note under .
### Degrees for Persons Who Graduated Before Accrediting of Military Academy
, , provided in part that, under conditions prescribed by the Secretary of the Army, the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy may confer the degree of bachelor of science upon living graduates of the Academy who were graduated before the date of accrediting of the Academy and who have met the requirements of the Academy for that degree.