The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a United States Army institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre (2 km²) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate level instruction to senior military officers and civilians to prepare them for senior leadership assignments and responsibilities. Each year, a number of Army colonels and lieutenant colonels are considered by a board for admission. Approximately 800 students attend at any one time, half in a two-year-long distance learning program, and the other half in an on-campus full-time resident program lasting ten months.