The Royal Imperial Academy, also called the Coruscant Imperial University, and previously known as the Coruscant Academy, functioned as the primary campus for the Galactic Empire's military training initiative situated on the planet of Coruscant. In the time before the Galactic Civil War, Commandant Deenlark was in charge of the Academy. Contemporaneously, Alexsandr Kallus and Jovan completed their studies at this Imperial Academy. Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree both graduated before the Battle of Yavin.
During the Age of the Empire, the Royal Imperial Academy was founded on Coruscant with the purpose of educating Imperial cadets to become officers within the Imperial Navy. Given its close ties to the Imperial Navy, the Royal Imperial Academy was considered the most esteemed institution within the Empire's network of Imperial Academies. In the years leading up to the Battle of Yavin, Deenlark held the position of Commandant at the Academy. One of his key policies as Commandant was to encourage cadets to shift their loyalties from their local regions to the Galactic Empire. While the Royal Imperial Academy primarily served the Navy, some cadets also found positions within the Imperial Security Bureau.
After the Chiss individual Thrawn established contact with the Galactic Empire, he and his "translator," Cadet Eli Vanto, were sent to the Royal Imperial Academy for a three-month orientation program focused on Imperial protocols, equipment, and terminology. Originating from the Unknown Regions and Wild Space, respectively, they faced mockery and animosity from both Commandant Deenlark and the predominantly Core Worlds student population. Later, Thrawn and Vanto participated in a card game with cadets Spenc Orbar and Rosita Turuy. Following Thrawn's victory, the cadets hired three individuals, including Gimm, to attack them. Despite Deenlark's reluctance to discipline the offenders due to their parents' high status, Thrawn persuaded Deenlark to send the three troublemakers to the Skystrike Academy to intimidate Orbar and Turuy into submission. Despite facing considerable obstacles, Thrawn and Vanto achieved second and third place in their graduating class at the Royal Imperial Academy and subsequently joined the Imperial Navy.
Later on, Jelucani cadets Thane Kyrell and Ciena Ree earned admission to the Royal Imperial Academy, which was a significant achievement for residents of a former Separatist world. They excelled in their studies, including the Small Craft Flight course, and formed friendships with individuals like Nash Windrider, Jude Edivon, and Kendy Idele. However, the Office of Student Outcomes expressed dissatisfaction with the close bond between individuals from the same world and attempted to turn them against each other by tampering with their laser cannon assignment. This event strained their relationship, but they eventually reconciled. Both went on to serve in the Imperial Navy, but Thane and Idele later defected to the Rebel Alliance after the destruction of Alderaan.
Iden Versio, a young woman hailing from Vardos, enrolled in the Imperial Academy after graduating with honors at the top of her class from the Future Imperial Leaders Military Preparatory School. Versio also graduated from the Imperial Academy with honors, topping her class.
The Royal Imperial Academy featured a demanding three-year program known for its intense competition and substantial attrition rate. Imperial cadets were obligated to study science, mathematics, piloting, and physical conditioning. Regular assessments were conducted to push the mental, physical, and emotional boundaries of the students. The rigorous curriculum resulted in class sizes typically shrinking to approximately half their initial size each year of the three-year program. Ciena and Thane's class began with 8,000 students in its first year.
At the age of sixteen, cadets were recruited from across the galaxy, including Alderaan, Coruscant, and the Outer Rim planet of Jelucan. Prospective cadets from former Separatist worlds, such as Jelucan, were personally selected by the Academy's instructors. All Imperial cadets at the Royal Academy wore a dark jacket, dark trousers, and black boots, intended to create a sense of unity among the students. Additionally, cadets wore a physical education uniform consisting of a grey shirt, black shorts, and regulation shoes. Senior cadets in the command and elite fighter tracks wore specialized uniforms to indicate their assignments. The majority of the Academy's faculty and students were humans from the Core Worlds, who often displayed disdain towards alien cadets and humans from Wild Space.
The Royal Imperial Academy offered a diverse range of courses, including target practice, physical combat, operating laser cannons, and piloting speeder bikes, TIE fighters, and battle simulations. Some known programs included Small Craft Flight, Large Vessel Design, Core Worlds Classical Culture, Hand-to-Hand Combat, Amphibious Battle Tactics, Longform Computer Operations, and Destroyer-Level Craft Operations. The Academy employed a class ranking system based on academic performance. Points were awarded for academic achievements and deducted for infractions such as cheating, which could also result in expulsion. Due to its reputation for academic rigor, the Academy discouraged activities like dating among cadets, sleeping in, and skipping lectures. The Academy also maintained at least one metallurgy laboratory.
The Academy was led by a Commandant and had a substantial number of instructors, including professors and Imperial officers. The Academy also included an Office of Student Outcomes, responsible for pushing students to their limits. Student Outcomes aimed to discourage factional loyalty among students and was known to sabotage student assignments to foster conflict among students from the same homeworld. This was done in order to shift their loyalty to the Galactic Empire.
The Royal Imperial Academy was situated in the galactic capital of Coruscant, in close proximity to the Museum of Multispecies Sciences and the Imperial Palace. It featured numerous lecture halls, residential quarters, workshops, hangar bays, and gyms for physical training and exercise. During Small Craft Flight, the surrounding area was secured to allow students to navigate Reitgen Hoops on a speeder bike. The Academy also had a running track on the roof known as the Sky Loop.
- Jude Edivon [2]
- Ved Foslo [2]
- Gimm [5]
- Gideon Hask [4]
- Kendy Idele [2]
- Jovan [1]
- Alexsandr Kallus [1]
- Elia Kane [7]
- Thane Kyrell [2]
- Mitth'raw'nuruodo [5]
- Spenc Orbar [5]
- Ciena Ree [2]
- Rosita Turuy [5]
- Eli N. Vanto [5]
- Iden Versio [4]
- Nash Windrider [2]
The Royal Imperial Academy was initially referenced in "Kallus' Hunt," a comic story by Martin Fisher featured in Star Wars Rebels Magazine 4 on April 22, 2015. Subsequently, the Academy appeared in Lost Stars, a young adult novel by Claudia Gray that was released on September 4, 2015.