Purpose. Studying of the social functions of military education and their implementation in military training centers (MTC) as part of civilian universities. Methods. When writing this article the regulatory framework of military training centers in the structure of civilian universities, monographic publications and articles on military training, its reforming and development at the present stage were studied, analytical and comparative methods of scientific knowledge were applied. Results. The article analyzed the functions of military training centers in the military, economic, social and cultural fields. The author identified latent and open MTC functions and their implementation in the present conditions of military training reform. Conclusions and proposals set out in the article can be applied for a deeper perspective sociological analysis of military training centers in the structure of civilian universities as a subsystem of military training. Scientific novelty. Scientific novelty lies in studying of the functions of military training in conditions of their implementation in the new social conditions of regular officers training in the structure of a civilian university, as the least sociologically studied social practice in training and replacement of the regular officer resource for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.