Defense Department ends ties with Ivy League, think tanks

Secretary Hegseth says institutions no longer meet requirements for officer education

Published on Mar. 2, 2026

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The U.S. Defense Department is ending its relationships with several Ivy League universities and prominent think tanks, including MIT, Yale, Princeton, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and The Brookings Institution. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said the institutions no longer meet the requirements for officer education, alleging they have become "woke" and diminish critical thinking.

Why it matters

This decision reflects the Pentagon's effort to reshape its professional military education system to better align with the department's values and priorities. It signals a shift away from traditional elite institutions in favor of more conservative-leaning universities and in-house government programs.

The details

Hegseth announced the end of graduate school fellowships at 22 institutions starting in the 2026-2027 academic year. This follows a previous decision to stop sending officers to Harvard as part of the Senior Service College Fellowship programs. The expanded list of excluded institutions are alleged to no longer meet the requirements for training strategic senior leaders "free of bias and influence." Replacement institutions include three senior military colleges, three DOD or U.S. government programs, and 15 other universities such as Liberty, George Mason, and Hillsdale College.

  • The new policy and list of acceptable institutions will apply to all personnel starting in the fall of 2026.
  • Currently enrolled DOD personnel will be permitted to finish their courses of study at the excluded institutions.

The players

Pete Hegseth

Secretary of Defense who announced the end of the Defense Department's relationships with several Ivy League universities and think tanks.

Sean Parnell

Pentagon spokesman who said the decision is part of an effort to align senior service college opportunities with "American values."

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What they’re saying

“Our Professional Military Education institutions are among our most sacred and essential means to restore and maintain the warrior ethos within the [DOD]. It is imperative that our war fighter education system forges strategic senior leaders who are trained to think critically, free of bias and influence.”

— Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense (UPI)

“Aligning Senior Service College Opportunities with American Values" memo directs the DOD to focus SSC fellowships away from institutions that "diminish critical thinking, have significant adversary involvement or fail to deliver rigorous education grounded in realism.”

— Sean Parnell, Pentagon spokesman (UPI)

What’s next

Currently enrolled DOD personnel will be permitted to finish their courses of study at the excluded institutions.

The takeaway

This decision reflects the Pentagon's effort to reshape its professional military education system to better align with more conservative-leaning values and priorities, moving away from traditional elite institutions in favor of universities and programs perceived as more ideologically aligned with the department's vision.