Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Pentagon will sever ties with Harvard University, discontinuing all military training, fellowships and certificate programs with the school. The move is the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing dispute with Harvard over demands for institutional reforms.
Hegseth said in a statement that Harvard “no longer meets the needs of the War Department or the military services.” He criticized programs that, he said, returned officers “looking too much like Harvard — heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting ranks.” In a separate post on X, Hegseth added, “Harvard is woke; The War Department is not.”
The Pentagon said the change takes effect beginning with the 2026–27 academic year. Graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs at Harvard will be discontinued, though service members already enrolled will be allowed to complete their courses. Hegseth said similar programs at other Ivy League schools will be reviewed in the coming weeks.
Hegseth, who earned a master’s degree from Harvard, previously symbolically returned his diploma during a 2022 Fox News segment; his office’s social media account reposted that clip.
U.S. military officers can pursue graduate education at both military war colleges and civilian institutions such as Harvard. While civilian degrees may not directly advance a servicemember’s military career as much as military schooling, they can improve post-service employment prospects.
The move comes amid a broader campaign by the Trump administration targeting Harvard. Officials have cut billions in federal research funding and sought to restrict foreign student enrollments after Harvard resisted administration demands last April. The White House says its actions respond to alleged toleration of anti-Jewish bias on campus; Harvard contends the measures are unlawful retaliation for not adopting the administration’s ideological positions. Harvard sued, and federal judges issued rulings siding with the university in two cases; the administration is appealing. Tensions briefly eased over the summer when the president hinted a deal was near, but no agreement was reached, and he recently demanded $1 billion from Harvard as part of any funding restoration.