Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Pentagon will end formal education partnerships with Harvard University, discontinuing graduate-level military training, fellowships and certificate programs with the school. The decision is part of an ongoing dispute between the administration and Harvard over institutional demands from the White House.
In a statement, Hegseth said Harvard “no longer meets the needs of the War Department or the military services,” arguing that some programs have produced officers influenced by “globalist and radical ideologies” that, in his view, do not strengthen military ranks. On X, he added, “Harvard is woke; The War Department is not.”
The change will take effect with the 2026–27 academic year. Service members already enrolled in Harvard programs will be permitted to complete their courses, but new graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs at Harvard will be phased out. Hegseth also said the Pentagon will review similar programs at other Ivy League institutions in the coming weeks.
Hegseth, who earned a master’s degree from Harvard, previously made a public gesture of returning his diploma during a 2022 television segment; his office later reposted that clip on social media.
U.S. military officers have long pursued advanced study both at military war colleges and at civilian universities such as Harvard. While civilian graduate degrees may not substitute for service-specific military schooling, they are often valued for improving career prospects after military service.
The move against Harvard comes amid a broader campaign by the administration targeting the university. Officials have frozen or cut billions in federal research funding and sought limits on foreign student enrollments after Harvard resisted administration requests last April. The White House frames these actions as a response to alleged toleration of anti-Jewish bias on campus; Harvard says the measures amount to unlawful retaliation for declining to adopt the administration’s ideological positions.
Harvard has sued the government, and federal judges have ruled in favor of the university in two cases; the administration is appealing those rulings. Tensions eased briefly over the summer when the president signaled a possible deal, but no agreement was reached, and the White House has since sought $1 billion from Harvard as a condition for restoring funding.