Training and educating the national security workforce

Arming active-duty service members and reservists with the knowledge and skills needed to maintain the U.S. technological competitive edge.

ASU proudly welcomes the opportunity to provide transformative, all-inclusive educational experiences, including research and training opportunities, for those serving on active duty and in the National Guard or Reserves, and for millions of lifelong learners and their families. ASU develops military and civilian national service leaders armed with the skills, networks and experience to work side-by-side in taking on our most complex challenges.

For current military personnel

Air University

Air University, the U.S. Air and Space Force’s center for professional military education, has partnered with ASU to bring an agile, adaptive learning environment to the Air Force’s online professional military education. Through its online learning enterprise EdPlus, ASU established an innovative digital platform for Air University’s Squadron Officer School. The platform provides an enriched digital environment with superior accessibility, reliability and around-the-clock support. The partnership marks the first time the U.S. military partnered with a civilian university to help deliver professional military education for commissioned officers.

Naval Community College

The United States Naval Community College and ASU have partnered to offer Associate of Arts in military studies and Associate of Arts in organizational leadership degrees to active-duty enlisted Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen. In the military studies degree program, students develop their knowledge and skills in military history, organizational leadership and political science through courses focused on global politics and history, Naval ethics and leadership, and more. In the organizational leadership program, students develop their skills in problem-solving, effective communication, program assessment, resource management and understanding emerging technologies.

Upskilling programs for current military personnel

As the Department of Defense seeks to fill technology knowledge gaps in cybersecurity, data science and artificial intelligence in the military workforce, ASU offers pathways to learning through the Global Security Initiative. A primer on

artificial intelligence, machine learning and data science is now part of warrant officer intelligence training through a curriculum created by the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, the Army Research Laboratory and ASU. Three-week training for National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command personnel helped improve their cybersecurity skills using pwn.college, a novel education platform developed at ASU that is for students (and other interested parties) to learn about and practice core cybersecurity concepts in a hands-on fashion.

Air Force innovation education

ASU hosted a design thinking workshop at the Thunderbird School of Global Management with representatives from across the U.S. Air Force — including AFWERX, ARCWERX, Air Force Institute of Technology, and Air Education and Training Command — to imagine the innovation education needs of the airmen of the future. As a result, ASU launched a pilot program funded by AFWERX to send 25 airmen through the Master of Applied Leadership and Management program offered by the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

The program combines cutting-edge management coursework with a truly global curriculum, crosscultural communication and negotiation training, personal development and leadership components to prepare graduates to thrive as decision-makers in enterprises that operate across borders. Designed to empower graduates with well-rounded, future-ready skillsets, courses run the gamut from accounting and data-driven decision-making to global finance and marketing. Students also receive hands-on, experiential learning opportunities in practical, real-world situations through elective courses that allow them to apply the full range of professional skills acquired during their studies. The program allows students to work at their own pace to earn their degree in as few as 12 months.

For students interested in defense and national security careers

ASU is on the forefront of educational innovation and strives to help create the STEM talent and national security workforce the nation needs.

Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab

The Leadership, Diplomacy and National Security Lab advances character-driven leadership, diplomacy, and national security education and training in support of the full range of university enterprises. Led by diplomatic and national security professionals, the lab dedicates itself to learner-centered solutions and thought leadership through a global network of partners employing state-of-the-art learning tools.

STEM degree programs

The ability to train and educate a diverse universe of STEM learners interested in defense and national security careers is key to the Department of Defense’s goal to ensure the military workforce supports the U.S. technological advantage. ASU advances this goal with the largest engineering school in the country by enrollment, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, as well as multiple STEM degree programs.

Master of Arts in global security

ASU Online’s Master of Arts in global security prepares students to advance their careers in the military, global security, diplomacy and other related fields. Its world-class faculty includes thought leaders and experts on a broad range of security issues, including irregular warfare experts, national security analysts, visionary futurists and best-selling authors. Students gain skills in policy analysis and strategic thinking by building on a strong foundation of academic disciplines — from anthropology and sociology to history and religion — that provide context for current and emerging domestic and international situations. Nearly half of students are current military members who can complete the program from anywhere in the world and at their own pace.

Hacking for Defense class

Hacking for Defense (H4D) is a project-driven course that teaches problem-solving, creative thinking and solutions development. ASU student teams from engineering, business, design and other disciplines apply innovative approaches to national security problems sourced directly from a sponsor within the DOD. Capstone programs match highly talented undergraduate and graduate students with operational military commands to deliver rapid, early stage prototypes, whether technical or policy-centered, that help solve project sponsor challenges. Meanwhile, X-Force Fellowship, a summer internship program, provides undergraduate and graduate students and recent graduates an opportunity to serve their country by solving real-world national security challenges in collaboration with the DOD.

Taking the Pentagon to the People

ASU connects the talents of undergraduate and graduate students to career opportunities within the DOD and other federal agencies as a host for the event series, “Taking the Pentagon to the People.” Hosted in collaboration with the DOD’s Diversity Management Operation Center, the program also forges connections between DOD representatives and ASU faculty and staff, who gain insights on how the agency can support their recruitment, teaching and research activities.