Feb. 6, 2026 — The Pentagon announced it will end all military training, fellowship and certificate programs at Harvard University, saying the school no longer meets the needs of the Defense Department or the military services.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said officers sent to Harvard have in some cases returned “looking too much like Harvard,” influenced by “globalist and radical ideologies,” and that the university no longer serves the department’s interests. In a post on X, Hegseth added, “Harvard is woke; The War Department is not.” He also accused Harvard of failing to protect students and faculty from antisemitic violence and harassment.
The decision, which takes effect for the 2026–27 academic year, will discontinue graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs at Harvard. Service members already enrolled will be allowed to complete their current courses. Hegseth said similar programs at other Ivy League schools will be reviewed in the coming weeks amid allegations of a “pervasive institutional bias” across those institutions.
Harvard hosts several programs for veterans and active-duty personnel, including fellowships at the Harvard Kennedy School, and has longstanding ties to the U.S. military dating back to the Revolutionary War. Hegseth, who earned a master’s degree from Harvard, returned his diploma in a 2022 television segment and his office later drew attention to that moment on social media.
The military provides graduate education through its own war colleges as well as civilian universities. Attendance at prestigious civilian schools is not always a direct factor in promotion within the services but can benefit service members preparing for civilian careers after military service.
The move is the latest development in a broader dispute between the Biden-designated Defense Department leadership under the Trump administration and Harvard. The administration has cut billions in federal research funding to Harvard and sought to restrict foreign-student enrollment after the university resisted certain government demands last year. Harvard says those actions amount to unlawful retaliation for refusing to adopt the administration’s ideological positions or accept unprecedented federal oversight; the university has filed two lawsuits and a federal judge has issued orders favorable to Harvard in both cases, with the administration appealing.
Talks toward a resolution surfaced last summer but did not result in a deal. On Monday, President Trump reportedly increased his demand to $1 billion from Harvard as a condition for restoring federal research funding. Other elite universities have reached settlements to regain funding: Columbia agreed to give $200 million and Brown $50 million, earmarked for workforce development programs.