Pentagon Ends All Military Programs With Harvard, Calls Ivy League School ‘Woke’

The Trump administration’s standoff with Harvard University escalated on Friday after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon would end all professional military Education, fellowships, and certificate programs associated with the Ivy League institution.

In a post on X, Hegseth said the decision reflected a growing ideological divide between the US military and Harvard.

“The Department of Defense is formally ending all professional military education, fellowships, and certificate programs with Harvard University,” he wrote. “Harvard is woke. The Department of Defense is not.”

The move marks a sharp break from decades of cooperation between the US military and one of America’s most prestigious universities. It comes amid broader efforts by President Donald Trump’s administration to challenge elite colleges over campus protests, diversity initiatives, and foreign research partnerships.

According to Hegseth, Harvard’s graduate-level professional military education programs will be discontinued beginning in the 2026–2027 academic year. Military officers currently enrolled in such programs will be allowed to complete their studies.

“For far too long, this department sent its best and brightest officers to Harvard in the hope that the university would better understand and respect our warrior ethos,” Hegseth said. “Instead, many returned with heads full of radical and globalist ideologies that do not strengthen our fighting force.”

Hegseth acknowledged the university’s historic ties to the US military, noting that General George Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in Harvard Yard in 1775 and that Harvard has produced more Medal of Honor recipients than any other civilian institution.

“There was a time when military service was normalized and honored at Harvard,” he said, adding that the relationship had deteriorated significantly in recent years.

The defense secretary accused the university of turning away from core American values, alleging that some campus research programs had partnered with the Chinese Communist Party and that the school tolerated a Culture that “celebrated Hamas, allowed attacks on Jews, and continues to promote race-based discrimination in violation of Supreme Court rulings.”

The Pentagon also signaled that Harvard may not be the only institution affected. Hegseth said the department would review similar arrangements with other Ivy League schools and civilian universities.

“We will evaluate all existing graduate programs for active-duty service members to determine whether they provide cost-effective, strategically valuable education,” he said, drawing a contrast with public universities and military-run institutions.

Hegseth said the Pentagon would refocus on what he described as its core mission.

“We are here to build warriors, increase lethality, and restore deterrence,” he said. “Spending billions of dollars at elite universities that actively undermine our mission and our nation will no longer be part of that strategy.”

Harvard University did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The university has previously sued the Trump administration over efforts to restrict or withdraw federal funding.