Harvard is woke: Pentagon ends all military programmes with Ivy League school

The Trump administration on Friday escalated its clash with Harvard University, with Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth announcing an end to all military training, fellowships and certificate programmes with the Ivy League school, calling it “woke” and unfit to shape America’s future military leaders.

“The War Department is formally ending all professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs with Harvard University,” Hegseth said in a post on X. “Harvard is woke. The War Department is not.”

The decision marks a sharp break in long-standing academic ties between the U.S. military and Harvard, and comes as President Donald Trump’s administration steps up pressure on elite universities over campus protests, diversity policies and foreign partnerships.

Hegseth said the move would take effect from the 2026–2027 academic year, ending graduate-level professional military education programmes at Harvard. Officers currently enrolled will be allowed to complete their courses, he said.

“For too long, this department has sent our best and brightest officers to Harvard, hoping the university would better understand and appreciate our warrior class,” Hegseth said. “Instead, too many of our officers came back looking too much like Harvard — heads full of globalist and radical ideologies that do not improve our fighting ranks.”

The Pentagon chief acknowledged that the US military had once shared a deep and productive relationship with the university, citing its role in American history.

“In 1775, Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army in Harvard Yard,” Hegseth said. “Through the Korean War, military service was commonplace at Harvard. There are more Medal of Honor recipients from Harvard than any other civilian institution.”

He argued, however, that Harvard today is no longer welcoming to military personnel or aligned with US values.

“Campus research programmes have partnered with the Chinese Communist Party,” Hegseth said. He also accused the university of fostering a campus culture that “celebrated Hamas, allowed attacks on Jews, and continues to promote discrimination based on race in violation of Supreme Court decisions.”

The Pentagon said it would now review similar arrangements with other universities.

“We will evaluate all existing graduate programs for active-duty service members at Ivy League schools and other civilian universities,” Hegseth said, adding that the goal was to determine whether they provide “cost-effective strategic education” compared with public universities and military-run institutions.

Going forward, Hegseth said the department would refocus on what he described as its core mission.

“Our focus is developing warriors, increasing lethality and reestablishing deterrence,” he said. “That no longer includes spending billions of dollars on expensive universities that actively undercut our mission and undercut our country.”

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