Harvard Kennedy School offers contingency plans to military students after Pentagon cut ties

Harvard Kennedy School will allow active military members to defer up to four years if they’re unable to immediately enroll after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the Pentagon would cut ties with the school.

Students accepted to Harvard who cannot attend will also be considered for expedited admission at public policy schools housed at Tufts, the University of Chicago, University of Texas at Austin and University of Michigan, according to a Harvard Kennedy School letter sent to prospective students Wednesday.

“While we hope to welcome active-duty military students to HKS next year, we are fully committed to making sure you get the education you deserve — even if you cannot get it at HKS,” said Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein in the letter.

Prospective students are set to receive acceptance letters later this month.

The elite graduate school of public policy and leadership has enrolled about 500 active duty members, reservists or military veterans into its graduate programs over the last decade, according to its website. This year about 8% of students has a military affiliation.

The Pentagon last month announced that it would sever academic ties from the institution. It's the latest escalation against the university that has come under blistering attack under the Trump administration — but has refused to bend.

In a Feb. 6 press release, the Defense Department said it will “discontinue graduate-level professional military education, fellowships and certificate programs at the school,” to take effect starting in the 2026-27 school year. Currently enrolled service members can finish their studies.

Hegseth, in the release and in a video message on X, accuses Harvard of enabling antisemitism, promoting diversity initiatives and maintaining ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

A 2013 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School who earned a masters in public policy, Hegseth also claimed military officers educated at Harvard return “full of globalist and radical ideologies.”

Harvard Kennedy School typically allows only one-year deferrals “in a very limited number of circumstances,” according to Weinstein’s letter. He wrote that he hopes this “extended deferral opportunity will make it possible for you to come to HKS to study later if you can’t make it now.”

In a statement Thursday, Tufts Fletcher School Dean Kelly Sims Gallagher said the expedited admissions consideration pact with Harvard will allow Fletcher to “deliver admissions decisions within days of a service member’s expression of interest to keep them on schedule for beginning studies in fall 2026.”

“We remain deeply committed to supporting those who serve our nation and look forward to expanding our community of service members as they advance their education in international affairs,” she said.

When asked to provide more clarity on what the Pentagon's separation with Harvard entails, a spokesperson said in an email Thursday that they have “nothing to add” beyond Hegseth’s announcement and linked to his video message.

In recent weeks, the Pentagon expanded a list of institutions where it will discontinue certain senior service fellowships which includes Harvard, MIT, Georgetown, Carnegie Mellon, Princeton and Yale.