Admission is restricted to those in military service, federal government employees, or international fellows who are chosen to undertake this work as in-resident students at Maxwell, AFB.

Electives

All students within the regular curriculum must complete four semester hours in the electives program. The electives program has the following objectives:

• Enhance and complement the core curriculum by providing opportunities to achieve greater depth and breadth of understanding in issues of special interest.
• Provide the AWC curriculum with the flexibility to adapt quickly to changes in the international and domestic security environments.
• Inspire and enable faculty and students to pursue specialized research.

Strategic Studies Paper (SSP)

The research requirement is designed to allow students to perform in-depth critical analysis on a subject of U.S. national security interest. The research process provides the opportunity to improve student argumentation and expression skills while creating products that address strategic and operational issues and topics vital to the national security community and its senior leadership. For successful completion of the research requirement, students must produce a strategic studies paper (SSP) in accordance with college standards. Most research will be conducted as an individual effort, but the AWC may offer selected students the opportunity to complete this requirement via a faculty-led group research project. The research course has the following objectives:

• Develop student analysis and evaluation skills through the process of inquiry and investigation.
• Provide students the opportunity to conduct research and to formulate ideas in a written form that is clear, coherent, and rational.
• Conduct research that is current, relevant, and responsive to the needs of the national security community and that contributes to solving problems faced by U.S. and other national government agencies (Department of Defense, Department of State, Ministries of Defense).
• Share the results of student research with key decision-makers.
• Generate a student research product that is suitable for publishing in a professional journal.