Strategic benefit to DOD graduate education institution

Potential trade-off compared to civilian institution

1

Tradition and culture building

May make DOD too inward looking

2

Creates the teamwork/networking that will help with future operations

Isolation from nonmilitary cultures and networks to international students; Might not be exposed to best practices from industry and academia

3

More predictable content and schedules

Civilian institutions are less predictable, but they may offer greater course diversity

4

Combines education with training

Lose education goals in favor of training outcomes

5

Education includes relevant research to foster lifelong learning skills

Innovation can be constrained by hierarchy within the students and the faculty

6

Coursework more adaptable to changing DOD priorities

Some coursework is difficult to link to fundamental studies and application to DOD needs

7

Strong peer mentorship network and structured experience

Student mentoring and structured programs are subject to wide variations, creating uncertainly in quality and consistent of experience

8

Easier to do classified/sensitive work

Classified/restricted research capacity and sharing is extremely limited

9

Few intellectual property issues

Understanding of intellectual property challenges as key to doing business with DOD

10

Tacking any problem-even if socially unpopular or unacceptable

Lesser problem sets, more focused on nonmilitary areas, solutions might not capture all stakeholder and requirements

11

Leverage of unique facilities and subject matter experts-AFIT with AFRL, centers, and local program offices-NPS with laboratories and centers

Many universities do not have adjacent DOD research centers focused on military science and technology

12

Business processes mirror sponsors

Less hiring flexibility