The U.S. Air Force's premier professional military education institution, established 1946.
Air University provides a comprehensive spectrum of Air Force education through multiple colleges and schools. The institution offers graduate programs in specialized military disciplines, progressive career-long professional military development for officers, enlisted personnel, and civilians, and specialized programs for senior leaders. Key academic components include the Air Command and Staff College (10-month master's-level resident program), Air War College (10-month senior-level course), School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (graduate school for airpower and space power strategists), and the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF), the only degree-granting institution dedicated exclusively to enlisted military personnel. The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT), located at Wright-Patterson AFB, serves as the college of engineering, science, and technology.
Air University administers a tiered system of professional military education (PME) for all ranks. Officer education includes Squadron Officer School (6.5-week course for captains), Air Command and Staff College (intermediate level for field grade officers), and Air War College (senior level for lieutenant colonels and colonels). Enlisted education is managed through the Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education, which oversees the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (graduating over 1,800 selectees annually), NCO academies, Airman Leadership School, and the First Sergeant Academy. The Jeanne M. Holm Center for Officer Accessions and Citizen Development operates the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) and Air Force Officer Training School (OTS).
Air University conducts extensive research on evolving security environments, emerging threats, and future applications of air, space, and cyberspace power. The institution houses the Air Force Historical Research Agency, the repository for U.S. Air Force historical documents since 1949, and operates specialized research institutes including the China Aerospace Studies Institute, Enlisted Heritage Research Institute, and the Center for Strategic Deterrence Studies (formerly the Counterproliferation Center). The Muir S. Fairchild Research Center (MSFRIC) provides research support, and Air University Press publishes scholarly works on military strategy and doctrine.
Air University maintains worldwide educational reach through its colleges, centers, schools, and global instructional sites. The institution educates not only U.S. Air Force personnel but also officers and personnel from other U.S. military branches, federal government civilians, and international military organizations. The International Officer School provides a seven-week course for international officers, and numerous programs accommodate distance learning and correspondence-based education to extend access beyond resident instruction at Maxwell AFB and other primary operating locations.