The U.S. Navy's premier professional military education institution for developing strategic leaders since 1884.
The Naval War College offers multiple professional military education programs tailored to officer rank and career stage. The College of Naval Command and Staff serves mid-grade officers (lieutenant commanders/majors), while the College of Naval Warfare serves senior officers (commanders/captains and above). The Maritime Advanced Warfighting School (MAWS) is a 13-month program for operational planning and leadership development. The National Security Affairs Department provides curricula in contemporary security studies and foreign policy analysis. All programs emphasize joint professional military education (JPME) and prepare leaders for strategic decision-making.
The Naval War College is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). Since 1990, it has awarded Master of Arts degrees in National Security and Strategic Studies. Students may also transfer up to 18 credits toward a Master of Arts in International Relations from Salve Regina University. The College of Distance Education, established in 1914, delivers web-based core courses in Strategy and War, Theater Security Decision Making, and Joint Maritime Operations.
The college operates multiple research centers including the China Maritime Studies Institute, Russia Maritime Studies Institute, Stockton Center for International Law, and the Institute for Future Warfare Studies. The Henry E. Eccles Library (in Hewitt Hall) provides access to over 90 databases and supports faculty research. The Naval Historical Collection, established in 1969 in Mahan Hall, houses archives and manuscripts on naval warfare history. McCarty Little Hall (opened 1999) serves as the primary wargaming facility with state-of-the-art technology for war games and conferences.
Located on Coasters Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay, the 4-acre campus features historic buildings including Luce Hall (opened 1892), Mahan Hall (1904), and Pringle Hall (1934). The original building, the former Newport Asylum for the Poor, now houses the Naval War College Museum. The campus was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1964 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The college maintains partnerships with Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies for collaborative research and education.
The Naval War College has educated numerous senior military leaders, including Fleet Admirals Chester W. Nimitz and William F. Halsey Jr., and Chiefs of Naval Operations. The college pioneered wargaming beginning in 1887 and served as the laboratory for designing nearly all U.S. naval operations of the twentieth century. The Naval War College Press has published the scholarly Naval War College Review since 1948, along with the Newport Papers and historical monographs.