Curriculum Development

The National War College curriculum represents an intensive, 10-month program in national security strategy geared to the learning styles and professional requirements of mid-career military and civilian national security students. It reflects six major core courses, an analytically intensive international trip, and a supporting elective program. NWC leadership has made significant efforts to make the core curriculum into an integrated, mutually-supporting course of instruction, and this effort is reflected in an intensive curriculum development process at NWC.

The Curriculum Review Process

Before each academic year, the NWC Commandant approves the proposed curriculum, with advice from the Dean of Faculty. Flowing into that decision is an in-depth review process for each core course and the curriculum as a whole.

Review of each Core Course: Feedback on each core course takes the form of so-called “hotwashes” and via computerized student surveys. At the conclusion of each core course, the Core Course Director or his/her designee will schedule student and faculty oral “hotwashes” to take place on the final day of the course. The student hotwash will include one representative from each course seminar. That representative collects their seminar’s reactions to the course and suggestions for improving the course, and disseminates those views at the hotwash. The faculty hotwash involves all of the teaching FSLs and their understudies. The Director of IR and Assessment documents issues raised in both hotwash sessions. Hotwash documentation is retained in the course report binder.

The Core Course Director is give time to review both sets of feedback, and then briefs the Associate Dean of Academics on the proposed changes to the course for the subsequent year based on feedback and performance data. The Core Course Director documents these proposed changes; documentation is included in the core course report book. Proposed changes are then briefed to the CCC members.

The Core Course Development process then starts anew, as documented elsewhere in this document



Mid-Year and End-of-Year Curriculum Briefs: The Dean of Faculty provides a mid-year status brief to the NWC Commandant on the execution of the fall curriculum, the results of fall oral exams, and areas of focus for the next academic year. The Dean of Faculty does the same thing at the end of the Academic Year, incorporating the results of the spring oral exams, graduate, supervisor, and senior leader feedback, end-of-year student surveys, as well as other data from ad hoc focus groups and surveys.

Leadership Curriculum Briefings: Major core course and program modifications are briefed to the NDU and NWC leadership prior to the start of each Academic Year.

Core Course Directors brief the Dean of Faculty on final significant changes for the next academic year.

The Dean of Faculty briefs the Commandant for his/her approval of those changes.

The Dean of Faculty briefs the NDU-P on those changes. Core Course Directors brief all faculty members at the NWC Faculty Offsite in August.

Major Curriculum Reviews: When required, the NWC Dean of Faculty will initiate a major curriculum review process, which is conducted by a committee of faculty members decided upon by the DOF upon recommendation from the Associate Deans and Department Chairs.  These normally take place every five to seven years, depending on international and domestic circumstances and NWC personnel changes. Such reviews begin from first principles, beginning with the college’s Mission Statement, and eventually develop the objectives, parameters, and sequencing of the Core Curriculum. The last major curriculum review began in 2005 and ran through 2006; we are in the process of undertaking the next major review, which will begin in 2011.