Congratulations on your selection for attendance as part of the National Defense University, Class of 2021. I welcome you and your family to NDU, the premier national security institution focused on advanced joint education, leader development and scholarship. NDU offers a unique academic environment to carry out the vital mission the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has given us: NDU develops joint warfighters and other national security leaders through rigorous academics, research and engagement to serve the common defense. 

You were chosen because of your outstanding record of accomplishment, and your proven potential for future positions of leadership. NDU educates, develops, and inspires national security leaders through a comprehensive and collaborative academic experience to anticipate and confront national and global security challenges.  Once here, you will be encouraged and taught to innovate, adapt, and think critically and imaginatively in order to anticipate and overcome future challenges to national security.  Our commitment to this vision requires a combination of excellent faculty and subject matter experts, rigorous curricula and programs, and quality total health resources to make your time with us as beneficial and productive as possible. 

Finally, I encourage you to visit the “Incoming Student” section of our website for important information to help you and your family make a smooth transition to Fort McNair and the Washington, D.C. area. Please pay particular attention to our registration requirements in the welcome letters and complete them as soon as possible. If you have any questions, please contact our Human Resource Directorate at ndu-hr.mil@ndu.mil. Revisit our homepage periodically as we are constantly updating and adding key information. The NDU team and I look forward to your arrival and we are excited about the upcoming year. Welcome to NDU!

Sincerely,

F. J. ROEGGE
Vice Admiral, USN
16th President

See the AY 20-21 Incoming Student Orientation page for university and college orientation information, schedules, guidance, virtual briefings,and activities.

COVID-19 restrictions will have no impact on the start date of classes. NDU will begin the academic year, as planned, on 03 August 2020. No quarantine or restriction-of-movement is required for incoming students. Uniformed personnel and their dependents reporting for advanced military training are exempt from the previous stop movement order, per Secretary of Defense Memorandum, “Transition to Conditions-based Phased Approach to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Personnel Movement and Travel Restrictions,” 22 May 2020.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19, test positive for COVID-19, or come into contact with someone confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19, immediately contact NDU’s Health and Fitness Directorate at COVID@ndu.edu or (202) 685-2791.

Though initially, much of your course work will be conducted virtually, NDU is dedicated to providing traditional classroom instruction to the maximum extent feasible given current circumstances. Accommodations for academic instruction are constantly changing as Federal and local guidelines are updated, and it will affect the delivery of the curriculum accordingly. Please check this website often.

• NDU Policy Memo, "National Defense University Return to Campus for Academic Year 2020-2021," signed by VADM F.J. Roegge (USN), President, NDU, 4 Aug 2020
• JTF-NCR/MDW/JBMHH​ Guidance for Wearing of Masks *Includes Fort McNair/NDU
• DC Mayor’s Order 2020-080: Wearing of Masks in the District of Columbia to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19