Strategic & Operational Research Department

This institute studies China’s rapid commercial and maritime development. Research topics include shipbuilding, global commerce, law of the sea, and naval diplomacy.

Over the last decade, it’s become vital for the U.S. Navy and its partners to better understand the strategic and operational factors that shape Russia’s approach to maritime issues.

Challenges lurk in cyberspace, including surveillance programs and wide-scale disruptions to government and corporations. This center advances and promotes research, education, and analysis in the evolving field of digital defense.

This institute focuses on the long-term needs of the U.S. Navy and national security. The center’s innovative, timely research and analysis will help leadership anticipate operational and strategic challenges.

Please Note: This program is currently on hold for Academic Year 2020-2021. Please visit the Gravely Group program page for more information.

Named for Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr., this year-long graduate research program dedicated to innovative, emerging naval and joint warfare technologies and concepts.

This faculty-student program focuses on the tactical and operational level of war at the classified level. Participants use operations analysis and free-play wargaming to examine high-intensity conventional warfare scenarios.

This group examines potential military challenges within the Middle East. This faculty-student collaborative group uses iterative, ongoing wargaming and operational analysis as its primary methodology.

In this part-time program students will examine Russian and U.S. weapons systems, doctrines, and warfighting capabilities in all domains. They will focus on adversary military capabilities, maritime and naval doctrine, and strategy.

Please Note: This program is currently on hold for Academic Year 2020-2021. Please visit the Mahan Scholars Group program page for more information.

This program focuses mainly on deterrence at the strategic level. Participants utilize critical thinking, research skills, and analytical writing in order to apply these deterrence concepts to a variety of realms, domains, and tools.