Fellowships
Petraeus Center
Career Advancements
The ISW Fellowship Program is dedicated to shaping the future of American national security by investing in the next generation of leaders. Designed for talented early- to mid-career professionals, the program equips participants with the knowledge, experience, and critical thinking skills needed to make a meaningful impact. Our goal is to cultivate a community of committed citizens who pursue careers across the national security spectrum and who possess a deep understanding of the role of military power in defending the United States and its core values.
Fellowship
Evans Hanson
The Evans Hanson Fellowship launches the professional careers of the highest-performing war studies graduates to establish them as national security rising stars. The Evans Hanson Fellowship is named for one of our late friends and colleagues, Evans Hanson, with whom ISW President Kimberly Kagan served in Afghanistan in 2010-2011. He was a rising star within the Army being groomed for senior positions at the time of his death. Major Hanson possessed a sense of responsibility for providing a personal contribution to the United States Army, demonstrated by his acts of dedicated effort, reliability, and thoroughness. ISW salutes his dedication to education, service, and freedom through its Evans Hanson Fellowship.
Fellowship
War Studies
The War Studies Fellowship kickstarts the careers of outstanding war studies graduates by embedding them within ISW’s cutting-edge research teams. Fellows work alongside our full-time analysts, gaining hands-on experience in national security analysis, intelligence collection, forecasting, research, and innovation. They also sharpen their writing and briefing skills, emerging as confident, well-rounded professionals prepared to tackle complex security challenges
Fellowship
National Security
The National Security Fellowship accelerates the professional development of mid-career experts by empowering them to lead high-impact research initiatives. Building on their existing experience, fellows conduct in-depth analyses on issues vital to U.S. national security. Their work informs policymakers, the military, and the media—shaping decisions at the highest levels of government.
Hertog
War Studies Program
The Hertog War Studies Program is an intensive two-week course designed to introduce undergraduate students to the theory, practice, organization, and oversight of war and military power. The program bridges the civil-military divide by equipping students at the outset of their careers with the tools to critically evaluate military decision-making and strategy.
next generation
Internship program
The Petraeus Center is dedicated to shaping the next generation of national security leaders through its dynamic internship program, offered each spring, summer, and fall. Interns gain hands-on experience across all facets of
ISW’s work, contributing to cutting-edge research and analysis in a fast-paced, mission-driven environment.
Learning how to rapidly and accurately analyze and communicate information will be invaluable for the next stage of my career. The responsibilities and opportunities I had at the start of my career on ISW’s China Team…to develop my analytic, managerial, and teaching proficiencies provide a firm foundation for future professional opportunities.
NILS PETERSON | ‘25 Marshall Scholar / HWSP ‘21 / War Studies Fellow 2022-2024
Being the Evans Hanson Fellow on ISW’s Russia Team has allowed me to rigorously develop my analytical skills and apply them to a diverse range of critical real-world problem sets. The professional and intellectual competencies I have had the opportunity to advance during this fellowship have made me a stronger and more effective analyst at ISW, and I look forward to building on these foundational skills throughout the rest of my career.
KAROLINA HIRD | Deputy Team Lead & Analyst, Russia Team / HWSP ‘22 / Evans Hanson Fellow 2022-2024
Being a National Security Fellow has allowed me to conduct long-form open source research on the Russian military and the war in Ukraine. I’ve greatly appreciated being able to zoom out and study broader questions about Russian military capabilities while continuing to draw on the granularity of Russia team’s past and ongoing daily work on the war, ensuring my forecasting work remains grounded in the developing battlefield situation. It has also been a pleasure to meet and exchange insights with warfighters and policymakers in the US and in our partner states.
MASON CLARK | National Security Fellow / Former Russia Team Lead
