Air Force Institute of Technology - Overview

Overview

A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT has been offering degrees since 1956 and was founded in 1919. Its primary purpose is to provide continuing specialized education to select officer and enlisted U.S. military personnel and civilian employees at the graduate level. Previous names for AFIT include the Air School of Application and the Air Corps Engineering School.

The Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) serves a similar purpose. The United States Army currently does not have a similar institution, choosing instead to send its members to either NPS, AFIT or civilian institutions. NPS and AFIT should not be confused with Command and Staff colleges or War Colleges, which concentrate instead on staff functions, civil-military affairs, tactics and strategy.

Under a recent joint agreement between the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy, and codified by the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission, AFIT and the Naval Postgraduate School have realigned their academic programs to reduce duplication, and both schools will be under the oversight of a common oversight panel. As an example of the consolidation, Navy officers are sent to learn aeronautical engineering at AFIT, while the Air Force officers learn meteorology at the Naval Postgraduate School.

On 8 May 2012, AFIT formally welcomed its first civilian Director and Chancellor during an appointment of leadership ceremony. Dr. Todd Stewart served for 34 years with the United States Air Force retiring in 2002 at the rank of Major General.

AFIT's three resident schools include:

• The Graduate School of Engineering and Management offers graduate programs leading to Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in engineering, applied science, and management disciplines. The Graduate School has six departments:
  • Aeronautics and Astronautics
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • Engineering Physics
  • Mathematics and Statistics
  • Operational Sciences
  • Systems and Engineering Management
• The School of Systems and Logistics teaches more than 80 professional continuing education courses in acquisition management, logistics management, contracting, systems management, software engineering, and financial management delivered to warfighters around the globe via customer focused delivery modes including resident, on-site, and online courses.
• The Civil Engineer School develops and delivers civil engineer and environmental professional continuing education and provides consultation in support of U.S. air and space forces.

After a long history of program disasters starting with the founding of the U.S. Air Force, the AFIT finally established a acquisition center of excellence in 2012.