First HarvardX course from Kennedy School lets students advise on Syria, Iran, NSA/Wikileaks

Graham Allison and David Sanger of the Harvard Kennedy School will teach a HarvardX course, “American National Security, Strategy and the Press,” this fall. Participants in the free online course will play the role of adviser to President Obama on some of the hardest national security challenges facing the U.S.

Made available via edX, the online learning enterprise founded by Harvard and MIT, the course will be offered in an experimental format. Students may apply to be among 500 participants in the Harvard Online Classroom or may enroll in the course (no application required) as an auditor.

Those admitted to the Harvard Online Classroom will watch the videos, read approximately 75 pages a week, complete ALL assignments including three Strategic Options Memos by the deadlines set in the course, participate in sections led by Harvard teaching fellows, and contribute to moderated discussion forums with students online and in the Harvard campus classroom. At the conclusion of the course, those students who have satisfied all the requirements will receive a HarvardX certificate.

A link to the application will be available on the edX site from September 11 through 6:00 p.m., EST on September 20. Applicants will be required to submit a written practice assignment.

Those who choose to audit the course can watch the videos, read the assigned course materials at their own pace, think about the assignments, and engage with their classmates in the discussion forum. Auditors are not eligible for a certificate at the conclusion of the course.