Air Force Institute of Technology

The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a defense-focused university and research center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. It educates military and civilian defense professionals for the US Air Force and Space Force. AFIT is part of Air University and Air Education and Training Command. It began in 1919 as the Air School of Application.

AFIT teaches through four schools. These are the Civil Engineer School, the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the School of Strategic Force Studies and the School of Systems and Logistics. AFIT has awarded graduate degrees since 1956. It also takes in international students.

Professional continuing education is a big part of the work. About 30,000 students take these courses each year. The topics include civil engineering, acquisition and logistics, nuclear studies, space operations and cyberspace operations. The Civil Engineer School and the School of Systems and Logistics also offer consulting services.

The Civilian Institution Programs office manages the studies of Airmen at more than 450 civilian universities, research centers, teaching hospitals and industrial organizations. The same office runs the Education with Industry program. In it, about 75 to 80 military and civilian Airmen spend a year with companies. They learn industry practices and bring them back to the Air Force.

Research is a large part of AFIT's work. It has centers of excellence for cyberspace, digital innovation and integration, and scientific test and analysis techniques. Its research centers cover autonomy and navigation, hypersonics, cyberspace, directed energy, space research and assurance, technical intelligence, and nuclear expertise. Since 2008, AFIT has been the Air Force's Cyber Technical Center of Excellence. Featured topics include artificial intelligence, cyber education, digital literacy and hypersonics education.

The Higher Learning Commission has accredited AFIT since 1960. The Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET accredits several of its master's engineering programs. The D'Azzo Research Library holds more than 75,000 titles. Students and faculty also use online databases with several thousand journals, conference papers and e-books. The Air Force Research Laboratory shares the library.

Services

• Graduate education
• Professional continuing education
• Defense research
• Consulting services
• Civilian institution programs
• Education with Industry program
• Cyber education
• Hypersonics education