AFIT's Mission & Vision
The AFIT of today is the Air and Space Force of tomorrow
The Air Force Institute of Technology, with its main campus located at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the Department of the Air Force’s leader for advanced, multi-disciplinary academic education, as well as its institution for initial technical and professional continuing education. A component of Air University and Air Education and Training Command, AFIT is committed to providing defense-focused graduate education and related research, and operationally-relevant initial skills training and professional continuing education to sustain the technological supremacy of America's air, space, and cyber forces. Since 2008, AFIT has been designated as the Air Force’s Cyber Technical Center of Excellence.
AFIT accomplishes this mission through four schools: the Civil Engineer School, the Graduate School of Engineering and Management, the School of Strategic Force Studies, and the School of Systems and Logistics. Through its Civilian Institution Programs Office, AFIT also manages the educational programs of Airmen enrolled at more than 450 civilian universities, research centers, teaching hospitals, and industrial organizations. The office also manages the Air Force’s Education with Industry (EWI) program, through which about 75-80 military and civilian Airmen spend a year with companies to learn industry best-practices and bring those practices back to the Air Force.
AFIT has been accredited by the Higher Learning Commission since 1960. In addition, the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET accredits several AFIT master’s engineering degree programs. Since graduate degrees were first granted in 1956, AFIT has awarded 20,831 master's and 1,037 Doctor of Philosophy degrees. In addition, Air Force students attending civilian institutions have earned more than 18,000 graduate degrees and certifications in the past 20 years. AFIT provides professional continuing education to an average of 30,000 students each year in civil engineering, acquisition and logistics, nuclear studies, space operations, and cyberspace operations career fields.
AFIT is home to the D’Azzo Research Library with a physical holding of more than 75,000 titles. Through online databases and journal subscriptions, students and faculty have access to several thousand journal titles, conference proceedings and e-books for their research. Library facilities are shared with the Air Force Research Laboratory and collaboration efforts provide wider access to electronic resources at affordable cost and the best term of licenses.
AFIT's Mission
Educate defense professionals to innovatively accomplish the deterrence and warfighting missions of the U.S. Air and Space Forces.
AFIT's Vision
Leading defense-focused education, research, and consultation to accelerate military superiority across all domains.
AFIT's Core Values
At AFIT, we execute our mission and reach toward our vision while embracing the core values of the Air Force: “Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do” and of the Space Force: “Character, Connection, Commitment, and Courage." These core values form the bedrock of AFIT’s commitment to cultivating leaders with technical expertise, professional skills, and high moral character who will meet the nation's military challenges of today and tomorrow. In the context of our mission and vision, we apply these core values to achieve:
Mission-Driven Outcomes: We engage with passion and purpose to deliver relevant education, cutting-edge research and timely consultancy with unwavering focus on our nation’s military advantages and deterrence capabilities.
Academic Quality: We uphold the highest standards of academic rigor, integrity, honesty, and fairness; striving for distinction and credibility among our military and civilian educational peers; and modelling the way for total force development
Defense-Focused Innovation: We drive the advancement of knowledge to deliver mission-relevant innovation that accelerates capability development, decision advantage, and enhanced lethality through research and consultancy practices consistent with the highest standards of transparency, credibility, ethics, and accountability.
Courageous Curiosity: We challenge conventional thought and push boundaries to drive the future of military superiority. We value intellectual courage and empower our community to think boldly, be curious, take risks, and explore new ideas to advance the AFIT, Air Force, and Space Force missions.
Continuous Development: We empower every member of our community to seize opportunities for knowledge, skill enhancement, and scholarly pursuits to ensure that our curricula, research, and consultancy remain at the forefront of national defense and security.
Effective Teamwork: We collaborate across disciplines and organizations to leverage our individual expertise, skills, and experiences to advance the Air and Space Forces’ human capital and technical capabilities.
Strategic Collaboration: We foster trusted partnerships with joint, interagency, allied and academic partners to amplify defense capabilities and accelerate knowledge transfer into operational impact with enhanced lethality.
