Description

The program is designed to provide the technical, legal, and historical background needed to gain a deeper understanding of civil and military nuclear policy. Henry Sokolski, Executive Director of NPEC and former Deputy for Nonproliferation Policy at the Department of Defense, will teach the seminars along with eleven guest lecturers. 

This is the 14th year NPEC has run the course. Never has it been so relevant. Recent nuclear developments include American efforts to denuclearize Iran; the dramatic growth of China’s nuclear arsenal; Putin’s seizure of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and threatened assaults against Ukraine’s and other nations’ reactors; North Korea’s dramatic expansion of its nuclear capabilities; the growing prospect of “friendly” nuclear weapons proliferation in Poland, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia; the global promotion of advanced nuclear reactors; and the modernization of America’s nuclear arsenal and development of the Golden Dome. The certificate program is designed to help understand these developments. Applications for the Fall 2026 sessions of the NPEC Public Policy Certificate Program are due by July 17, 2026 for early decision or August 21, 2026 for regular decision. The program begins with a kick-off on Thursday, September 3, 2026.

For more information and to apply, visit NPEC’s website: https://npolicy.org/call-for-npec-nuclear-policy-certificate-program-applicants-for-2026/

Requirements

This course is designed for full-time legislative staff (including those detailed to the Hill), executive branch staffers working nuclear policy issues, the military, embassy staff from friendly nations, and journalists working national security and nuclear-related beats.