Mapping Project on Undergraduate NACD Education in Public Universities across the United States and Australia
Research Report authored by:
Phone Min Thant
Supervised By:
Megan Mackenzie
Simons Chair in International Law and Human Security
School for International Studies
Simon Fraser University
Vancouver, Canada
August 2025
Executive Summary
This report observes the prevalence and accessibility of NACD (Non-proliferation, Arms Control, and Disarmament) education across the post-secondary education system in the United States and Australia. Using a variety of publicly available information: course descriptions, outlines, contents, and syllabi (where applicable), the report maps the number of undergraduate courses discussing NACD topics across 50 largest public universities by state and seven Ivy League institutions in the United States and 37 public universities in Australia. The resulting database observes the following results:
• A broad lack of courses completely focusing on NACD topics.
• 52 out of 95 total universities (55%) offer courses that mention NACD topics.
• In the United States, 33 out of 50 largest public universities (66%) in each state and 7 out
of 8 Ivy League institutions offer at least one “partial” NACD course.
• In Australia, only 12 out of 37 public universities (32%) offer similar courses.
In Australia, only 12 out of 37 public universities (32%) offer similar courses. The majority of NACD courses observed in this report primarily deal with the issue of nuclear non-proliferation: out of the 72 partial disarmament-oriented courses observed, 41 (57%) focus on the topic. In terms of departments offering such courses, Political Science and various iterations of International Relations continue to dominate. Overall, this report highlights a general lack of accessibility to disarmament education throughout institutions in both countries that warrant further research and policy action, especially in a conflict-ridden world today.
See below for the full report: