Courtesy of Jackson School of Global Affairs

With an acceptance rate of 12 percent, the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy announced that it had accepted 22 students — 19 Yale undergraduates and three Yale graduate students — into its 2025 cohort.

Nearly 180 students applied this year, the highest number in the program’s history. The cohort represents 11 different majors at Yale and three of Yale’s graduate and professional schools: the School of Environment, the School of Management and the School of Public Health.

“The selection process entailed a review of all applications by the Grand Strategy faculty. We looked for students with stellar academic achievements, a clear idea of what they want to accomplish in the program, how they wish to contribute to the program and a range of intellectual and extracurricular interests that could complement other students,” said Michael Brenes, co-director of the Grand Strategy program.

Brenes told the News that faculty narrowed the applicant pool to around 50 finalists before ultimately selecting 22 students after conducting a round of short interviews.

Students apply for the year-long program in the fall and begin the course, “Studies in Grand Strategy,” in the spring semester. During the summer, students conduct a research project — often requiring trips abroad — and complete the program in the fall semester.

“It was also a highly competitive search in terms of the quality of applications,” Brenes said. “It was very difficult to narrow the cohort down to the seminar-size format that the class demands. We were very pleased with the range of applicants who applied, too.”

The Grand Strategy course encourages students to focus on long-term, large-scale strategic challenges in statecraft, politics and social change, aiming to deepen their understanding of global and domestic issues.

“Our hope is that the program provides students with the opportunity to evolve in their thinking, to be introspective about their goals and interests in ways that clarify what they want to accomplish within and beyond Yale,” said Brenes. “We aim to give students the space to think deeply, and in the long term, about who they are as individuals, not just as Yale students.”

The Grand Strategy Program was founded in 2000 by Yale professors John Lewis Gaddis, Paul Kennedy and Charles Hill. 

Emphasizing interaction between professors and real-world practitioners, the program also provides students with a comprehensive approach to leading effectively across a variety of fields.

“The program’s design [of] bringing together students from around the university, alongside practitioners and guests with years of expertise in their fields also functions to help students better understand the opportunities and limitations involved in creating change,” said Brenes. “The program does not just provide a class, but an experience, and hopefully an invaluable one that leaves a positive, indelible mark on the students’ time at Yale.”

William Barbee ’26, a member of the new cohort, told the News that he believes that the lessons from the program are easily applicable to a wide variety of fields and that anyone interested in taking greater control over their own lives can learn from the study of grand strategy. 

“From romance to finance, nation-building to shed-building, strategy helps to define distant, vague ends by realizing the means for achieving such ends,” said Barbee.

Owen Hathaway Hacker ’26, a member of the new cohort, told the News that he applied to the Grand Strategy Program as it had some “very direct applications” to his future plans of attending law school and working for the federal government as the program provides access to “a host of national security and foreign policy experts.”

“The program [also offers a] practical counterbalance to my history-heavy course load that, while I love, can sometimes feel a bit disconnected from the present day,” said Hathaway Hacker. “I’m really looking forward to speaking with, and in some cases learning from, accomplished officials.”

Throughout the spring and fall semesters, the program examines the relevance of grand strategy to a variety of issues including political stability, racial justice, economic development, immigration, health, climate sustainability, human rights and technological advancement.

Elisa Cruz ’26, who hopes to pursue a career focusing on educational justice, told the News that she applied to Grand Strategy with the intention of better informing herself about organizing social movements and fighting for social equity.

“I believe to change the world, we have to understand how we got here,” said Poppy Stowell-Evans ’26. “Part of this includes understanding the strategy used by movements that have changed the world, that created this version of society and understanding the thinkers who have influenced so many of our leaders and societal structures.”

The cohort of new scholars also provided the News with advice for those hoping to apply to the program in the future.

Nicole Chen ’26, a member of the new cohort, told the News that members of the program all contribute a distinct passion or interest. She believes that the key to succeeding is the ability to clearly articulate an individual’s interests, approach the application strategically and demonstrate  how “you hope to make an impact in that area in the future with the help of Grand Strategy.”

“If I hadn’t already spent years working in roles that required strategic thinking, I would have approached my application by reflecting on an issue I’m passionate about today,” said Genevieve Chase ’26, a student in the Eli Whitney Program who is also a member of the new Grand Strategy cohort. “For me, the key was being curious, open to learning and authentic, and honestly, [being] excited about the opportunity.”

Only juniors, masters or doctoral students are eligible for the Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy.