The United States Air Force School of Advanced Air and Space Studies is the "Air Force graduate school for airpower and space power strategists".
History
The school began as the School of Advanced Airpower Studies. It began operation on July 22, 1991, at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. The first class of 25 students was all-male, although later classes were open to women. Most of the first class came from the U.S. Air Force's Air Command and Staff College.
The first director of the school, Colonel William F. Fortner, stated that the school's goal was to "create the soldier-scholars for conflicts of the future". Fortner likened the school to the U.S. Army's School of Advanced Military Studies, but stated that the new school's curriculum would go "much deeper into the study of air-power history, doctrine and strategy". The curriculum, planned for a duration of 11 months, was taught by a faculty of nine civilian and military Ph.D instructors.
The curriculum in the first years comprised two parts, focusing on "the past and present of warfare". Students read about 150 pages per night, and wrote and defended a research paper.