Applications now being accepted through August 31, 2025.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 30, 2025) – The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU) is now accepting applications for the sixth cohort of its National Security & Counterterrorism (NSCT) Fellowship. The fellowship brings together the most promising young leaders in the national security communities of the Five Eyes (FVEY) nations—Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Delivered in partnership with the National Security College of the Australian National University (ANU), the NSCT program provides leadership training, skill development and professional mentorship to each new cohort of Fellows. Created in 2019 as part of the McCain Institute’s mission to advance democracy, human dignity, and security, the National Security & Counterterrorism Fellowship serves as an enduring network of national security professionals who are linked with peers and colleagues—and a substantial alumni network—across the Five Eyes partner nations.
“The McCain Institute’s National Security and Counterterrorism Fellowship program brings together rising national security and intelligence experts across the Five Eyes partner nations. In so doing, the Institute is helping to build a powerful network of professionals who, in the future, will work together to tackle security challenges,” said McCain Institute Board Member General David Petraeus, U.S. Army (Ret.), former commander of the Surge in Iraq, U.S. Central Command, NATO/U.S. Forces in Afghanistan, and former director of the CIA.
The NSCT Fellowship was designed and created by Nicholas Rasmussen, who brings a wealth of national security expertise and networks to the program. He was previously the executive director of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism (GIFCT), the Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) from 2014 – 2017, and a former White House senior counterterrorism official under President Bush and Obama. He most recently served as the Counterterrorism Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2022-2024.
“The U.S. is connected to its Five Eyes partners through shared values, shared interests and the belief that our collective capacity to respond to the threats of both today and tomorrow is significantly enhanced by Five Eyes collaboration and cooperation,” said Nicholas Rasmussen, founder of the NSCT Fellowship and former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). “This fellowship is designed to ensure that the future of the Five Eyes framework remains strong and enduring.”
Executed in partnership with the National Security College of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra, the 2026 program will feature meetings with senior leaders at key government agencies, briefings with experts and thought leaders in the national security space, and innovative leadership training with premier scholars and national security practitioners.
“The National Security College is delighted to work closely with the McCain Institute to design and deliver this program aimed at supporting emerging leaders in our Five Eyes national security community, including exceptional young Australian public servants working to advance Australia’s security interests,” said Professor Rory Medcalf AM, head of the ANU National Security College.
The 2025 cohort includes 16 fellows from agencies such as the U.S. State Department, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the Australian government, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and more.
Programming for the 2026 cohort will include in-person engagements in Washington, D.C., the United Kingdom, and Australia.
For more information about the NSCT fellowship, or to apply, click HERE. The application deadline is August 31, 2025.
About the McCain Institute at Arizona State University
The McCain Institute is a nonpartisan organization inspired by Senator John McCain and his family’s dedication to public service. We are part of Arizona State University and based in Washington, D.C. Our programs defend democracy, advance human rights and freedom, and empower character-driven leaders. Our unique power to convene leaders across the global political spectrum enables us to make a real impact on the world’s most pressing challenges. Our goal is action, not talk, and like Senator McCain, we are fighting to create a free, safe, and just world for all.
About Arizona State University
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American research university, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.