The WWII continuing education track provides a rich sequence of online courses that will allow WWII experts and educators to learn at their own pace, while gaining premier knowledge that can be used in their professional careers. Learners of all backgrounds will be able to increase their knowledge of the war, as well as their critical thinking skills, while achieving quality personal growth and intellectual development through the vanguard coursework.
The Student Experience
The continuing education program aims at the student who is less concerned with grading and accumulation of academic credit hours, and more interested in the satisfaction and intellectual stimulation of lifelong learning. Continuing education courses will be briefer and more concise, while still drawing upon the combined resources and personnel of The National WWII Museum and Arizona State University.
Continuing education courses will also take participants “behind the lines” at the Museum, allowing them to see artifacts and documents that are not displayed as part of the regular exhibits. Without assignments, papers, or exams, the continuing education experience amounts to education for the purest reason of all: the challenge of learning.

Meet Our Instructors
Taught by the scholars of The National WWII Museum’s Institute for the Study of War and Democracy; Museum historians, curators, and educators; as well as leading faculty from Arizona State University, the WWII continuing education program provides lifelong learners in-depth insights into the war and its legacies. Get to know some of the course instructors:
WWII: Air War, The Pacific Theater
During World War II, military aviation played a significant role in all theaters. From nimble single-engine fighters, like the Japanese Zero and American P-51, to lumbering B-17 and B-29 bombers, the use of aircraft not only changed the course of the war, but altered the future of warfare. The second in a two-part series, this course will cover the use of tactical and strategic aviation in the Pacific theater of operations and discuss the legacy of conventional and atomic bombing efforts. Participants will:
- Gain an appreciation for the development of carrier aviation.
- Understand the role naval aviation played in Pacific war.
- Recognize the challenges of the strategic bombing effort in the Pacific and the inherent problems of the B-29.
- Comprehend the scale of destruction resulting from US Army Air Forces adjustments in the Pacific bombing effort.
- Contextualize the use of atomic weapons over Japan in August 1945.
- Draw conclusions and meanings from the US Strategic Bombing Survey and its analysis of the American effort for the future.
Enrollment Dates: August 7–September 18
Enroll by August 21 using the code WWIIAWPT for a 10% discount!
Course Begins: September 4
Course Ends: November 6
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