Ward Thomas has taught in the Political Science Department at Holy Cross since September 1997.  Prior to that he taught courses at The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where he received his Ph.D. in August 1997.  He has a B.A. from the College of William & Mary, as well as a J.D. and an M.A. from the University of Virginia.  Before pursuing his Ph.D., he practiced law in Fairfax, Virginia.  In 1998-1999 he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, and in 2000-2001 he was one of two "Young Scholars" in the Program on Ethics and Public Life at Cornell University. More recently, he received an Arthur J. O'Leary Faculty Recognition Award to support his research on nonstate actors

His scholarly work focuses the ethical and normative aspects of international security.  He is the author of The Ethics of Destruction: Norms and Force in International Relations, published by Cornell University Press.  His articles have appeared in International Security, Security Studies, Armed Forces & Society, The Journal of Religious Ethics, The SAIS Review of International Studies, Sciences Humaines (Paris), The Boston Globe, and other publications. His teaching and research interests include international security and strategic studies, international relations theory, U.S. foreign policy, international institutions, and ethics and international relations.

Ward is married and has two sons, Jack and Patrick.