Woodrow Wilson School Undergraduate Program Viewbook

Studying Abroad, South Korea

Senior Thesis Day Celebration, “Fountain of Freedom”

Message from the Dean Princeton’s unofficial motto, “In the nation’s service and the service of humanity,” shapes the Woodrow Wilson School undergraduate experience.

Student Advisory Committee

The Woodrow Wilson School is a major center of education and research in public and international affairs. At every level, the work at the Woodrow Wilson School is informed by our commitment to a multidisciplinary approach to policy issues, a global perspective and an emphasis on top-quality research and teaching.

Teaching

The School offers a multidisciplinary liberal arts major for Princeton University undergraduate students who are passionate about public policy. I hope this brochure provides a sound overview of our program. Please visit wws.princeton.edu for additional information.

Teaching

Teaching

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Princeton University Robertson Hall Princeton, NJ 08544-1013 ugradwws@princeton.edu P. 609-258-4861 F. 609-258-2649 wws.princeton.edu/undergraduate-academics

Best,

Undergraduate Program

Cecilia Elena Rouse Dean

Advising Policy Task Force, Washington, D.C.

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Robertson Hall, Scudder Plaza

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The Woodrow Wilson School Major

Prerequisites As freshmen, students are given a list of courses that count toward the prerequisites for the WWS major. One class each from the following must be completed prior to the beginning of the fall term of the junior year:

The core curriculum is founded upon WWS courses, cross-listed with multiple departments, which are relevant to the study of policymaking, analysis and evaluation. In addition to a flexible core curriculum, students enroll in policy seminars in the junior year and write a policy thesis in the senior year. Students also can choose electives from a wide range of policy-relevant courses offered by the University.

In order to declare WWS as a major, students must satisfy a number of prerequisites.

When they declare in the spring of their sophomore year, students are asked to describe their primary policy interests and how they plan to meet the WWS requirement for additional language study and cross-cultural or field experience.

Prerequisites

Senior Thesis

Core Curriculum The core curriculum is best described as structured choice. Every student must take one course from each of the disciplines below. There are multiple courses that can satisfy each core requirement.

Elective Courses Each student must complete four electives, chosen from a list provided by WWS.

Prior to the second semester of the senior year, each student must have completed an approved cross-cultural or field experience.

The requirement may be satisfied in a number of ways, including:

The Junior Policy Seminars meet Princeton’s requirement for junior independent work.

There are two components to the requirement: completing a Policy Task Force and a Policy Research Seminar.

Policy Task Force

Public Service Internships

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Junior Policy Seminars

Study Abroad

Policy Research Seminar

Field Experience

Junior Policy Seminars

Elective Courses

Each task force addresses an unfinished question of public policy and must go beyond dealing with what “is” to what “should be.”

The culmination is a final report that may be presented to a “client” — a public official or area specialist in the public or not-for-profit sector.

• Intermediate Microeconomics • Politics • Sociology or Psychology • Science Policy • Ethics

An electronic WWS advising tool helps students pick courses and manage the requirements.

WWS Major

• Academic research • Interviewing and field research • Oral presentation before a group • Effective participation in collective discussion and deliberation

Students must also complete one Policy Research Seminar in the junior year. In these small classes, faculty members supervise small groups of students engaged in research on specific policy topics. In addition, students participate in a research-methods lab designed to teach them quantitative and qualitative research skills.

No more than three courses can come from the same department. Up to three elective courses can be taken in WWS semester-long study abroad programs.

Core Curriculum

Field Experience

• Statistics • Introductory Microeconomics • History • Politics, Sociology or Psychology

Each task force helps students develop a variety of skills:

WWS students must complete one Policy Task Force during the junior year. The Policy Task Force is the most distinctive feature of the School’s undergraduate program and is different from a course, seminar or independent work in other departments.

• Semester study abroad • Summer study abroad • Policy-relevant summer study abroad • Princeton’s Bridge Year Program • PIIRS Global Seminar– international location • Extended service in an underserved community • Policy-relevant work abroad • Internship involving public policy work in a nonprofit, government or international agency • Thesis research abroad

Recent Policy Task Force Topics Stabilization After Intervention; American Efforts in a Turbulent World • The Migrant Crisis in Europe: The International Response • Health Care for the Poor in the U.S.: The Role of the States • Governance, Human Rights and International Development • Mainstreaming the Environment in Asia

Study Abroad WWS encourages students to study abroad during one of their junior year semesters. Locations vary annually.

At each site, students enroll in coursework at the host university and complete a WWS Policy Task Force.

You Buenos Aires, Argentina

Tokyo, Japan

Senior Thesis Day, Princeton

Paris, France

Belfast, Northern Ireland

Recent Policy Research Seminar Topics Violence and Politics • Modern Authoritarianism • Courts, Judges, and Controversies • Globalization as a Complex Adaptive System • The Psychology of Partisanship and Polarization • Education Policy in Developing Countries, Post-2015

Senior Thesis Day, Princeton

Oxford, England

Cape Town, South Africa

Public Service Internships WWS students interested in completing an unpaid, full-time internship between their junior and senior years can secure funding from the School. Grants typically range from $3,000 to $5,000.

Internships must be at least six weeks long, in governmental or nonprofit organizations and focused on public policy or international affairs. Past internships include:

Policy Task Force, South Africa

Policy Task Force, Washington, D.C.

Senior Thesis Every WWS student completes a senior thesis that addresses a specific policy question and draws out policy implications or comes to policy conclusions. In addition to the written report, each student presents an oral defense, which satisfies Princeton’s comprehensive exam requirement.

WWS awards several scholarships each year to students from any department for travel and living expenses related to senior thesis research in public policy.

Nicolas Trad

Class of 2017

“Through its emphasis on crossdisciplinary learning, the Woodrow Wilson School has equipped me with the insights and critical abilities that are essential to tackling today’s policy challenges.”

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Department of State

Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

Amnesty International

Class Day, Princeton

Class Day, Princeton

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