Undergraduate
Program
Message from the
Dean
Princeton’s unofficial motto, “In the nation’s service and in the service of all nations,” shapes the Woodrow Wilson School undergraduate experience. 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. 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.
Cecilia Elena Rouse Dean
Teaching
Student Advisory Committee
Teaching
Senior Thesis Day
Policy Task Force, D.C.
Advising
Teaching
Class Day
The Woodrow Wilson School Major 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 Core Curriculum
Senior Thesis
WWS Major Field Experience
Public Service Internships
Elective Courses Junior Policy Seminars
Study Abroad
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: • Statistics • Introductory Microeconomics • History • Politics, Sociology or Psychology
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. • Intermediate Microeconomics • Politics • Sociology or Psychology • Science Policy • Ethics
Elective Courses Each student must complete four electives, chosen from a list provided by WWS. 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. An electronic WWS advising tool helps students pick courses and manage the requirements.
Junior Policy Seminars 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 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. Each task force helps students develop a variety of skills: • Academic research • Interviewing and field research • Oral presentation before a group • Effective participation in collective discussion and deliberation 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. Policy Research Seminar 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.
Field Experience 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: • 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
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.
Recent Policy Task Force Topics The Working Poor . Tackling Criminal Justice Abuses in Latin America . Improving Health Care for Vulnerable Populations: Modernizing Medicaid . The Future of Syria . Halting Climate Change: Can Clean Energy Meet the Challenge? . After the Wars
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. Internships must be at least six weeks long, in governmental or nonprofit organizations and focused on public policy or international affairs.
Past internships include:
Recent Policy Research Seminar Topics Intelligence and Foreign Policy . European Integration . Drifting from the Center: The Psychology of Political Polarization . The Affordable Care Act: What Happens Next? . The Economics of Health Policy in Developing Countries . Politics, Media, and Misinformation . Law and Public Policy . Education Policy in Developing Countries, post-2015
U.S. Department of State
UN High Commission for Refugees
U.S. House of Representatives
Amnesty International
Study Abroad Recent locations:
Oxford, England
Singapore
Cape Town, South Africa
Milan, Italy
San Jose, Costa Rica
Natalie Fahlberg
Undergrad, Class of 2018 “The Woodrow Wilson School has allowed me to tailor my education to my interests. From studying abroad at Oxford to senior thesis research in Israel, Woody Woo has encouraged me to pursue my passion of international relations and has trained me to identify the best policy solutions. As a future officer in the U.S. Army, I know that my major has helped me developed the critical thinking skills to be a future leader.�
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