Princeton University

The Woodrow Wilson School was founded in 1930 as the School of Public and International Affairs. It offers an undergraduate major and a professional school that brings together teaching and research in economics, politics, sociology, psychology, history, and other disciplines within the University to prepare talented women and men for careers in public service, particularly government service in the area of international affairs. It offers a rigorous education for undergraduates and graduate students. Its graduate degree programs include a two-year course of study leading to a master in public affairs (M.P. A.), a one-year program for mid-career professionals leading to a master in public policy (M.P. P.), and a Ph.D. program.

The graduate program was added in 1948 when the school was named in honor of Woodrow Wilson, the 28th U.S. president, former governor of New Jersey, and former president of the University. The graduate program was greatly strengthened in the 1960s through a $35 million gift from Marie Robertson, wife of Charles Robertson ’26.

The school counts among its alumni two secretaries of state, a secretary of defense, numerous senators and governors, a chair of the Federal Reserve Board, many U.S. and foreign government officials, ambassadors, leaders of nonprofit organizations, and other influential policymakers.

The school emphasizes policy-oriented research and teaching in its graduate program. M.P. A. candidates follow a core curriculum and then branch into one of four fields of concentration. An M.P. A./J.D. joint-degree program and five certificate programs expand the graduate curriculum.

Both undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to gain real-world experience in domestic public policy or international affairs. The undergraduate program is the only selective major at Princeton. Undergraduates participate in policy seminars, which can include travel in the U.S. and abroad. Graduate students are required to complete a policy workshop for a real-world client, with recent workshops focusing on such subjects as immigration policy, managing elections in post-conflict environments, microfinance, nuclear non-proliferation, and the right to primary education. Graduate students also gain professional experience during a required summer internship between their first and second years of study.

In the fall of 2006, the Woodrow Wilson School launched the “Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative” to encourage more of the nation’s best and brightest students to pursue careers in the U.S. federal government, especially in the international relations arena. The six-year program, beginning in a student’s junior year, includes a summer federal government internship, approximately two years of federal government service after college, and graduation from the M.P. A. program at the Woodrow Wilson School. In the summer of 2007 the school expanded its M.P. P. program.