Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
Dean
Christina H. Paxson
Associate Dean
Nolan M. McCarty
Departmental Representative
Gary J. Bass
Professor
R. Douglas Arnold, Public Affairs, Politics
Larry M. Bartels, Public Affairs, Politics
Roland Benabou, Public Affairs, Economics
Alan S. Blinder, Economics, Public Affairs
Carles Boix, Public Affairs, Politics
Charles M. Cameron, Public Affairs, Politics
Brandice Canes-Wrone, Public Affairs, Politics
Anne C. Case, Public Affairs, Economics
Miguel A. Centeno, Sociology, International Affairs
Thomas J. Christensen, International Affairs, Politics
Christopher F. Chyba, International Affairs, Astrophysical Sciences
John McConnon Darley, Psychology, Public Affairs
Angus S. Deaton, International Affairs, Economics
Paul J. DiMaggio, Sociology, International Affairs
Christopher L. Eisgruber, Public Affairs, University Center for Human Values
Edward W. Felten, Computer Science, Public Affairs
Aaron L. Friedberg, International Affairs, Politics
Noreen J. Goldman, Public Affairs, Demography
Bryan Grenfell, Public Affairs, Ecology and Environmental Biology
Gene M. Grossman, International Affairs, Economics
G. John Ikenberry, International Affairs, Politics
Harold James, History, Public Affairs
Robert O. Keohane, Public and International Affairs
Atul Kohli, International Affairs, Politics
Stephen M. Kotkin, History, International Affairs
Alan B. Krueger, Public Affairs, Economics
Paul R. Krugman, International Affairs, Economics
David S. Lee, Public Affairs, Economics
John B. Londregan, International Affairs, Politics
Alexandre Mas, Public Affairs, Economics
Douglas S. Massey, Public Affairs, Sociology
Nolan M. McCarty, Public Affairs, Politics
Sara S. McLanahan, Public Affairs, Sociology
Helen V. Milner, International Affairs, Politics
Andrew M. Moravcsik, Politics, International Affairs
Katherine S. Newman, Public Affairs, Sociology
Michael Oppenheimer, International Affairs, Geosciences
Christina H. Paxson, Public Affairs, Economics
Uwe E. Reinhardt, Public Affairs, Economics
Thomas Romer, Public Affairs, Politics
Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, International Affairs, Economics
Cecilia E. Rouse, Public Affairs, Economics
Kim Lane Scheppele, Public Affairs, University Center for Human Values
Eldar B. Shafir, Psychology, Public Affairs
Harold T. Shapiro, Public Affairs, Economics
Lee M. Silver, Molecular Biology, Public Affairs
Anne-Marie Slaughter, International Affairs, Politics
Paul E. Starr, Sociology, Public Affairs
Marta Tienda, Public Affairs, Sociology
James Trussell, Public Affairs, Economics
Frank N. von Hippel, Public and International Affairs
Mark W. Watson, Public Affairs, Economics
Lynn T. White III, International Affairs, Politics
Jennifer Widner, International Affairs, Politics
David S. Wilcove, Public Affairs, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Robert D. Willig, Public Affairs, Economics
Deborah J. Yashar, Public Affairs, Politics
Julian E. Zelizer, Public Affairs, History
Visiting Professor
Nannerl O. Keohane, Laurance S. Rockefeller Distinguished Visiting Professor of Public Affairs and the University Center for Human Values
Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor in Middle East Policy Studies
Associate Professor
Elizabeth M. Armstrong, Sociology, Public Affairs
Gary J. Bass, International Affairs, Politics
Denise L. Mauzerall, Public and International Affairs
Emily Pronin, Psychology, Public Affairs
Alexander T. Todorov, Psychology, Public Affairs
Assistant Professor
Daniela Campello, International Affairs, Politics
Sylvain Chassang, Public Affairs, Economics
Rafaela M. Dancygier, International Affairs, Politics
Christina Davis, International Affairs, Politics
Jan DeLoecker, Public Affairs, Economics
Taryn L. Dinkelman, Public Affairs, Economics
Ilyana Kuziemko, Public Affairs, Economics
Amy E. Lerman, Public Affairs, Politics
Daniel M. Oppenheimer, Psychology, Public Affairs
Elizabeth L. Paluck, Psychology, Public Affairs
Grigore Pop-Eleches, Public Affairs, Politics
Markus Prior, Public Affairs, Politics
Georges Renier, Public Affairs, Sociology
Samuel A. Schulhofer-Wohl, Public Affairs, Economics
Jacob N. Shapiro, International Affairs, Politics
Bradley R. Simpson, History, International Affairs
Lecturer with Rank of Professor
Stanley N. Katz, Public and International Affairs
Adel A. Mahmoud, also Molecular Biology
Lecturer
Mayling E. Birney, Public and International Affairs
Barbara K. Bodine, Public and International Affairs
Robert P. Finn, Public and International Affairs
Edward Freeland, Public and International Affairs
James I. Gadsden, Public and International Affairs
Jean Baldwin Grossman, Public and International Affairs, Economics
Jeffrey S. Hammer, Politics and International Affairs
Robert Hutchings, Public and International Affairs
James A. Leach, Public and International Affairs
Hugh B. Price, Public and International Affairs
Nathan Scovronick, Public and International Affairs
Silvia Weyerbrock, Public and International Affairs, Economics
Cesar Zucco, Public and International Affairs
Undergraduate Program
The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs is Princeton’s memorial to a distinguished alumnus who was president of the University, governor of New Jersey, and president of the United States. The purpose of its undergraduate program is to carry forward Woodrow Wilson’s interest in preparing students for leadership in public and international affairs.
The school is policy-oriented and emphasizes problem solving. The undergraduate program therefore stresses a course of study designed to familiarize students with social science and other disciplines applicable to the solution of public problems. For purposes of concentration in upperclass years, the school is the equivalent of a department of instruction.
Courses offered by the Woodrow Wilson School, as well as courses chosen from the economics, history, politics, sociology, and psychology departments, form the plan of study for undergraduates in the school. Policy seminars and the senior thesis are an integral part of the program. A final departmental exercise at the end of senior year tests the student’s ability to integrate the senior thesis with other course work.
Policy Seminars
The most distinctive aspect of the undergraduate experience in the school are the junior policy seminars, called task forces or policy conferences. Woodrow Wilson School concentrators and certificate students enroll in one seminar each semester of their junior year. The policy conferences and task forces are very similar, except for their size; the conferences typically enroll 12 to 15 students, the task forces 6 to 10 students. The topics for the policy conferences are therefore somewhat broader.
In each of these exercises, juniors work together with a faculty director, one or two seniors, and often a graduate student, toward proposing solutions to current problems in public and international affairs. Each junior conducts research on a topic carefully chosen to shed light upon the larger problem that is central to the group. Topics for independent work are therefore derived from the overall needs of the seminar. The tools students employ in their seminar are likewise a function of the topics to which the group’s work is addressed. Woodrow Wilson School students are thus encouraged to use any intellectual discipline or skill that may help solve a problem.
In the seminars, faculty directors and guest lecturers provide background information, bibliographic references, and ideas on possible interviewees, but the students are expected to take responsibility for both the organization and the outcome of the exercise. The principal collective product is a final report with policy recommendations drafted after debates among the entire group.
Admission
Princeton sophomores may apply for admission to the Woodrow Wilson School for the final two years of their undergraduate education. Applications are reviewed and decisions made by a faculty committee. The curriculum and the procedure for admission are discussed with interested sophomores at a meeting held early in the spring term.
Each year the school admits 90 juniors, who are selected on the basis of their academic record and strength of preparation, the perspectives and experiences they would bring to the school, and their commitment to the study of public and international affairs. Among the 90 juniors admitted each year, most will be regular concentrators. A smaller number will be admitted as certificate students.
There are no fixed course prerequisites for admission to the school. The Admissions Committee looks for candidates whose prior academic and nonacademic experience give evidence of interest in public or international affairs and the ability to do well in the courses and independent work comprising the school’s curriculum. Before applying, a student should take social science, humanities, natural science, or engineering courses focusing on public concerns. Some knowledge of economics and of the workings of American political and social institutions, together with an acquaintance with the history of the United States and other nations, is strongly recommended. Applicants with interests in policy problems that demand technological expertise should demonstrate a strong background in science, engineering, or mathematics. While a student must fulfill the normal language requirement for graduation, there is no language requirement for admission to the school.
Requirements
Upon admission, the student prepares a program for the junior and senior years in consultation with the program director. Departmental courses should form a coherent program of study, combining both techniques of analysis from the social science disciplines and courses that give the student substantive depth in a particular policy area.
Concentrators must take the core course, WWS 300 Democracy, and at least three other Woodrow Wilson School courses. They must also take at least three courses, 300-level or above, in one of the following departments: economics, history, politics, psychology, or sociology. In addition, students must take at least one course 300 or above in politics, economics, and history, and one in either psychology or sociology. Finally, the Woodrow Wilson School has ethics and methods requirements:
Ethics Requirement: Concentrators and certificate students must take one of the following courses: WWS 301, CHV 310, PHI 202, PHI 309, PHI 319, POL 313, REL 261, REL 363.
Students intending to apply to the Woodrow Wilson School may want to fulfill their distribution requirements in ethical thought and moral values (EM) by selecting courses from the Woodrow Wilson School course offerings.
Methods Requirement: By the end of their junior year, concentrators and certificate students must take WWS 333 or one of the of the following courses: WWS 332, ORF 245, ECO 312, ECO 313.
For WWS concentrators, the policy seminars fulfill the junior independent work requirement of the University. The senior thesis constitutes the independent work of the senior year. The senior thesis is a scholarly paper related to the subject in public or international affairs that is of greatest interest to the student. It is based on extended research and is the major project of the senior year. The Woodrow Wilson School senior comprehensive examination is an oral defense of the thesis that also tests the student’s ability to integrate the senior thesis with other course work.
Certificate Program
Princeton sophomores who intend to concentrate in other departments such as science or engineering may be admitted to the Woodrow Wilson School and awarded the school’s certificate upon graduation. Certificate students apply to the school in the same manner as concentrators and are considered for admission on the same basis. They have fewer course requirements than concentrators.
Certificate students complete their junior independent work in their home departments. They also take a policy seminar each semester of their junior year and receive course credit for them. Certificate students fulfill the senior thesis requirement in one of two ways: (1) writing a senior thesis in their home department that has a substantial public policy component; (2) writing a senior thesis in the Woodrow Wilson School.
Research
The program awards several scholarships each year to students from any department for travel and living expenses related to senior thesis research in public policy. The program also awards several scholarships to Woodrow Wilson School students participating in public policy internships during the summer between the junior and senior years.
Study Abroad
Although not a requirement, study abroad has become a regular part of the Woodrow Wilson School program. Study abroad during junior year is limited to those universities at which task forces may be offered. In recent years task forces have been offered at the University of Cape Town in South Africa; Oxford University in England; the Institute of Political and Social Sciences in Paris, France; the American University in Cairo, Egypt; and Fudan University in Shanghai, China.
Courses
WWS 300 Democracy Fall SA
An introduction to current empirical and theoretical work done in politics on the following topics: the formation of the state, dictatorships, democratic transitions and democratic consolidation, electoral representation and political accountability, the relationship between democracy and redistribution, and the role of constitutional structures in the aggregation of preferences and in policy making. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. Katz, C. Boix
WWS 301 Ethics and Public Policy (also POL 308, CHV 301) Spring EM
This course examines basic ethical controversies in public life. What rights do persons have at the beginning and end of life? Do people have moral claims to unequal economic rewards or is economic distribution properly subject to political design for the sake of social justice? Do we have significant moral obligations to distant others? Other possible topics include toleration (including the rights of religious and cultural minorities), racial and gender equity, and just war. Two lectures, one preceptorial. S. Macedo
WWS 304 Science, Technology, and Public Policy Not offered this year SA
An exploration of the issues encountered by policymakers in scientific and technical areas of public policy. Topics include: the importance of understanding the scientific structure of a problem, critical ethical and technical assumptions, risk assessment, interest groups and policy alternatives, the roles and responsibilities of technical experts. Case studies and policy debates include: nuclear weapons policy, climate change, alternative energy futures, R and D policy, genetic engineering, and cancer risks. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff
WWS 306 Public Leadership and Public Policy (also POL 329) Fall SA
Considers the intellectual (ethical and legal) frameworks for making leadership decisions on major public issues in the United States, as well as the operational frameworks for effective and responsible public leadership. Students review historical cases from federal and state government, discuss the policy decisions made in each case, and examine the decision-making processes in view of these frameworks. Two 90-minute seminars. N. Scovronick
WWS 307 Economics and Public Policy (also ECO 349) Fall SA
Evaluation of public policies in terms of economic efficiency and equity. The course will examine the conditions that lead to efficient markets and those that lead to market failure, as well as the implications for government policy. It will discuss both existing and proposed public policies in a number of areas, including education, health care, poverty, financial markets, the environment, and industrial development. Prerequisites: Economics 101 and 102, or instructor’s permission. Two lectures, one preceptorial. E. Bogan
WWS 309 Media and Public Policy (also SOC 313) Spring SA
Introduction to communications policy and law, covering such topics as freedom of the press and the development of journalism; intellectual property; regulation of telecommunications, broadcasting, and cable; and policy challenges raised by the Internet and the globalization of the media. P. Starr
WWS 310 The American City (also POL 339) Not offered this year SA
An introduction to major theories of the growth and structure of cities, and an analysis of contemporary urban policy issues in the United States. We begin with a set of political, social, and economic explanations for the formation and character of American urban environments. To evaluate these theories, the evolution and structural change in United States cities, particularly in the postwar period, will be examined. The course is designed to provide students with the background necessary to analyze urban policies and the prospects for American cities in the next century. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff
WWS 312 The Psychology of Decision Making and Judgment (also PSY 321) Fall EC
An introduction to the logic of decision making and reasoning under uncertainty. Focus on psychological mechanisms that govern choice and judgment and on characteristic errors found in intuitive judgment and choice. Discussion of divergence from the model of rational agent often assumed in social science theory and economics. Rules governing pleasure, pain, and well-being provide background for analysis of the rationality of some individual choices and for the evaluation of general policies that affect human welfare. Prerequisite: introductory statistics for social science or instructor’s permission. E. Shafir
WWS 313 Peacemaking (also POL 387) Not offered this year SA
The course begins with a discussion of civil and international conflict and the history of making peace. It then focuses on contemporary civil wars and the lessons from an array of United Nations and other efforts to make peace, including the Gulf War, Cambodia, El Salvador, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia. One lecture, one two-hour seminar. W. Nash
WWS 315 Bioethics and Public Policy Fall SA
Focuses on the relationship between selected issues in bioethics and their implications for public policy. Issues include the ethical responsibilities of doctor and patient to each other; the ethics of research with human subjects; the ethics of death and dying; the ethics of reproduction; eugenics; access to health care; the role of bioethics committees; and animal experimentation. Considers the history of cultural attitudes toward these matters, the contemporary policies designed to deal with them, and the landmark court cases that have focused on bioethics. One three-hour seminar. H. Shapiro
WWS 316 Health and the Environment Fall SA
Explores population history and its relationship to health; ecology, economics, and health; ecosystem dynamics; drought, famine, and health; psychosocial environments and physiology; well-being and positive health; and social stratification and morbidity. B. Singer
WWS 317 Race and Public Policy (also SOC 312, AAS 317) Not offered this year SA
Analyzes the historical construction of race as a concept in American society, how and why this concept was institutionalized publicly and privately in various arenas of U.S. public life at different historical junctures, and the progress that has been made in dismantling racialized institutions since the civil rights era. One three-hour seminar. D. Massey
WWS 320 Human Genetics, Reproduction, and Public Policy (also MOL 320) Spring SA
Advances in genetic and reproductive technologies will soon make possible rapid, complete genetic screens on individuals and cells and, ultimately, permit us to direct our own evolution as a species. The course presents the science behind genetic screening, therapy, and enhancement, as well as cloning and the manipulation of human embryos, along with an analysis of anticipated uses by individuals and corporations. Discussions will focus on the impact of these revolutionary technologies on society as a whole, as well as on approaches to policy making. Prerequisites: MOL 209 or 214, or AP credit in biology, or instructor’s permission. L. Silver
WWS 321 Theory and Practice of International Diplomacy (also POL 389) Not offered this year
This course examines the development, challenges, and multiple complexities of international diplomacy. It addresses three dimensions: the conceptual aspects of diplomacy in the international system; the historic development of international diplomacy; and the intricacies of international negotiations. Two lectures, one preceptorial. W. Danspeckgruber
WWS 322 The Politics of Policy Making (also POL 341) Fall SA
How and why do American policymakers enact the policies that they do? This seminar first explores the environment in which policymakers operate, with special attention to public opinion and elections, and then examines how Congress, the president, and other political actors make decisions. One three-hour seminar. R. Arnold
WWS 324 Education Policy Fall SA
This course will consider some of the major issues in education policy, with particular focus on attempts to secure equal educational opportunity. It will include discussions of desegregation and resource equity, education for immigrants and the handicapped, school choice, and school reform. Two 90-minute seminars. N. Scovronick
WWS 325 Civil Society and Public Policy (also AMS 350) Fall SA
Civil society is the arena of voluntary organizations (churches, social welfare organizations, sporting clubs) and communal activity. Scholars now tell us that such voluntary and cooperative activities create “social capital”—a stock of mutual trust that forms the glue that holds society together. The course will be devoted to the study of the history of these concepts, and to the analysis of their application to the United States and other societies. This will be an interdisciplinary effort, embracing history, philosophy, anthropology, sociology, and other disciplines. One three-hour seminar. S. Katz
WWS 326 Environmental Regulation: Law, Economics, and Public Policy (also ENV 326) Not offered this year SA
This course examines legal responses to environmental problems. Topics include: economic and noneconomic rationales for environmental regulation; the choice of regulatory tools; major federal pollution statutes; common law doctrines; liability for waste cleanup; the use of information as a regulatory tool; economic instruments such as marketable permits and pollution taxes; and international agreements, with a focus on global warming and international trade. One three-hour seminar. Staff
WWS 327 Pharmaceutical Research and Health Policy (also CHM 443) Fall SA
Examines the process by which drugs are discovered, tested on human populations, and approved for sale. Analyzes the role of the Food and Drug Administration in guaranteeing the safety of medication, as well as the role of Congress in providing oversight, governing prices, and regulating competition. Examines the legal, political, and economic context in which health policy decisions are made in this area. Two 90-minute seminars. C. Schutt
WWS 332 Quantitative Analysis for Public Policy Fall QR
The course will review the principal methods of data analysis and applied statistics used in political, economic, psychological, and policy research, including multiple regression, analysis of variance, and nonparametric methods. These methods will be introduced in the context of case studies that will incorporate research design, data collection, data management, exploratory and inferential analyses, and the presentation of results. Two lectures, one preceptorial. G. Lord
WWS 333 Claims and Evidence in Policy Research Fall, Spring SA
Teaches concentrators the foundations of research design, including formulating researchable questions from topics and how to use empirical evidence to evaluate claims. Students are exposed to a variety of substantive problems and research approaches that use qualitative and quantitative methods through critical reading of social science literature. Covers several practical aspects of research, including ethics and regulations concerning research with human subjects; library search tools and reference sources in social sciences; and resources for acquiring data and conducting statistical analyses. Two lectures, one preceptorial. Staff
WWS 334 Global Environmental Issues (also ENV 334) Spring SA
As the world population grows and becomes more industrialized, human impact on the global environment also increases. This course examines a set of global environmental issues such as climate change, ozone layer depletion, population growth, and depletion of global fisheries, as well as regional issues such as loss of biological diversity, deforestation and desertification, acid rain, and the pollution and overuse of fresh waters. It also provides an overview of the scientific basis for these problems and examines current and possible future policy responses. One three-hour seminar. D. Mauzerall
WWS 335 Current and Future Climate (see GEO 366)
WWS 401, 402 Policy Seminars Fall, Spring
Open only to students enrolled in the school. (See description above.) Juniors who are concentrators in the school must register for the policy task force as “Junior Independent Work.’’ Certificate students and seniors should register for 401 or 402 as a course rather than junior independent work. Staff
WWS 450–490 Special Topics in Public Affairs Fall, Spring
Each term special courses will be offered on topical issues of concern for public policy. Course form may be seminar, workshop, lecture with preceptorials, or other combinations. These courses are open to students of all departments. Staff