Class 2016 WWS Undergraduate Program Requirements

The Woodrow Wilson School offers multidisciplinary liberal arts major for students who desire to be engaged in public service and become leaders in the world of public and international affairs. To enable students to acquire the tools, understanding, and habits of mind necessary to pursue policy problems of their choosing, the major is largely self-designed, but with the structure and guidance needed for an education that is both broad and deep.

Program of Study The curriculum is founded upon WWS courses, cross-listed with multiple departments, that are relevant to the study of policymaking, policy analysis, and policy evaluation. Students take courses in at least four disciplines, including economics, history, politics, psychology, sociology, and science for public policy. One course in ethics is also required. Students enroll in policy seminars in the junior year and write a policy thesis in the senior year. Majors are required to know or take statistics and must be able to use the basics of single-variable calculus in order to take economics courses and some of the courses in science policy. Students are also required to complete at least one foreign language course beyond the University requirement. In addition, WWS requires study abroad, other cross-cultural experience, or policy-relevant field experience (whether foreign or domestic). When they designate WWS as their major in the spring of their sophomore year, students will be required to describe their primary policy interests and how their plans for coursework are related to those interests. In particular, students will be asked to select among a list of policy areas designated by WWS or, in the event their interests do not match one of the designated areas, to describe their own area of interest and the coursework that would accompany it. Students will also be asked to describe how they have or plan to meet departmental requirements for additional language study and for cross-cultural or field experience. Each student will then be assigned a faculty course advisor appropriate to their interests and program of study.

Prerequisites There are four prerequisites for concentrating in the Woodrow Wilson School: 1. 2. 3. 4. A course in Statistics A course in Microeconomics A course in History A course in Politics, Sociology or Psychology

All courses taken to meet these prerequisites must be taken on a graded basis (no pdf). These prerequisites can be satisfied by the following courses:

One Course in Statistics: WWS 200 ECO 202 ORF 245 POL 345 Statistics for Social Science Statistics and Data Analysis for Economics Fundamentals of Engineering Statistics Quantitative Analysis in Politics

AP Statistics will not be sufficient to fulfill this prerequisite. One Course in Microeconomics: ECO 100 Introduction to Microeconomics ECO 300 Microeconomic Theory ECO 310 Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach AP Microeconomics will not be sufficient to fulfill this prerequisite. One History course at any level (designated HIS). A cross-listed course with a HIS designation may also be used

One Politics, Sociology or Psychology at any level (designated POL, SOC, or PSY) Cross-listed courses with these designations can also be used. A course taken to meet the statistics requirement cannot be used to meet this requirement. A summer course or a course taken abroad can be used to meet a WWS prerequisite if the course is substantially the same as one of the courses offered at Princeton that would meet the prerequisite and the course is approved for Princeton credit. Courses taken as prerequisites can also be used to meet WWS core requirements if they are among those listed as required and they are taken at Princeton. Core Course Requirements Prior to graduation, WWS students must complete the core course requirements listed below. All courses used to meet these requirements must be taken at Princeton. One Course in Microeconomics: WWS 300 ECO 300 ECO 310 Microeconomics for Public Policy Microeconomic Theory Microeconomic Theory: A Mathematical Approach

One Course in Politics: POL 220/WWS 310 POL 351/WWS 311 POL 240/WWS 312 American Politics Politics in Developing Countries International Relations

One Course in Sociology or Psychology: WWS 330 WWS 331/SOC/AAS WWS 340 One Course in Science Policy: WWS 350 WWS 351/COS/SOC WWS 353/MAE 353 GEO 366/WWS 451 CEE 334/WWS 452 ENV 304/WWS 455 One Course in Ethics: WWS 370/POL 308 CHV 310/PHI 385 PHI 202 PHI 307/CHV 311 PHI 309/CHV319 POL 313 REL261/CHV261 REL 363 Elective Courses Each student must complete four electives from a list issued by WWS. Courses that could meet WWS requirements but are not used by a student for that purpose may be taken as electives. For WWS departmental credit, students can take no more than four courses, electives or requirements, from any one discipline. Up to three elective courses can be taken in semester-long study abroad programs. Ethics and Public Policy Practical Ethics Introduction to Moral Philosophy Systematic Ethics Normative Ethics Global Justice Christian Ethics and Modern Society Perspectives on Religious Ethics The Environment-- Science and Public Policy Information Technology and Public Policy Science and Global Security
Climate Change: Scientific Basis, Policy Implications

Population and Public Policy Race and Public Policy The Psychology of Decision-Making and Judgment

Global Environmental Issues Disease, Ecology, Economics and Policy

Independent Work To satisfy their junior independent work requirement, each student must complete one policy task force and one policy research seminar in their junior year. The policy research seminar will include a methods laboratory and will also count as a course. In the task forces, a small group of 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 on the larger problem that is central to the group. The principal collective product is a final report with policy recommendations, drafted after debates among the entire group. In the policy research seminars, a faculty member supervises a small group of students similarly engaged in research on a specific topic in public and international affairs. Students also participate in a methods lab designed to teach them methods for quantitative and qualitative research. An important aim for all elements of the research seminar is to prepare students for their senior thesis work. Each student must complete a senior thesis that addresses a specific policy question and draws out policy implications or offers policy recommendations.

Senior Comprehensive Exam The Woodrow Wilson School senior comprehensive examination is an oral defense of the senior thesis that also tests the students ability to integrate the senior thesis with coursework.

Study Abroad Any concentrator may study abroad in one of the WWS overseas programs in their first or second semester of their junior year. In recent years, WWS had programs at the University of Oxford, the Institute of Political and Social Sciences in Paris, the Chinese University in Hong Kong, the University of Cape Town in South Africa, the University of Havana in Cuba and at several other locations. At each site, students enroll in coursework at the host university and take a WWS task force in place of a task force in Princeton.

Cross-Cultural or Field Experience Requirement Prior to the second semester of the senior year, each student must have completed a requirement for approved cross-cultural or field experience. The requirement may be satisfied in a number of ways, including but not limited to: semester study abroad, summer study abroad, summer language study abroad, policy-relevant summer jobs abroad, ROTC training, senior thesis research in the field, extended service in an underserved community, or an internship involving

public policy work in a non-profit, government, or international agency such as the UN, the World Bank, the US Congress, or a state or federal agency. Summer study, language study, or thesis research must be done for at least four weeks to qualify. Internships, jobs, or community service must be for at least six consecutive weeks or 240 hours. Cross-cultural or field experience gained during the freshmen or sophomore year may count toward this requirement. To meet this requirement, all past or proposed work must be approved by the WWS Undergraduate Program Office.

Language Requirement WWS majors must complete at least one foreign language course beyond the current University requirement. This may be done by: 1) taking an additional course (200 or 300 level) in the language used to meet the requirement; or, 2) taking a two-semester sequence of courses in a new foreign language (101 and 102), which can be taken at Princeton or in an approved, intensive summer language program that meets for at least eight weeks and covers at least two semesters of material. Language courses must be taken for a grade.
When they designate their major, students who are bilingual may apply to WWS to have this requirement waived.

Additional Information The Woodrow Wilson School awards several scholarships each year to students from any department for travel and living expenses related to senior thesis research in public policy. The School also awards several scholarships to Woodrow Wilson School students participating in public policy internships.