Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies

Established in 2003, the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) is Princeton University’s international and regional studies center — promoting research, learning and dialogue on world cultures and issues of global importance. The Institute provides funding and support for a wide range of programs and activities aimed at advancing understanding of international issues in global, comparative, societal and cultural perspectives and at fostering sustained interdisciplinary conversation in international and regional studies among Princeton faculty and students. Throughout the year, PIIRS organizes hundreds of lectures, conferences and workshops aimed at strengthening the study of cultures, economies, politics and societies throughout the world. The Institute serves as a point of integration and joint activity across of the University’s international and regional studies programs. A number of PIIRS programs offer Princeton students the opportunity to earn an undergraduate certificate and develop expertise on a particular world region or global topic. PIIRS offers the popular Global Seminar Program (six-week experiential learning courses taught by Princeton faculty in various locations around the world) and an Undergraduate Fellows Program that funds students’ summer research abroad for their senior thesis. PIIRS provides funding to Princeton doctoral students for field research and language study abroad and supports an interdisciplinary group of advanced doctoral students through its Graduate Fellows Program. Through its Research Communities initiative, PIIRS provides funding to groups of Princeton faculty in support of research, teaching and scholarly dialogue around a broad theme that cuts across disciplines and world regions. It also provides funding and support for research centers (such as its Center on Contemporary China) and numerous other research initiatives that serve to improve understanding of world cultures and promote knowledge about issues of global concern. PIIRS is the sponsoring institution for World Politics, one of the world’s premier journals in international relations and comparative politics. It operates several programs for visiting scholars, including the Fung Global Fellows Program, which brings six exceptional, early-career faculty from abroad to Princeton for a year of research, writing and collaboration around a common theme. PIIRS activities are open to all Princeton faculty and students. The Institute counts among its faculty associates more than 180 scholars from more than 25 departments in Princeton and is governed by an Executive Committee drawn from its faculty associates.