The Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) is the main

research center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

for

international studies International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

and

area studies Area studies (also known as regional studies) are interdisciplinary fields of research and scholarship pertaining to particular geographical, national/ federal, or cultural regions. The term exists primarily as a general description for what ar ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and is one of the oldest centers of its kind in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The Institute focuses on an

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

approach and its associated faculty is drawn from more than 150 professors and other scholars from more than 25 different departments within Princeton. Its director is political scientist Deborah J. Yashar, the Donald E. Stokes Professor of Public and International Affairs.

History

In December 2001, a group of faculty members and administrators began discussions on how to re-evaluate the various international studies programs at the university. The committee recommended the formation of an institute, which was approved by May 19, 2002. The Institute was formed in 2003 as the result of a merger between the

Center of International Studies The Center of International Studies (CIS) was a research center that was part of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in Princeton, New Jersey. It was founded in 1951 by six scholars who came to Princeto ...

, a research center that had existed since 1951, and the Council on Regional Studies, which had been an interdepartmental organization of regional study programs. University President

Shirley M. Tilghman Shirley Marie Tilghman, (; née Caldwell; born 17 September 1946) is a Canadian scholar in molecular biology and an academic administrator. She is now a professor of molecular biology and public policy and president emerita of Princeton Univers ...

said that, "This new institute will build on two long-established areas of strength at Princeton to bring an even greater global perspective to teaching and research at this University". The Institute focuses on collaborative, interdisciplinary research, as well as issues of global importance. In the first academic year of 2003-04, approximately 150 graduate students were awarded grants to assist them with their research and dissertations. The first director of the new Institute was Latin American studies scholar

Miguel A. Centeno Miguel Angel Centeno (born 18 July 1957) is an American sociologist. Centeno was educated at Yale University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1980, followed by a master of business administration in 1987, and a doctorate ...

. Today, the Institute maintains close ties with the

Princeton School of Public and International Affairs The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

and a number of university departments.

Programs

Centers, Programs, and Research Networks

The Institute is home to a number of centers, programs, and research networks, including: * M.S. Chadha Center for Global India * Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China * Fung Global Fellows Program * Brazil Lab * Cuba Research Network * Global History Lab * Global Systemic Risk * Mobilizing Development Finance for Fragile States * Princeton African Humanities Colloquium * Reimagining World Order Anchored by undergraduate certificates that offer immersion in international politics, culture, language study, and translation, PIIRS programs promote regionally targeted studies at Princeton: * Program in

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's history (pre-colonial, colonial, post-colonial), demography ...

* Program in Contemporary European Politics and Society * Program in Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies * Program in

South Asian Studies Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is of ...

* Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication

Seminars

In 2007, the Institute, in collaboration with Princeton's Office of International Programs, launched the Global Seminars program. Led by Princeton faculty, these seminars allow students to travel to one of seven locations around the world for a summer experiential-learning course. To date, more than 800 students have participated in seminars in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

Near East The ''Near East''; he, המזרח הקרוב; arc, ܕܢܚܐ ܩܪܒ; fa, خاور نزدیک, Xāvar-e nazdik; tr, Yakın Doğu is a geographical term which roughly encompasses a transcontinental region in Western Asia, that was once the hist ...

, and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

. Seminars in Summer 2023 include courses in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

, and

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

Fellowships

Undergraduate Fellows were designed for students in their junior year who are interested in conducting summer research abroad for their senior

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

. Up to ten juniors per year are selected through a competitive application process. Successful applicants are awarded funding to meet the entirety of their travel expenses and other potential costs. The Institute also supports graduate students who require advanced language training or access to specific archives abroad for their dissertation. PIIRS provides dissertation completion fellowships for advanced graduate students whose dissertations are framed in terms of international or regional studies (broadly defined). Students who receive fellowships participate in a community of dissertation writers that is centered on a weekly interdisciplinary seminar. PIIRS awards up to 20 dissertation writing grants annually for either a semester or the full academic year to students who have reached Dissertation Completion Enrollment (DCE) status. Full-year grants are awarded for the academic year (August to May), and the stipend rate is equal to 10 months of the University Fellowship. Half-year grants are awarded for 5 months, and the stipend rate is equal to 5 months of the University Fellowship. Graduate students who receive dissertation writing grants will be appointed as PIIRS Graduate Fellows. PIIRS also welcomes applications for pre-dissertation and dissertation research to be conducted during the winter recess in the following areas: preliminary archival reconnaissance, field-site investigations, interviews, securing official permission for research sites, and other activities that will ensure a successful dissertation. The Fung Global Fellowship is a prestigious, research-oriented program for early-career faculty who are interested in coming to Princeton for an academic year. The program is funded by a $10 million gift from Princeton alumnus

William Fung William Fung Kwok Lun OBE JP () (born 21 February 1949) is a Hong Kong billionaire businessman who is the group managing director of Li & Fung Group, one of the largest trading companies in Hong Kong. Early life Fung was born in 1949 in Hong ...

with the aim of engage scholars around the world. Scholars are eligible must hold a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

or equivalent in a relevant research field and must hold a research position outside the United States.

''World Politics''

The Institute sponsors the ''

World Politics The terms "world politics" or "global politics" may refer to: *Geopolitics, the study of the effects of geography on politics and International Relations (IR) *Global politics, a discipline of political science which focuses on political globalizati ...

'' journal. Founded in 1948, ''World Politics'' is an internationally renowned quarterly journal of political science published by Johns Hopkins University Press and produced under the editorial sponsorship of PIIRS. The editors invite submission of analytical/theoretical articles, review articles, and research notes bearing on problems in international relations and comparative politics. The journal does not publish strictly historical material, articles on current affairs, policy pieces or narratives of a journalistic nature. Articles submitted for consideration are unsolicited, except for review articles, which are usually commissioned. The journal is published in both print and online versions.

References

External links

* {{authority control Princeton University Research institutes in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 1951 1951 establishments in New Jersey Educational institutions established in 2003 2003 establishments in New Jersey