2025–2026
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From the Dean
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Mission and Strategic Priorities
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Centers, Programs, and Initiatives
12 Curriculum 16 Enrollment 18 Career Destinations and Internships 20 Faculty 25 School Administration
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from the dean Earlier this year, we were privileged to welcome back to campus Damon Wilson, MPA ’98, the president and chief executive officer of the National Endowment for Democracy, for a Dean’s Leadership Series event. Damon spoke with our students about growing threats to democratic institutions abroad — and how the U.S. can play a role strengthening these ecosystems.
The School offered 104 courses and seven policy workshops for our graduate students, and more than 1,700 Princeton students took one or more of our 52 undergraduate courses. SPIA students circled the globe for their studies, including coursework in Benin, Botswana, China, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Geneva, and Kenya.
“This is one of the most consequential moments for freedom around the world,” he said.
Our robust alumni programming included the first ever SPIA in Service conference, featured candid small-group discussions, one-on-one coffee chats, and panels on specific public service tracks. More than 95 students and 25 alumni participated. The annual Students and Alumni of Color Symposium focused on “Meeting the Moment: Reimagining Systems, Building New Shared Futures.” And the SPIA DC Center hosted numerous coffee chats, networking sessions, and other opportunities for alumni to connect.
Damon’s dedication to service and his commitment to the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs are shining examples of how, in the face of rapid and wide-ranging change in the United States and around the world in 2025-2026, all of us at the School remained focused on our mission. Faculty, students, staff, and alumni continued to do the kind of hard, necessary work that changes the world for the better – all in service to the nation and humanity. You’ll read much about their outstanding efforts in the pages that follow. Among many other highlights, our faculty members earned national and global recognition from scholarly organizations, media outlets, and academic institutions. We welcomed one new full-time faculty member and seven new practitioners.
While we continue to collect data on outcomes from the Class of 2026, I am pleased to share that our 2025 alumni continue to add to the School’s proud legacy of public service. More than three quarters of last year’s MPA and MPP graduates secured roles in government, nonprofits, foundations, NGOs, or other service-oriented sectors. 2
The Dean’s Leadership Series featured more than a dozen high-level speakers from across the political spectrum during the 2025-26 academic year for public talks and meetings with students. Our commitment to public service remained as steadfast as ever, with activities in Washington, D.C., New York, and New Jersey giving students numerous opportunities to interact with policymakers in a variety of fields. Individually, each of the above items was meaningful and important. Collectively, they served as powerful evidence of the global impact the Princeton SPIA community makes every day. We take this sense of community seriously. Indeed, it is one of the School’s strategic priorities. Through a wide variety of formal and informal gatherings and events, emphasizing mutual respect and consideration, and pursuing constructive dialogue, we take care to make sure everyone feels welcome and included. My thanks to everyone who helped make 2025-2026 another outstanding year for the School.
Amaney Jamal Dean
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mission and strategic priorities Our Mission
Our Strategic Priorities
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs dedicates itself to integrating world-class scholarship and a commitment to service in order to make a positive difference in the world.
EXPANDING INTERNATIONALIZATION EFFORTS
Our faculty, staff, and students develop and lead creative approaches to the challenges of public and international affairs, with particular emphasis on diverse scholarly perspectives and evidence-based analysis. We welcome a robust exchange of ideas and strive to foster a close-knit community that values and supports every member. We believe that public policy in the 21st century demands a passion for service, a respect for evidence of unsurpassed quality, a global perspective, and a multiplicity of voices. In Service to the Nation & Humanity
• Dean Amaney Jamal represented the School on the global stage in February, participating in public policy conversations at the Munich Security Conference in Germany and at a gathering of higher education leaders in Spain. • Princeton SPIA students circled the globe for their studies, including coursework in Benin, Botswana, China, Cuba, Egypt, Estonia, Geneva, and Kenya. • Eleven Princeton undergraduates visited Beijing and Shanghai as part of the Princeton SPIA China Study Group. It was the School’s first visit to China since before the COVID-19 pandemic. • In a documentary co-funded by the Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, a group of prominent public health officials, activists, economists, and researchers called for a new era of imagination and cooperative willpower to battle future global health crises.
FOSTERING GREATER DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
• The School celebrated 30 years of the Students and Alumni of Color (SAOC) organization. • The Junior Summer Institute marked 40 years of giving first- and second-generation college students from under-resourced communities around the U.S. exposure to the School’s academic rigor and community-centered programming. • Admissions and outreach efforts emphasized recruiting students from a broad range of geographic, socioeconomic, professional, and policy backgrounds. • The Diversity & Inclusion team held semimonthly D&I community dinners, whose topics include the Lunar New Year, Latinx Heritage Month, Thanksgiving, Diwali, and how students celebrate religious traditions. EXPANDING OUR INFLUENCE IN NEW JERSEY AND WASHINGTON, D.C.
• Convened by Princeton SPIA, a bipartisan group 4
of former members of Congress and top scholars from 19 universities published a systematic plan for Congress to recapture constitutional powers it has ceded to the executive branch over several decades. • The Princeton AI Dialogues initiative expanded its federal audiences, strengthened relationships with AI organizations, and engaged new partners from across the University’s growing AI community. • Princeton SPIA faculty participated in a variety of policy, research, and volunteer activities in service to a better New Jersey. Their collective activities included co-chairing a pair of Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill’s Transition Action Teams; documenting the experiences of Trenton residents through film and art; and serving with nonprofits focused on environmental justice and reparations in the Garden State. • Through the Second Chance Project, SPIA student volunteers assisted two groups of New Jerseyans: convicted sex offenders who had gone at least 15 years without a violation and petitioned the court to
be removed from the Megan’s Law sex offense registry and parolees seeking release from further parole obligations after going at least seven years without an offense. FOSTERING CONSTRUCTIVE, MUTUALLY RESPECTFUL DIALOGUE
• The School continued to expand its capacity to teach and model both civil discourse and impactful collaboration among leaders of varying viewpoints. • The Dean’s Leadership Series (DLS) offered Princeton SPIA students numerous opportunities to hear from and engage with an impressive, diverse collection of speakers of varying backgrounds and perspectives. • Former assistant secretaries of education Jim Blew, who served under President Trump, and Roberto Rodríguez, a member of the Biden administration, participated in a DLS event at which they shared differing views on education policy, yet did so in a spirit of collegiality.
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BUILDING A COHESIVE SPIA COMMUNITY
• The 18th Annual Service Auction raised more than $25,176 for HomeFront, a nonprofit that seeks to end homelessness in Central New Jersey. • The School launched SPIAConnect, a dynamic new platform designed to strengthen the Princeton SPIA community by serving as a hub for meaningful connections, linking students with alumni, alumni with each other, and the entire community with career opportunities and events. • The School’s inaugural Service Week saw nearly 60 students, staff, and faculty participate in 11 local service projects as a way of giving back to others and working together to make a difference. • The first ever SPIA in Service conference featured candid small-group discussions, one-on-one coffee chats, and panels on specific public service tracks – with more than 95 students and 25 alumni participating.
Panelists during the America at 250: Reconstructions event. From left to right: Amaney Jamal, dean, Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics and professor of politics and international affairs; Mark Milley, Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor and visiting lecturer; Nolan McCarty, Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs, vice dean for academic assessment in the Office of the Dean of the Faculty; Deborah Pearlstein, director, Program in Law and Public Policy and Charles and Marie Robertson Visiting Professor in Law and Public Affairs; Julian Zelizer, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs; Khalil G. Muhammad, professor of African American studies and public affairs; Anastasia Mann, lecturer and founding director, SPIA in NJ
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centers, programs, and initiatives SPIA CENTERS AND PROGRAMS BENDHEIM-THOMAN CENTER FOR RESEARCH ON CHILD AND FAMILY WELLBEING
The center’s mission is to stimulate basic research, educate faculty and students about issues related to policies affecting children, and influence policymakers and practitioners at the federal, state, and local levels.
new knowledge in this field and educating the next generation of strategic thinkers and decision-makers. CENTER FOR POLICY RESEARCH ON ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
CHW sponsors research and teaching on the multiple aspects of health and wellbeing in both developed and developing countries.
C-PREE provides a nexus for interdisciplinary research and policy analysis aimed at addressing environmental problems, tackling key issues such as global climate change, air and water pollution, loss of biodiversity, psychology of decision-making, and sustainable agriculture.
CENTER FOR INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICY
CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF DEMOCRATIC POLITICS
CITP is a nexus of expertise in technology, engineering, public policy, and the social sciences. The center’s research, teaching, and events address digital technologies as they interact with society.
CSDP supports research and educational programming on democratic political institutions and behavior, and aims to encourage rigorous social scientific analysis informing understanding of the public policy process, elections, and policy decisions.
CENTER FOR HEALTH AND WELLBEING
CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES
CISS provides a home for the study and debate of national and international security — generating
CRIMINAL JUSTICE @ SPIA
Founded in 2023, this new initiative brings together faculty members studying criminal justice from a broad 8
range of disciplinary perspectives. It aims to support ongoing faculty research and projects, as well as incubate new activities and collaborations. EDUCATION RESEARCH SECTION
ERS seeks to conduct and promote high-quality education research and to disseminate the results of such research to educators, policymakers, and the public in order to improve the quality of education at all levels. EMPIRICAL STUDIES OF CONFLICT PROJECT
ESOC is a multi-campus, interdisciplinary network of scholars engaged in research on politically motivated and organized criminal violence worldwide. INNOVATIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL SOCIETIES
ISS chronicles government innovation, especially in lowand middle-income countries, and enables practitioners to join a knowledge network of reform-minded public servants from around the globe. INSTITUTIONAL ANTIRACISM AND ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
IARA conducts research to identify which policies and practices effectively advance antiracist institutional change, drawing on interdisciplinary expertise and a network of scholars and practitioners committed to racial equity.
issues related to and emerging from self-determination, especially pertaining to the state, self-governance, sovereignty, security, and diplomacy.
JULIS-RABINOWITZ CENTER FOR PUBLIC POLICY & FINANCE
NCGG aims to create a large and dynamic community of scholars and students interested in the academic and policy dimensions of globalization and international governance.
JRCPPF promotes research and teaching in financial markets and the macroeconomy, with the aim of improving the design and implementation of public policies. KAHNEMAN-TREISMAN CENTER FOR BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE AND PUBLIC POLICY
KTC explores the gaps between what individuals “should” be expected to do and what people do do — to determine how policy might be better designed and executed to improve outcomes. LIECHTENSTEIN INSTITUTE ON SELFDETERMINATION
LISD supports teaching, research, and publication about
NIEHAUS CENTER FOR GLOBALIZATION AND GOVERNANCE
PROGRAM IN LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY
P•LAW follows in the tradition of Princeton University’s great law and public affairs programs, engaging leading legal scholars and practitioners in the work of solving the complex problems of the 21st century. PROGRAM ON SCIENCE AND GLOBAL SECURITY
SGS conducts scientific, technical, and policy research, analysis, and outreach to advance national and international policies for a safer and more peaceful world. 9
RESEARCH PROGRAM IN DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
RPDE carries out economics research on the causes and consequences of global poverty, with the goal of informing policymaking and thereby improving the lives of people living in low- and middle-income countries.
In addition to its 20 research centers and programs, Princeton SPIA is home to three initiatives with a geographic focus. Each was active in a wide variety of ways in 2025-26.
SPIA in DC • The Princeton SPIA DC Center’s AI Dialogues Series included several policy precepts, briefings for House and Senate staff, and participation at the AI+ Expo. • The Books & Cocktails Series convened faculty authors and other high-profile thought leaders for stimulating conversations with Princeton SPIA faculty members, prominent journalists, and experts, followed by a networking reception. • The Center’s Salon Series featured stimulating discussions on topics including the future of U.S. public institutions, American diplomatic soft power, economic justice, the abundance agenda, and more. • The ongoing Diplomatic Dinner Series welcomed diplomats from African countries for a conversation about economic development and U.S.-Africa relations. • There were also numerous faculty-led symposia, alumni events, and student gatherings, including the School’s inaugural MPP Day in Washington.
SPIA in New Jersey • SPIA in NJ’s Government Transition Insights Series comprised three discussions designed to give the Princeton SPIA community an opportunity to
understand how governments at the state and federal levels maintain integrity and carry over knowledge as power and priorities shift from one administration to the next in the peaceful transfer of power. • The initiative held a pair of summits that brought scholars and practitioners together to examine guaranteed basic income for New Jerseyans and take stock of the reparations movement in the state and nationally. • Through the Clemency Project and the Second Chance Project, SPIA student volunteers helped eligible incarcerated persons in New Jersey file applications for executive clemency, petition the court to be removed from the Megan’s Law sex offense registry, and seek release from further parole obligations after going at least seven years without an offense. • The new SPIA in NJ Affiliates program gave undergraduate and graduate students the chance to contribute to state and local policy, service, and civic engagement in the state. Participants connected classroom learning with real-world impact through internships, site visits, lunches and a range of formal and informal interactions with knowledgeable and experienced community organizers, elected officials, advocates, analysts and researchers. • The third cohort of Garden State Fellows went to work following graduation for the Education Law Center and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.
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Afghanistan Policy Lab • APL helped support Princeton SPIA’s global leadership and international engagement by convening senior policymakers, diplomats, United Nations officials, scholars, and civil society leaders through major international policy dialogues, including side events at the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) and the 70th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70). • The initiative produced important policy research that informed international policy discussions on governance, women’s rights, education, peacebuilding, and humanitarian policy for Afghanistan. • Sixteen SPIA student volunteers participated in research, APL policy programming, and public engagement. They offered recommendations at UNGA and CSW70 APL side events, published research in the Journal of Public and International Affairs, participated in discussions on government effectiveness, and engaged with U.N. staff and executive leaderships through APL’s speaker series. • APL expanded interdisciplinary partnerships and scholarly collaboration by bringing together Princeton academic units and leading international institutions, including the Central Asia Institute, the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security, Harvard University, Wellesley College, and U.N. permanent missions.
Audience and panelists during the SPIA in DC Center event Public Opinion in the Middle East & North Africa: Gaza, Regional Escalation, and Great Power Competition.
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curriculum Number of Courses Offered 52 Undergraduate 104 Graduate
Undergraduate Minors and Certificates Minor in global health and health policy Certificate in urban studies Certificate in history and the practice of diplomacy
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Graduate Program Tracks Master in Public Affairs, Master in Public Policy International relations International development Domestic policy Economics and public policy Ph.D. in Public Affairs Security studies Science, technology, and environmental policy
Graduate Certificates Health and health policy
Peter Henderson, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and the School of Public and International Affairs, during a class lecture.
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Science, technology, and environmental policy Urban policy
Dean’s Leadership Series event with Hon. Andy Kim, United States Senator from New Jersey.
Dean’s Leadership Series The Dean’s Leadership Series offers Princeton SPIA students and the greater Princeton community the chance to engage with some of the world’s most influential leaders. Through multiday campus visits, SPIA hosts public lectures and exclusive student discussions with renowned alumni, acclaimed authors, trailblazing innovators, thought leaders, distinguished policymakers, and global changemakers. In 2025-26, the series welcomed 17 guests from a variety of backgrounds and perspectives, exposing Princeton SPIA students to the many different pathways to public service.
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Scholars in the Nation’s Service Initiative (SINSI) SINSI fully funds graduate fellowships and undergraduate summer internships with the U.S. federal government. It’s designed to encourage, support, and prepare students to pursue careers in internationally and domestically focused federal agencies. During the 2025-26 academic year, three Princeton students were selected to participate as SINSI Graduate Scholars, and seven were chosen as SINSI interns.
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enrollment Undergraduates 2025–2026
Graduates 2025–2026
JUNIORS
MPA
SENIORS
MPP
Ph.D.
MPA2 71 SECURITY STUDIES 22
136
135
128
MPA1 57
20 16
50
STEP 28
The students in fall 2025’s incoming cohorts represented: 20 U.S. states 27 countries (including dual citizens) 73 undergraduate institutions 57 academic majors 21 students with prior graduate degrees
Nearly 70% were U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and roughly half are women. Just under 40% were first-generation or lower-income students, and the School was proud of the strong representation across the military and other important dimensions including geographic, political, and religious affiliations.
Students in Shultz Cafe.
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career destinations and internships Career Destinations UNDERGRADUATES
MPAS
135
135
66
66
5% Fellowships 20% Graduate Study 4% Nonprofit Sector 4% Public Sector 34% Private Sector 1% Academic Institution 32% Unreported
59% Domestically Focused 8% Internationally Focused 33% Unreported
6% Thinktank 6% Graduate Study 29% Nonprofit Sector 18% Public Sector 14% Private Sector 18% Academic Institution 9% Unreported
50% Domestically Focused 33% Internationally Focused 8% Domestically and Internationally Focused 9% Unreported
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Internships MPPS
UNDERGRADUATES
FIRST-YEAR MPAS
24
24
39
66
8% Thinktank 8% Nonprofit Sector 63% Public Sector 4% Private Sector 17% Unreported
21% Domestically Focused 50% Internationally Focused 17% Domestically and Internationally Focused 12% Unreported
54% Nonprofit Sector 46% Public Sector
45% Nonprofit Sector 55% Public Sector
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faculty By the Numbers 95 Full-Time Faculty 1 New Full-Time Faculty 60 Visiting Professors, Lecturers, and Practitioners
Full-Time Faculty One new full-time faculty member — Evan Soltas, an assistant professor of economics and international affairs — joined the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs for the 2025-26 academic year.
Layna Mosley, professor of politics and international affairs, in discussion with Princeton SPIA students.
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Honors, Awards, Recognitions BENJAMIN H. BRADLOW, assistant professor of sociology and international affairs Selected as a member of the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Social Science, for 2026-2027 Book “Urban Power: Democracy and Inequality in São Paulo and Johannesburg” (Princeton University Press) shortlisted for the Alice Amsden Best Book Award from the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics
NOREEN J. GOLDMAN, Hughes-Rogers Professor of Demography and Public Affairs
ATIF R. MIAN, John H. Laporte, Jr. Class of 1967 Professor in Public Policy and Finance; professor of economics and public affairs; director, Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance
PAUL E. STARR, Stuart Professor of Communications and Public Affairs; professor of sociology and public affairs Elected to the American Philosophical Society (2026)
Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Delivered the 17th Paolo Baffi Lecture on Money and Finance at the Bank of Italy
HELEN V. MILNER, B.C. Forbes Professor of Politics and International Affairs; director, Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance
MARK W. WATSON, Howard Harrison and Gabrielle Snyder Beck Professor of Economics and Public Affairs Received the Haavelmo Prize, presented biennially by the Econometric Society for the best paper in econometrics published in Econometrica in any of the previous four calendar years
Elected to the American Philosophical Society
Elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences
JULIAN E. ZELIZER, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs Named a Senior Scholar in Residence at the Brennan Center for Justice for 2026-2027
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Books AMELIA FRANK-VITALE, assistant professor of anthropology and international affairs
FRANCES LEE, professor of politics and public affairs; co-director, Center for the Study of Democratic Politics
“Leave If You Can: Migration and Violence in Bordered Worlds,” University of California Press
“A Case for Congress,” University of Oklahoma Press
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PAUL E. STARR, Stuart Professor of Communications and Public Affairs; professor of sociology and public affairs “American Contradiction: Revolution and Revenge from the 1950s to Now,” Yale University Press
JULIAN E. ZELIZER, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs “The Presidency of Joseph R. Biden: A First Historical Assessment,” Princeton University Press (editor)
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Julian E. Zelizer, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes, Class of 1941 Professor of History and Public Affairs, in discussion with Princeton SPIA students.
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school administration
AMANEY A. JAMAL, dean; Edwards S. Sanford Professor of Politics; professor of politics and international affairs DAVID S. WILCOVE, vice dean, SPIA; Henry W. Putnam Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the High Meadows Environmental Institute; professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and public affairs and the High Meadows Environmental Institute HEATHER EVANS, chief of staff; operations and project manager
PAUL A. LIPTON, senior associate dean for academic administration
STEVEN F. PETRIC, assistant dean for global outreach, admissions, and alumni engagement
KAREN L. MCGUINNESS, associate dean for graduate education
TAM ROVITTO, assistant dean for diversity and inclusion and student affairs
NANCY M. EVERETT, associate dean of administration, planning, and facilities
STACEY A. WEBER, assistant dean for finance
DAVID A. MAYORGA, associate dean for public affairs and communications
ELIZABETH CHOE, director of undergraduate program and career services BARBARA A. HAMPTON, director of graduate career development
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WEBSITE | spia.princeton.edu X | @PrincetonSPIA INSTAGRAM | @PrincetonSPIA LINKEDIN | Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
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