Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS)

PIIRS is the University’s main center for international and regional studies — 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. It fosters sustained interdisciplinary conversation among Princeton faculty and students concerning particular regions of the world, as well as on relations between and across societies. PIIRS seeks to create new knowledge and to prepare Princeton students to become active and informed global citizens in support of the University’s mission and informal motto — “In the nation’s service and in the service of all nations.”

The Institute counts among its faculty associates more than 150 scholars from more than 25 departments in Princeton. Throughout the year, PIIRS organizes and supports numerous programs and activities for students and faculty and sponsors lectures, conferences, programs, courses, initiatives and visitors in order to strengthen the study of cultures, economies, politics and societies throughout the world at Princeton.

PIIRS supports numerous programs, initiatives, conferences, lecture series and visitors aimed at developing new knowledge in international and regional studies. Through the PIIRS Research Community 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. The Institute also provides funding for 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 premier journals in international relations and comparative politics. 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. The Institute also 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 in international and regional studies.