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Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies

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Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies

PIIRS is Princeton University’s center for research, learning and dialogue on world cultures and g

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 i

n 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.

08/25/2026

The Fung Global Fellows Program at Princeton University invites applications from early-career scholars around the world for the 2027–28 academic year.

The research theme for the coming year is “Democracy in Crisis?”

We welcome scholars in the humanities and social sciences whose work examines the challenges facing democratic governance and/or the sources of democratic resilience. Research may address topics including populism, democratic institutions and norms, media and disinformation, economic inequality, civic renewal, or the conceptual foundations of democracy. Fellows will spend 10 months in residence at Princeton, pursuing their research and participating in interdisciplinary discussion and exchange with an international cohort of scholars.

📅 Deadline: November 16, 2026, 11:59 p.m. EST. Learn more and apply at the link in bio.

08/24/2026

Welcome, Class of 2030! Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) is your passport to international at Princeton.

Come meet with PIIRS staff and current students at the Academic Expo from 1–4 p.m. at Lewis Arts Complex to learn more about PIIRS’ global minors, PIIRS Global Seminars, and funding and fellowship opportunities.

The Expo is free and open to all Princeton students. Think globally. Study deeply. Make a difference.

07/22/2026

Anne Xu ’26, recipient of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication’s (PTIC) senior thesis prize, reflects on her time at Princeton University: “I came into Princeton with a strong interest in translation, and was delighted to learn that PTIC offered a minor. I took a number of PTIC courses which transformed my understanding of and approach to translation. One of the most memorable readings I’ve been assigned at Princeton was when Professor [Martin] Kern had our class read over a hundred different translations of the opening lines of Lao Tze’s “Tao Te Ching” in his course Translating East Asia. Professor Kern, along with Professors [Karen] Emmerich, [Sandra] Bermann, [John] McPhee, the late Professor [David] Bellos are truly invested in their students’ growth as novice translators, and happy to talk outside of class about translation — or anything else. I also had the good fortune of hearing from practicing translators, translation theorists, translation critics, editors and more during PTIC’s weekly lunches; these informal lectures were an invaluable opportunity to learn from experts without the stress of being graded.”

Xu also participated in two PIIRS Global Seminars as an undergraduate, in Vienna in 2024 and in Greece in 2025. This fall, she embarks on a new adventure — at Harvard Law School. “I can say with certainty that PTIC’s and, more broadly, PIIRS’s programming was the highlight of my academic experience at Princeton.”

07/15/2026

Snapshots from “Technology for African Languages in the Digital Age,” a 2026 Global Seminar in Kenya.

This interdisciplinary seminar explored the evolution of language technology over the past two decades, examining how innovation has largely centered on commercially dominant languages such as English, Chinese, and French, and why expanding digital tools for African languages is essential for cultural preservation, accessibility and social impact.

Throughout the seminar, students examined how integrating African languages into digital technologies fosters greater inclusivity, enabling these languages to flourish in digital spaces and helping ensure they remain vibrant in an increasingly connected world.

At the conclusion of the seminar, students had the exciting opportunity to present their original research.

“Technology for African Languages in the Digital Age” is supported by the Beth M. Siskind Global Seminars Fund.

07/14/2026

All of Gesualdo was a stage during “Musical Theater Storytelling in Italy: An Exploration of Giambattista Basile’s The Tale of Tales,” a 2026 PIIRS Global Seminar.

Over six weeks, Princeton students wrote, devised, and performed original theater pieces in collaboration with local artists, drawing inspiration from Giambattista Basile’s “Lo cunto de li cunti,” known in English as “The Tale of Tales” or “The Pentamerone.”

The seminar culminated in a vibrant public performance that brought together students, Italian collaborators, audience members, and the entire village. Local broadcaster Canal 58 captured the celebration. Watch the coverage in Italian!

“Musical Theater Storytelling in Italy” is supported by the Beth M. Siskind Global Seminars Fund.

07/08/2026

A six-week online parenting program improved parents’ confidence and responsive caregiving behaviors in China, providing new evidence that culturally tailored interventions can strengthen family relationships in a society shaped by demanding work schedules and intense educational pressure.

Published in Family Relations, the study evaluated the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI), a positive parenting program adapted specifically for Chinese families. In a randomized controlled trial, researchers found that parents who completed the program reported significantly greater parental self-efficacy and demonstrated more responsive parenting behaviors than those in a control group.

While positive parenting programs have been extensively studied in Western countries, evidence for their effectiveness in China has remained limited.

“While positive parenting programs can enhance parental competencies, culturally adapted programs and evidence from China remain scarce,” said Minyi Li, a professor in the Faculty of Education at Beijing Normal University, a visiting fellow at the Paul and Marcia Wythes Center on Contemporary China at Princeton University, and the study’s lead author. “We wanted to examine whether an online intervention designed specifically for Chinese families could effectively support parents.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/gGYhhywz

07/07/2026

Snapshots from “Vienna: Music, Culture and Politics,” The Fish Benoist Family Global Seminar.

This seminar offered an introduction to Viennese music, culture and history in the period 1900-1918, the celebrated Fin-de-siècle in which arts and culture blossomed in the city. Students attended performances at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic, and young musicians from the Philharmonic Academy participated in some seminar meetings.

06/25/2026

Students visit Tunis’s medina, tour the Al-Zaytuna Mosque, hone their Maghrebi Arabic — also called Derja — language skills, and learn how to shop for and cook a traditional meal as part of “Mediterranean Crossings: A North African History of Migration and Diaspora,” The Holly and Henry Wendt, Class of 1955, Global Seminar.

This seminar explores North African histories of migration across the Mediterranean through language, literature, art and ethnography. Through lectures, discussions, readings, visits and conversations with guests, students examine how narratives of migration are constructed, contested and harnessed, how they inform discourses of mobility and immobility, and how they shape communal, national and transnational identities.

Tomorrow, participants will embark on a 27-hour ship voyage across the Mediterranean from Tunis to Marseille — and then onto Paris for the concluding three weeks of the seminar.

06/11/2026

Princeton Class of 2026 member and 2025-26 PIIRS Undergraduate Fellow Michelle Miao has been awarded a Gaither Junior Fellowship, which supports graduating seniors and recent graduates to work as research assistants to scholars at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C. Miao is among 18 fellows selected for this opportunity and will work next year at Carnegie’s Asia program. Read more at princeton.edu.

06/02/2026

Four scholars from disciplines spanning government, history and applied economics have been named to the 2026-27 cohort of PIIRS Postdoctoral Fellows Program.

The program supports scholars whose research deepens understanding of specific regions while tackling big-picture questions in the social sciences. Fellows will join a vibrant intellectual community of faculty and peers, engaging in regular workshops, interdisciplinary conversations, and collaborative activities that challenge assumptions and expand horizons.

The PIIRS Postdoctoral Fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year are:
- Sudarshana Chanda, Harvard University
- Natalia Pia Guerrero Trinidad, University of Minnesota
- Andrew O’Donohue O’Donohue, Harvard University
- Sonya Schoenberger, Stanford University

More about the fellows at the link in bio.

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Princeton, NJ
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Opening Hours

Monday	8:45am - 5pm
Tuesday	8:45am - 5pm
Wednesday	8:45am - 5pm
Thursday	8:45am - 5pm

Telephone

+16092589400

Website

http://piirs.princeton.edu/

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