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| Princeton University Program in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Princeton, NJ 08544-1013 Program Link: http://www.wws.princeton.edu:80/~step/ |
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Denise Mauzerall, Chair Assistant Professor |
Princeton University's Program in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (STEP) is based in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs with strong ties to the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies. Many aspects of science and technology policy debates have been tackled with the tools of political and economic analysis that are the traditional strong suits of the Woodrow Wilson School (WWS). In addition to providing a systematic introduction to the field of policy analysis, the goal of the STEP program is to develop a deeper understanding of: (1.)the nature of scientific and technological problems and opportunities; (2.)the specialized methods used for analyzing scientific and technological issues; (3.)the dynamics of science and technology in relation to national and international institutions and organizations.
Increasing numbers of students in the School generally, and in the
STEP program in particular, have a primary interest in environmental
science and technology policy, including global climate change, negotiated
environmental accords, biodiversity, environmental ethics, and the connection
between the environment and development. Research in these areas is
facilitated by the Program's ties with the Center of Domestic and Comparative
Policy Studies, the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies, the
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, the Geophysical Fluid
Dynamics Laboratory, the Office of Population Research, and the Princeton
Environmental Institute. The STEP program provides instruction and a
research environment for scholars and practitioners in these issues
both at the graduate and undergraduate levels.
M.P.A.-- In domestic, international, development, or economic policy with a Certificate in Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy.
Ph.D. -- Public and International Affairs focused in STEP.
Each entering M.P.A. class has about 65 students. The entering class of mid-career M.P.P. students numbers approximately 15; those students have had a minimum of seven years' of work experience in policy-related fields. Candidates in the Ph.D. program, which enrolls eight to ten new students each year, generally have the M.P.A. or its equivalent at time of entrance. However, exceptionally well-qualified candidates may be admitted with only a bachelor's degree. The Woodrow Wilson School encourages applications from all qualified persons. In the past few years, women have made up at least one-half of the student body, students of color approximately one-quarter, and international students about one-quarter.
Applicants to the M.P.A. program must have a demonstrated interest in policy, but no specific area of undergraduate training is required. Of the students currently pursuing the STEP Certificate, about half have scientific or technical bachelors degrees, two-fifths were undergraduates in the social sciences or humanities, and one-fifth are graduate students in other Princeton University departments or mid-career fellows of the Wilson School.
Specific admission requirements and information can be obtained directly
from the Graduate Admissions Office of the Woodrow Wilson School and
from http://www.wws.princeton.edu/degree/grad.html.
The STEP Program offers a degree in domestic, international, development, or economic policy with a Certificate in Science, Technology and Environmental Policy. In addition to fulfilling the requirements for one of the fields of concentration (domestic, international, development, or economic policy), candidates for the STEP certificate must take at least three additional courses:
1.Science, Technology and Environmental Policy (WWS 588)
2.Methods in Science, Technology and Public Policy (WWS 589)
3.A focus area course.
Some recent offerings include: Introduction to Energy and Environmental Problems (WWS 537) Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (WWS 556c) Environment and Development (WWS 571b) Environmental Economics (WWS 582b) Population, Environment and Health (WWS 585) A STEP policy paper is also required. It can be written as part of a fourth course, or as an independent project.
Students may occasionally offer comparable course or precepting/teaching experience to place out of either WWS 588 or WWS 589. The Certificate requirement may then be filled with either an additional focus area course or a policy paper.
Doctoral students normally take between 10 and 12 courses during the
first two years. Those who enter with a M.P.A or its equivalent may take
fewer courses based on prior preparation.
The STEP Program is five years old and is still growing. Of the 62
M.P.A. students in each WWS class, 8 -12 percent per year have received
the STEP Certificate. In addition, one or two graduate students from
other departments, typically engineering or the natural sciences, have
each year completed the requirements for the STEP Certificate. There
are six students in the doctoral program, with 1 - 3 typically admitted
each year.
The Core STEP faculty consists of Denise L. Mauzerall (STEP Chair) who is also affiliated faculty in the Geosciences Department, Frank von Hippel who is also affiliated with the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies (CEES), David Bradford who has a joint appointment between the Woodrow Wilson School and the Department of Economics , Burt Singer who has a joint appointment between the Office of Population Research and STEP and Lee Silver has a joint appointment between the Department of Molecular Biology and STEP. In addition, Andrew Dobson is a faculty member within the ( Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) and is associated with STEP.
Denise L. Mauzerall (Ph.D. Harvard University, Atmospheric Chemistry) Assistant Professor of Public and International Affairs--Mauzerall's research examines transboundary air pollution issues from both the science and policy perspectives and attempts to use the science of global change to contribute to the formation of far-sighted environmental policy. Her research has focused on quantifying the impact of fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning on remote parts of the atmosphere. Examining changes in the remote troposphere can give important early signals of global scale changes due to human activities. Her projects involve the analysis of field observations of chemical species and the use of state-of-the-art global 3-dimensional photochemical models to illuminate sound policy options. Mauzerall has held positions in the Global Change Division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Washington. D.C. where she worked to implement the Montreal Protocol, the international treaty protecting the stratospheric ozone layer, and at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado where she has developed and used 3-dimensional global chemical tracer models to examine the transformation and long-distance transport of air pollutants.
Frank N. von Hippel (Ph.D. Oxford, Physics) Professor of Public and International Affairs -- Nuclear arms control and non-proliferation, energy, and checks and balances in policy making for technology. Prior to coming to Princeton he worked for ten years in the field of elementary particle theoretical physics. He has written extensively on the basis for improvements in the safety and proliferation resistance of nuclear power, improved automobile fuel economy, and deep cuts in the Former Soviet and U.S. nuclear arsenals. His current research focuses on measures that would strengthen both the basis for deep cuts in the existing nuclear arsenals and the nonproliferation regime. He served as the Assistant Director for National Security, Office of Science and Technical Policy, Executive Office of the President (1993 -1995).
David F. Bradford (Ph.D. Stanford University, Economics) Professor of Economics and Public Affairs--Bradford's research has centered on public sector economics and he is particularly noted as an authority on taxation. His published papers address a wide range of topics, including investigations of conscription for military service, public utility pricing, criteria for public investment, local government and the economic structure of urban areas, and a variety of income tax issues. Recent work has focused especially on the effects of income taxes on the insurance industry. His 1986 book, Untangling the Income Tax (Harvard University Press), provides a comprehensive review of income taxes and their alternatives, including consumption taxes. From November 1991 through January 1993, Bradford served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers. In addition to the CEA, Bradford's nonacademic experience includes service as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy in the U.S. Department of the Treasury (1975-1976) when he directed a study resulting in a published volume, Blueprints for Basic Tax Reform (2nd ed., Tax Analysts, 1984), that is widely regarded as the forerunner of the major U.S. income tax reform enacted in 1986.
Burton H. Singer (Ph.D. Stanford, Statistics) Professor of Demography and Public Affairs -- Epidemiology of tropical diseases, demography and economics of aging, health and social consequences of economic development, and the interrelationships between genetics and historical demography. He came to the Woodrow Wilson School from Yale University where he was chairman of the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health and professor of economics and statistics. He has served as chairman of the National Research Committee on National Statistics and as chairman of the Steering Committee for Social and Economic Research in the World Health Organization. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and was a Guggenheim fellow in 1981-82.
Lee Silver--Professor of Molecular Biology-- The research performed in my laboratory is focused in two distinct, but complementary areas: the genetic input into behavior and emotionality, and the evolution of developmental complexity. In the first area, we are interested in discovering and characterizing genes in mice and, by extrapolation, people, that predispose individuals toward the expression of various types of behaviors. A second line of research is concerned with understanding the contribution of a newly discovered family of genescalled T-box genesthat have played a role in the evolution of developmental complexity among animal species. This ancient gene family appears to encode a novel series of transcription factors that are critical to development.
Andrew Dobson--Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology-- Parasitic worms, bacteria and viruses are a constant feature of the daily lives of most 'healthy' populations of animal and plant species. My research is concerned with the population ecology of infectious diseases and the conservation of endangered and threatened species. Over the last eight years I have studied infectious diseases in a variety of endangered and fragile ecosystems. The role that infectious diseases play in driving populations to extinction is one of the key unsolved problems of conservation biology. Although ecologists now realize that pathogens and parasites play a key role in regulating population numbers, infectious diseases often cause rapid declines in the abundance of threatened species and continue to plague captive breeding programs.
The STEP Program equips its graduates with skills that may be applied to public service, private sector, or academic careers. An average of 12% of WWS M. P. A. graduates took first jobs in technical agencies (e.g. NASA, NOAA, NAS), or in explicitly technical/policy parts of other agencies (e.g. EPA, HHS, DoD, DoA, state, local, and federal government, UN, World Bank), or technically or environmentally focused NGO's or businesses. The versatility of the STEP training is demonstrated by the "crossover" in the graduates: some students taking positions at technical agencies did not have technical undergraduate training, and likewise not all students with undergraduate degrees in science or engineering took technical policy positions.
The 1998-1999 Graduate School tuition fees were $24,333.
More than three-quarters of M.P.A. students at the school receive financial aid based on need, which for many graduates amounts to tow year's full tuition plus $15,000 or more for living expenses over the two years.
Students in the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program are eligible for the fellowships and assistantships that are available to all students in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Students also have the opportunity to work as research assistants on various research projects led by the faculty. A variety of part-time, internship, or "year out" opportunities also exist at professional, business, and federal organizations.
The STEP Program holds both an informal weekly lunch seminar series that brings together students and faculty from across campus and an invited weekly colloquium.
The STEP Program maintains a research fund that can support student travel, conferences, training internships and other initiatives.
