A Critical Need, A Call to Service

“In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity” exemplifies the ethos that is Princeton University and the mission of the School of Public and International Affairs. It is a call to public service and a mandate to provide the tools and the academic environment to fulfill that call. There is a critical need within the U.S. government for the most talented, dedicated young people to step forward to help tackle the increasingly complex challenges, domestic and international, that will face our nation.

The public servant of tomorrow must possess leadership abilities, a deep understanding of effective and creative policymaking, exceptional writing and analytical skills, as well as specific knowledge in such fields as economic policy, area studies and foreign languages, health, education and social policy, and science and technology policy, among others.

History

As many Princeton students share a commitment to public service in government, but are often unable to find a meaningful entry point into government service, in October 2005, School of Public and International Affairs Dean Anne-Marie Slaughter proposed a new program, the "Scholars in the Nation's Service Initiative” (SINSI). This highly-selective Scholarship Program was designed to encourage more of the nation's best and brightest students to pursue careers in the United States federal government.  Originally focused on international relations, fellows now serve in domestic and foreign policy agencies. Initiallly, the program included two elements: (i) the first one, aimed at Princeton undergraduates in their junior year included a summer federal government internship, approximately two years of federal government service after college, and a master's degree in public affairs ("MPA") from the Wilson School; and (ii) a second one, open to all applicants to the Wilson School graduate program, included two years of federal government service and a MPA degree from the Wilson School. The internship open to undergraduates eventually became its own program.

The original goal of SINSI was to raise the prestige of government service among an entire generation of college students as not simply a form of public service, but the essential core of all public service and, hence to encourage students dedicated to public service to pursue government positions over the course of their careers. The original vision also sought to provide exceptional students with opportunities to gain the skills and contacts they will need to succeed in government positions over the course of their careers.

The School of Public and International Affairs launched the Scholarship Program in February 2006, with initial scholars selected in the fall of 2006. The following year, the program expanded to include students admitted to the MPA program.  From this initial class, SINSI has placed over 100 students in over 35 agencies and departments of the federal government.