STEP Educational Program

The Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) Program encourages Master's and PhD students to acquire a sophisticated understanding of key issues at the intersection of science, technology, and policy. STEP blends scientific knowledge and methods with social science and practitioner perspectives in ways that yield practical solutions to the major scientific, environmental, and technological challenges facing the world today.

Several certificate and fellowship opportunities comprise the STEP Program, which is centered in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. STEP provides a larger umbrella for Princeton graduate students generally interested in science policy, and has deep connections to the Center for Policy Research on Energy and the Environment (C-PREE), the High Meadows Environmental Initiative (HMEI), and the Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP). Students work closely with distinguished STEP faculty, who come from diverse academic backgrounds, including natural science, engineering, and social science departments, to integrate their science and policy interests.

STEP Certificate Advisor

Elke U. Weber
Professor of Psychology & Public Affairs; Gerhard R. Andlinger Professor in Energy & the Environment

STEP PhD Director of Graduate Studies

Denise L. Mauzerall
William S. Tod Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Public and International Affairs

Alumni & Student News

COP28: Princeton Delegate Blog
Dec. 11, 2023
Read updates from Princeton's student delegation about the 28th Conference of the Parties in the United Arab Emirates. 

 

At these annual conferences, governments assess their countries' progress in addressing climate change, including country reports on greenhouse gas mitigation…

Using Satellite Data to Understand Groundwater Changes: A Summer Internship Reflection
Nov. 30, 2023

This summer, I worked as a Graduate Fellow in the University of Washington’s Data Science for Social Good program. I decided to apply for this internship because of its focus on leveraging data science to address complex societal issues, its emphasis…

Navigating the Labyrinth of Regulations on the Way to Net-Zero: A Summer Internship Reflection
Nov. 17, 2023

My decision to intern with a for-profit renewable energy firm was an unusual one. At Princeton’s School of Public & International Affairs (SPIA), the curriculum emphasizes public service, and faculty encourage students to explore work that advances the public good. Large renewable energy infrastructure, and offshore wind in particular,…

Avery Barnett Selected to Investigate the Future of Offshore Wind in NJ
Oct. 26, 2023

The Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment has selected four graduate students from across Princeton to participate in the 2023-2024 New Jersey Wind Institute Fellowship. Among this year's recipients is…

Reflections on the International Congress for Conservation Biology 2023
Aug. 21, 2023

The 31st International Congress for Conservation Biology (ICCB 2023) took place in Kigali, Rwanda on July 23-27. ICCB is hosted biannually by the Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) and is the premier global forum for presenting research in conservation science and practice, as well as one of the world’s major networking events for anyone…

Postcards from Bonn Climate Conference
Aug. 20, 2023

The Bonn Climate Change Conference is an annual meeting that is a part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process. It is the smaller, less-talked about and more-technical counterpart of the larger Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings, but it is arguably as important, because it serves as a key midway point…

Congratulations to Our 2023 Graduates!
May 29, 2023

Please join us in celebrating the graduating students affiliated with C-PREE this year. We have a great cohort of 18 graduating students that have been involved with our work during their time at Princeton. MPA and MPP students who pursued the environmental component of the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy (STEP) Certificate,…

Beyond the Negotiations at COP27
Jan. 6, 2023

At the center of any COP are the multilateral negotiations, which have traditionally focused on agreeing to common targets and frameworks for implementation applying to all countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This was true of COP27. But with most of the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement…

Opinion: To Keep the UN Framework Relevant, More Countries Should Provide Climate Finance
Dec. 8, 2022

Amidst multiple intersecting crises – huge climate impacts, food and energy shortfalls, crippling debt burdens – the old way of delivering development finance is clearly failing everyone, especially the most vulnerable. There are now reforms on the table that would deliver real impact. At the centre of these is the “

COP27: Princeton Student Blog
Nov. 8, 2022
The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) is taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6-18, 2022. This year, Princeton is sending a delegation of graduate students, researchers, and faculty to attend the proceedings. 

At…