Undergraduate students of the Woodrow Wilson School have the opportunity to study major problems of contemporary public policy by means of a multidisciplinary program rooted in the social sciences. The program is unique not only in its emphasis on the description of social and political reality, but also in its adherence to its foundational principle that rigorous analysis can be marshaled to enhance the well-being of individuals and societies. Thus the program combines the study of "what is" with "what should be" in the context of domestic and international affairs.

The most distinctive aspect of the Woodrow Wilson School undergraduate curricular experience is the policy seminar (task force). In each of these exercises, a limited number of students work together with a faculty director and one or more seniors or graduate students toward proposing solutions to current problems in public and international affairs.

The second major component of the Woodrow Wilson School academic program is the coursework. Departmental courses should form a coherent program of study, normally combining both techniques of analysis from the social science disciplines and courses that give the student substantive depth in a particular policy area. Areas of specialization typically combine a policy issue (urban education, international trade, security, environmental policy, etc.) and a particular geographic region or nation (Africa, Latin America, Europe, India, the United States, etc).  

The school attracts students with a wide variety of interests, and its graduates spend their lives in an equally diverse range of careers. They have worked in teaching, journalism, law, medicine, business, politics, non-governmental organizations, and many other fields.