Service and civic engagement are a central part of the Princeton University student experience. At the Pace Center, we help undergraduate and graduate students learn how to respond to the needs of the world in responsible ways.

We support:

  • Learning about community
  • Sustained volunteering
  • Advocacy and activism
  • Summer internships and post-graduate fellowships

We prepare students to serve well by making meaningful connections through learning, experience, and reflection—connections that create a strong foundation for understanding what it means to be an engaged citizen. In doing so, we believe that Princeton University students will make the world more equitable, creating access and opportunity for all people and communities to thrive.

Our Purpose

We aim to make service and civic engagement a central part of the Princeton student experience so that students can respond to the needs of the world in responsible ways.

Our Mission

To fulfill this purpose, we prepare undergraduate and graduate students to serve well by making meaningful connections through learning, experience, and reflection.

Our Vision

Helping students discover service through connecting with each other and communities that they care about creates a strong foundation for understanding what it means to be an engaged citizen. It is our vision that Princeton University students will make the world more equitable, creating access and opportunity for all people and communities to thrive.


Our Values

Engaged Discovery

Students can learn how to serve, why to serve and from service. Students explore the context and complexity of societal issues and use that knowledge to inform their discussions in the classroom, their experiences outside the classroom and their own research. By doing so, students make an intentional difference at Princeton and beyond as they explore their relationship to the world.

Impactful Programs

Service is meaningful when students both grow as individuals and respond to the needs of the world. Done well, service makes measurable contributions toward communities’ long-term goals. When students plan, prepare and engage thoughtfully with issues that matter, they learn how to effect change with others and within themselves.

Community Focus

Service is a powerful exchange where students have as much to learn as they have to give. Partnerships with communities should be respectful and purposeful. Students’ humility and accountability yield equality, inclusion and understanding. Students learn to listen to communities, understand community needs and build community on campus and beyond.

Student Leadership

Students doing service lead in ways that go beyond position, title or role. When engaging in service with communities, students have many opportunities to lead. Whether interacting with the community, modeling behavior for other students or adapting to change, students learn that leadership is multidimensional, iterative and collaborative.