Model United Nations
Sonoma State University has a rich and distinguished history of participation in Model United Nations. For more than 20 years, SSU has sent a delegation to the National Model UN in New York City. NMUN is a major annual academic simulation of the UN which works to educate participants about topics such as the structure and operations of the United Nations, key themes in international relations and global politics, the system of international diplomacy, and the mission of the UN itself. Students serve on committees from the General Assembly to UNESCO to IAEA to the World Health Organization and Security Council.
During the trip, student delegates get the opportunity to visit the UN itself, and in past years have met with staffers of UN agencies such as the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, UNICEF, and UNAIDS. The delegation also typically meets with the Permanent Mission of the country they are representing at the conference, where the students get to hear from real-world diplomats.
In recent years, the Sonoma State University delegation has been awarded Outstanding Delegation in 2019 (United States), Distinguished Delegation in 2022 (Denmark), 2018 (Iran), 2013 (both Serbia and Ukraine), and in 2011 (Azerbaijan), and Honorable Mention in 2023 (Argentina), 2017 (France), 2016 (Ireland), 2015 (Nigeria), 2014 (Cuba), and 2012 (Venezuela). Our student delegates have won additional awards for best Position Papers in 2023, 2020, 2018, 2017, 2014, and 2013, and Outstanding Delegates in committee in 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2014, for a total of more than two dozen awards in 11 years (due to the pandemic, we did not attend NMUN in 2020, 2021, or 2022.) We have also had several MUN veterans return to serve on the NMUN staff at the conference in New York.
There is both a course and club component to the Model UN experience at SSU. The class enrolls between 15-20 students, and each year between 2 and 5 MUN “veterans” (students who have previously taken the course and attended the conference in NYC) typically return to the delegation. Applications for the course, which is offered every Spring, are accepted beginning in October of the preceding year. Active participation in the campus Model UN club is expected of all Model UN participants. Upper-division students from all majors and programs are welcome.
Interested students should contact the Model UN adviser, Professor Azamat Sakiev.
Applications for the Spring 2025 course and delegation can be found here:
SSU Model UN Website, created by Niko Aiello
Watch the SSU at NMUN Video (2017)
