The Institute of World Affairs records document the operations of the Institute and its administrators and researchers. Mostly originating from its 1942 founding to its redesignation as the Research Division of the New School for Social Research in 1953, the files include administrative records such as minutes, correspondence, proposals, contracts, and budgets; manuscripts, notes, and published research material; and research project records.

The bulk of the material consists of project files, particularly the records from the Leisure-time project (1947-1953), as well as of projects and studies by researchers and administrators associated with the Institute, including Hans Staudinger, Phyllis Poses, Adolph Lowe, Elizabeth Tood, Lewis Lorwin, Henry G. Aubrey, and Alexander Ringer.