Princeton University is a
private
Private or privates may refer to:
Music
* " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation''
* Private (band), a Denmark-based band
* "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
research university
A research university or a research-intensive university is a university that is committed to research as a central part of its mission. They are the most important sites at which knowledge production occurs, along with "intergenerational kn ...
in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
. Founded in 1746 in
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the
fourth-oldest institution of
higher education in the United States and one of the nine
colonial colleges chartered before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
It is one of the highest-ranked universities in the world. The institution moved to
Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
in 1747, and then to the current site nine years later. It officially became a university in 1896 and was subsequently renamed Princeton University. It is a member of the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
.
The university is governed by the
Trustees of Princeton University
The Trustees of Princeton University is a 40-member board responsible for managing Princeton University's endowment, real estate, instructional programs, and admission. The Trustees include at least 13 members elected by alumni classes, and the Go ...
and has an endowment of $37.7 billion, the largest
endowment per student in the United States. Princeton provides
undergraduate
Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...
and
graduate instruction in the
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
,
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
,
natural sciences, and
engineering
Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
to approximately 8,500 students on its main campus. It offers postgraduate degrees through the
Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...
, the
School of Engineering and Applied Science, the
School of Architecture
This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world.
An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education.
Africa
...
and the
Bendheim Center for Finance
Bendheim Center for Finance (BCF) is an interdisciplinary center at Princeton University. It was established in 1997 at the initiative of Ben Bernanke and is dedicated to research and education in the area of money and finance, in lieu of there ...
. The university also manages the
Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known ...
and is home to the
NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). The current director is Dr. Venkatachalam Ramaswamy. It is one of se ...
. It is
classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and has one of the largest university libraries in the world.
Princeton uses a
residential college
A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...
system and is known for its upperclassmen
eating clubs. The university has over 500 student organizations. Princeton students embrace a wide variety of traditions from both the past and present. The university is a
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
school and competes in the Ivy League. The school's athletic team, the
Princeton Tigers
The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in ...
, has won the most titles in its conference and has sent many students and alumni to the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
As of October 2021,
75 Nobel laureates, 16 Fields Medalists and 16 Turing Award laureates have been affiliated with Princeton University as alumni, faculty members, or researchers. In addition, Princeton has been associated with 21
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
awardees, 5
Abel Prize
The Abel Prize ( ; no, Abelprisen ) is awarded annually by the King of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. It is named after the Norwegian mathematician Niels Henrik Abel (1802–1829) and directly modeled after the Nobel Prizes. ...
awardees, 11
National Humanities Medal
The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the human ...
recipients, 215
Rhodes Scholars
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
and 137
Marshall Scholars
The Marshall Scholarship is a postgraduate scholarship for "intellectually distinguished young Americans ndtheir country's future leaders" to study at any university in the United Kingdom. It is widely considered one of the most prestigious sc ...
. Two
U.S. Presidents
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term
Term may refer to:
* Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...
, twelve
U.S. Supreme Court Justices (three of whom currently serve on the court) and numerous living industry and media tycoons and foreign heads of state are all counted among Princeton's alumni body. Princeton has graduated many members of the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
and the
U.S. Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is a body consisting of the vice president of the United States and the heads of the executive branch's departments in the federal government of the United States. It is the principal official advisory body to ...
, including eight
Secretaries of State, three
Secretaries of Defense and two
Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
History
Founding
![Log College](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Log_College.jpg)
Princeton University, founded as the College of New Jersey, was shaped much in its formative years by the "
Log College
The Log College, founded in 1727, was the first theological seminary serving Presbyterians in North America, and was located in what is now Warminster, Pennsylvania. It was founded by William Tennent and operated from 1727 until Tennent's death in ...
", a
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
founded by the Reverend
William Tennent
William Tennent (1673 – May 6, 1746) was an early Scottish American Presbyterian minister and educator in British North America.
Early life
Tennent was born in Mid Calder, Linlithgowshire, Scotland, in 1673. He graduated from the Univers ...
at
Neshaminy, Pennsylvania
Neshaminy is an unincorporated community in Warrington Township in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. Neshaminy is located at the intersection of Pennsylvania Route 611
Pennsylvania Route 611 (PA 611) is a state highway in eastern Pe ...
, in about 1726. While no legal connection ever existed, many of the pupils and adherents from the Log College would go on to financially support and become substantially involved in the early years of the university. While early writers considered it as the predecessor of the university,
the idea has been rebuked by Princeton historians.
The founding of the university itself originated from a split in the
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church following the
Great Awakening
Great Awakening refers to a number of periods of religious revival in American Christian history. Historians and theologians identify three, or sometimes four, waves of increased religious enthusiasm between the early 18th century and the late ...
. In 1741,
New Light
The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...
Presbyterians were expelled from the
Synod of Philadelphia
Synod of the Trinity is an upper judicatory of the Presbyterian Church headquartered in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The synod oversees sixteen presbyteries covering all of Pennsylvania, most of West Virginia, and a portion of eastern Ohio.
History ...
in defense of how the Log College ordained ministers. The four founders of the College of New Jersey, who were New Lights, were either expelled or withdrew from the Synod and devised a plan to establish a new college, for they were disappointed with
Harvard
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
and
Yale
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...
's opposition to the Great Awakening and dissatisfied with the limited instruction at the Log College. They convinced three other Presbyterians to join them and decided on New Jersey as the location for the college, as at the time, there was no institution between Yale College in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
, and the
College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
in
Williamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula ...
; it was also where some of the founders preached. Although their initial request was rejected by the
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
governor
Lewis Morrison
Lewis Morrison (September 4, 1844 – August 18, 1906) was a Jamaican-born American stage actor and theatrical manager, born Moritz (or Morris) W. Morris. He was best known for his portrayal of Mephistopheles in his own production of ''Faust'', ...
, the
acting governor
An acting governor is a person who acts in the role of governor. In Commonwealth jurisdictions where the governor is a vice-regal position, the role of "acting governor" may be filled by a lieutenant governor (as in most Australian states) or an ...
after Morrison's death,
John Hamilton, granted a charter for the College of New Jersey on October 22, 1746. In 1747, approximately five months after acquiring the charter, the trustees elected
Jonathan Dickinson
Jonathan Dickinson (1663–1722) was a merchant from Port Royal, Jamaica who was shipwrecked on the southeast coast of Florida in 1696, along with his family and the other passengers and crew members of the ship.
The party was held captive by Job ...
as president and opened in
, where classes were held in Dickinson's
parsonage. With its founding, it became the
fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of nine colonial colleges charted before the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
The founders aimed for the college to have an expansive curriculum to teach people of various professions, not solely ministerial work. Though the school was open to those of any religious denomination, with many of the founders being of Presbyterian faith, the college became the educational and religious capital of
Scotch-Irish Presbyterian America.
Colonial and early years
![Aula Nassovica](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Aula_Nassovica.jpg)
In 1747, following the death of then President Jonathan Dickinson, the college moved from Elizabeth to
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.[Aaron Burr Sr.
Aaron Burr Sr. (January 4, 1716 – September 24, 1757) was a notable Presbyterian minister and college educator in colonial America. He was a founder of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) and the father of Aaron Burr ( ...]
's parsonage was located. That same year, Princeton's first charter came under dispute by Anglicans, but on September 14, 1748, the recently appointed governor
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...
granted a second charter.
Belcher, a
Congregationalist, had become alienated from his
alma mater, Harvard, and decided to "adopt" the infant college.
Belcher would go on to raise funds for the college and donate his 474-volume library, making it one of the largest libraries in the colonies.
In 1756, the college moved again to its present home in
Princeton, New Jersey
Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...
, because Newark was felt to be too close to New York. Princeton was chosen for its central location in New Jersey and by strong recommendation by Belcher.
The college's home in Princeton was
Nassau Hall
Nassau Hall, colloquially known as Old Nassau, is the oldest building at Princeton University in Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. In 1783 it served as the United States Capitol building for four months. At the time it was built ...
, named for the royal
William III of England
William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...
, a member of the
House of Orange-Nassau
The House of Orange-Nassau (Dutch: ''Huis van Oranje-Nassau'', ) is the current reigning house of the Netherlands. A branch of the European House of Nassau, the house has played a central role in the politics and government of the Netherlands ...
. The trustees of the College of New Jersey initially suggested that Nassau Hall be named in recognition of Belcher because of his interest in the institution; the governor vetoed the request.
Burr, who would die in 1757, devised a curriculum for the school and enlarged the student body. Following the untimely death of Burr and the college's next three
presidents
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
,
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense reali ...
became president in 1768 and remained in that post until his death in 1794.
With his presidency, Witherspoon focused the college on preparing a new generation of both educated clergy and secular leadership in the new American nation. To this end, he tightened academic standards, broadened the curriculum, solicited investment for the college, and grew its size.
A signer of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
, Witherspoon and his leadership led the college to becoming influential to the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
.
In 1777, the college became the site for the
Battle of Princeton.
During the battle, British soldiers briefly occupied Nassau Hall before eventually surrendering to American forces led by General
George Washington
George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...
. During the summer and fall of 1783, the
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a series of legislative bodies, with some executive function, for thirteen of Britain's colonies in North America, and the newly declared United States just before, during, and after the American Revolutionary War. ...
and Washington met in Nassau Hall, making Princeton the
country's capital for four months; Nassau Hall is where Congress learned of the peace treaty between the colonies and the British. The college did suffer from the revolution, with a depreciated
endowment and hefty repair bills for Nassau Hall.
19th century
In 1795, President
Samuel Stanhope Smith
Samuel Stanhope Smith (March 15, 1751 – August 21, 1819) was a Presbyterian minister, founding president of Hampden–Sydney College and the seventh president of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) from 1795 to 1812. His stormy ...
took office, the first alumnus to become president.
Nassau Hall suffered a large fire that destroyed its interior in 1802, which Smith blamed on rebellious students. The college raised funds for reconstruction, as well as the construction of two new buildings. In 1807, a large student riot occurred at Nassau Hall, spurred by underlying distrust of educational reforms by Smith away from the Church.
Following Smith's mishandling of the situation, falling enrollment, and faculty resignations, the trustees of the university offered resignation to Smith, which he accepted. In 1812,
Ashbel Green was unanimously elected by the trustees of the College to become the eighth president.
After the liberal tenure of Smith, Green represented the conservative "Old Side," in which he introduced rigorous disciplinary rules and heavily embraced religion.
Even so, believing the College was not religious enough, he took a prominent role in establishing the
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...
next door.
While student riots were a frequent occurrence during Green's tenure, enrollment did increase under his administration.
In 1823,
James Carnahan
James Carnahan (November 15, 1775 – March 2, 1859) was an American clergyman and educator who served as the ninth President of Princeton University.
Born in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Carnahan was an 1800 graduate of the school when it w ...
became president, arriving as an unprepared and timid leader.
With the college riven by conflicting views between students, faculty, and trustees, and enrollment hitting its lowest in years, Carnahan considered closing the university.
Carnahan's successor,
John Maclean Jr., who was only a professor at the time, recommended saving the university with the help of alumni; as a result, Princeton's alumni association, led by
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, was created and began raising funds.
With Carnahan and Maclean, now vice-president, working as partners, enrollment and faculty increased, tensions decreased, and the college campus expanded. Maclean took over the presidency in 1854 and led the university through the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
.
When Nassau Hall burned down again in 1855, Maclean raised funds and used the money to rebuild Nassau Hall and run the university on an
austerity
Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...
budget during the war years.
With a third of students from the college being from the South, enrollment fell. Once many of the Southerners left, the campus became a sharp proponent for the
Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
, even bestowing an honorary degree to
President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
.
![James McCosh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/James_McCosh.jpg)
James McCosh
James McCosh (April 1, 1811 – November 16, 1894) was a philosopher of the Scottish School of Common Sense. He was president of Princeton University 1868–88.
Biography
McCosh was born into a Covenanting family in Ayrshire, and ...
became the college's president in 1868 and lifted the institution out of a low period that had been brought about by the war. During his two decades of service, he overhauled the curriculum, oversaw an expansion of inquiry into the sciences, recruited distinguished faculty, and supervised the addition of a number of buildings in the
High Victorian Gothic
High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right.
Prom ...
style to the campus. McCosh's tenure also saw the creation and rise of many extracurricular activities, like the
Princeton Glee Club
The Princeton University Glee Club is the oldest and most prestigious choir at Princeton University, composed of approximately 100 mixed voices. They give multiple performances throughout the year featuring music from Renaissance to Modern, and ...
, the
Triangle Club
The Princeton Triangle Club is a theater troupe at Princeton University. Founded in 1891, it is one of the oldest collegiate theater troupes in the United States. Triangle
premieres an original student-written musical every year, and then takes ...
, the first intercollegiate football team, and the first permanent
eating club
A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers. ...
, as well as the elimination of fraternities and sororities. In 1879, Princeton conferred its first
doctorates
A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...
on James F. Williamson and William Libby, both members of the Class of 1877.
Francis Patton took the presidency in 1888, and although his election was not met by unanimous enthusiasm, he was well received by undergraduates.
Patton's administration was marked with great change, for Princeton's enrollment and faculty had doubled. At the same time, the college underwent large expansion and social life was changing in reflection of the rise in
eating clubs and burgeoning interest in athletics. In 1893, the honor system was established, allowing for unproctored exams. In 1896, the college officially became a university, and as a result, it officially changed its name to Princeton University. In 1900, the
Graduate School
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
was formally established. Even with such accomplishments, Patton's administration remained lackluster with its administrative structure and towards its educational standards. Due to profile changes in the board of trustees and dissatisfaction with his administration, he was forced to resign in 1902.
20th century
![Woodrow Wilson 1902 cph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Woodrow_Wilson_1902_cph.3b11773.jpg)
Following Patton's resignation,
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, an alumnus and popular professor, was elected the 13th president of the university.
Noticing falling academic standards, Wilson orchestrated significant changes to the curriculum, where freshman and sophomores followed a unified curriculum while juniors and seniors concentrated study in one discipline. Ambitious seniors were allowed to undertake independent work, which would eventually shape Princeton's emphasis on the practice for the future. Wilson further reformed the educational system by introducing the preceptorial system in 1905, a then-unique concept in the United States that augmented the standard lecture method of teaching with a more personal form in which small groups of students, or precepts, could interact with a single instructor, or preceptor, in their field of interest. The changes brought about many new faculty and cemented Princeton's academics for the first half of the 20th century. Due to the tightening of academic standards, enrollment declined severely until 1907. In 1906, the reservoir
Lake Carnegie
Lake Carnegie is a reservoir that is formed from a dam on the Millstone River, in the far northeastern corner of Princeton, Mercer County, New Jersey. The Delaware and Raritan Canal and its associated tow path are situated along the eastern shor ...
was created by
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...
, and the university officially became
nonsectarian
Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group.
Academic sphere
Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...
. Before leaving office, Wilson strengthened the science program to focus on "pure" research and broke the Presbyterian lock on the board of trustees.
However, he did fail in winning support for the permanent location of the Graduate School and the elimination of the eating clubs, which he proposed replacing with quadrangles, a precursor to the residential college system. Wilson also continued to keep Princeton closed off from accepting Black students. When an aspiring Black student wrote a letter to Wilson, he got his secretary to reply telling him to attend a university where he would be more welcome.
John Grier Hibben became president in 1912 and would remain in the post for two decades. On October 2, 1913, the
Princeton University Graduate College
The Graduate College at Princeton University is a residential college which serves as the center of graduate student life at Princeton. Wyman House, adjacent to the Graduate College, serves as the official residence of the current Dean of the Gr ...
was dedicated. When the United States entered
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
in 1917, Hibben allocated all available University resources to the government. As a result, military training schools opened on campus and laboratories and other facilities were used for research and operational programs. Overall, more than 6,000 students served in the armed forces, with 151 dying during the war. After the war, enrollment spiked and the trustees established the system of selective admission in 1922. From the 1920s to the 1930s, the student body featured many students from preparatory schools, zero Black students, and dwindling Jewish enrollment because of quotas. Aside from managing Princeton during WWI, Hibben introduced the senior thesis in 1923 as a part of The New Plan of Study. He also brought about great expansion to the university, with the creation of the School of Architecture in 1919, the School of Engineering in 1921, and the School of Public and International Affairs in 1930. By the end of his presidency, the endowment had increased by 374 percent, the total area of the campus doubled, the faculty experienced impressive growth, and the enrollment doubled.
Hibben's successor,
Harold Willis Dodds would lead the university through the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
,
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and the
Korean Conflict
The Korean conflict is an ongoing conflict based on the division of Korea between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) and South Korea (Republic of Korea), both of which claim to be the sole legitimate government of all of Korea ...
.
With the Great Depression, many students were forced to withdraw due to financial reasons. At the same time, Princeton's reputation in physics and mathematics surged as many European scientists left for the United States due to uneasy tension caused by
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. In 1930, the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
was founded to provide a space for the influx of scientists, such as
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
. Many Princeton scientists would work on the
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development undertaking during World War II that produced the first nuclear weapons. It was led by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and Canada. From 1942 to 1946, the project w ...
during the war, including the entire physics department. During World War II, Princeton offered an accelerated program for students to graduate early before entering the armed forces. Student enrollment fluctuated from month to month, and many faculty were forced to teach unfamiliar subjects. Still, Dodds maintained academic standards and would establish a program for servicemen, so they could resume their education once discharged.
1945 to present
Post-war years saw scholars renewing broken bonds through numerous conventions, expansion of the campus, and the introduction of distribution requirements. The period saw the desegregation of Princeton, which was stimulated by changes to the New Jersey constitution. Princeton began undertaking a sharper focus towards research in the years after the war, with the construction of Firestone Library in 1948 and the establishment of the Forrestal Research Center in the 1950s. Government sponsored research increased sharply, particularly in the physics and engineering departments, with much of it occurring at the new Forrestal campus. Though, as the years progressed, scientific research at the Forrestal campus declined, and in 1973, some of the land was converted to commercial and residential spaces.
Robert Goheen would succeed Dodds by unanimous vote and serve as president until 1972. Goheen's presidency was characterized as being more liberal than previous presidents, and his presidency would see a rise in Black applicants, as well as the eventual coeducation of the university in 1969.
During this period of rising diversity, the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center) was dedicated in 1971. Goheen also oversaw great expansion for the university, with square footage increasing by 80 percentage.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Princeton experienced unprecedented activism, with most of it centered on the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
.
While Princeton activism initially remained relatively timid compared to other institutions,
protests began to grow with the founding of a local chapter of
Students for a Democratic Society
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) was a national student activist organization in the United States during the 1960s, and was one of the principal representations of the New Left. Disdaining permanent leaders, hierarchical relationships ...
(SDS) in 1965, which organized many of the later Princeton protests.
In 1966, the SDS gained prominence on campus following
picketing against a speech by
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, which gained frontpage coverage by the ''New York Times.'' A notable point of contention on campus was the
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) is an American non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) – the Systems and Analyses Center (SAC), the Science and Technology Policy Institute ...
(IDA) and would feature multiple protests,
some of which required police action. As the years went on, the protests' agenda broadened to investments in South Africa, environmental issues, and women's rights.
In response to these broadening protests, the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) was founded to serve as a method for greater student voice in governance. Activism culminated in 1970 with a student, faculty, and staff member
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
* Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
, so the university could become an "institution against expansion of the war." Princeton's protests would taper off later that year, with ''The'' ''Daily Princetonian'' saying that, "Princeton 1970–71 was an emotionally burned out university."
In 1982, the residential college system was officially established under Goheen's successor
William G. Bowen
William Gordon Bowen (; October 6, 1933October 20, 2016) was an American academic who served as the president emeritus of The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, serving as its president from 1988 to 2006. From 1972 until 1988, he was the president of ...
, who would serve until 1988.
During his presidency, Princeton's endowment increased from $625 million to $2 billion, and a major fundraising drive known as "A Campaign for Princeton" was conducted.
President
Harold T. Shapiro would succeed Bowen and remain president until 2001. Shapiro would continue to increase the endowment, expand academic programs, raise student diversity, and oversaw the most renovations in Princeton's history. In 2001, Princeton shifted the financial aid policy to a system that replaced all loans with grants.
That same year, Princeton elected its first female president,
Shirley M. Tilghman.
Before retiring in 2012, Tilghman expanded financial aid offerings and conducted several major construction projects like the Lewis Center for the Arts and a sixth residential college. Tilghman also lead initiatives for more global programs, the creation of an office of sustainability, and investments into the sciences.
Princeton's 20th and current president
Christopher Eisgruber
Christopher Ludwig Eisgruber (born September 24, 1961) is an American academic and legal scholar who is serving as the 20th President of Princeton University, where he is also the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Public Affairs in the Princeto ...
was elected in 2013.
In 2017, Princeton University unveiled a large-scale
public history and
digital humanities
Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the intersection of computing or Information technology, digital technologies and the disciplines of the humanities. It includes the systematic use of digital resources in the humanitie ...
investigation into its historical involvement with
slavery
Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
called the Princeton & Slavery Project. The project saw the publication of hundreds of primary sources, 80 scholarly essays, a scholarly conference, a series of short plays, and an art project.
In April 2018, university trustees announced that they would name two public spaces for James Collins Johnson and
Betsey Stockton
Betsey Stockton (c. 1798–1865), sometimes spelled Betsy Stockton, was an American educator and missionary in Hawaii.
Life
Betsey was born into slavery in Princeton, New Jersey, about the year 1798. While she was a child, her owner Robert Stockt ...
, enslaved people who lived and worked on Princeton's campus and whose stories were publicized by the project. In 2019, large-scale student activism again entered the mainstream concerning the school's implementation of federal
Title IX
Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...
policy relating to
Campus sexual assault
Campus sexual assault is the sexual assault, including rape, of a student while attending an institution of higher learning, such as a college or university. The victims of such assaults are more likely to be female, but any gender can be victi ...
. The activism consisted of
sit-ins
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
in response to a student's disciplinary sentence.
Coeducation
The roots of
coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...
at the university date back to the 19th century. Founded in 1887, the
Evelyn College for Women
Evelyn College for Women, often shortened to Evelyn College, was the coordinate women's college of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey between 1887 and 1897. It was the first women's college in the State of New Jersey.
Background
Evely ...
in Princeton provided education to largely the daughters of professors and sisters of Princeton undergraduates. While no legal connection ever existed, many Princeton professors taught there and several Princeton administrations, like Francis Patton, were part of its board of trustees. It closed in 1897 following the death of its founder,
Joshua McIlvaine.
![Pyne Hall, Princeton University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Pyne_Hall%2C_Princeton_University.jpg)
In 1947, three female members of the library staff enrolled in beginner Russian courses to deal with an increase in Russian literature in the library.
In 1961, Princeton admitted its first female graduate student, Sabra Follett Meservey,
who would go on to be the first woman to earn a master's degree at Princeton.
Eight more women enrolled the following year in the Graduate School,
and in 1964, T'sai-ying Cheng became the first woman at Princeton to receive a Ph.D. The first undergraduate female students came in 1963 when five women came to Princeton to study "critical languages." They were considered regular students for their year on campus, but were not candidates for a Princeton degree.
Following abortive discussions with
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Supervision system, Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sara ...
to relocate the women's college to Princeton and merge it with the university in 1967, the administration commissioned a report on admitting women. The final report was issued in January 1969, supporting the idea.
That same month, the trustees voted 24–8 in favor of coeducation and began preparing the institution for the transition. The university finished these plans in April 1969 and announced there would be coeducation in September. Ultimately, 101 female freshman and 70 female transfer students enrolled at Princeton in September 1969. Those admitted were housed in Pyne Hall, a fairly isolated dormitory; a security system were added, although the women deliberately broke it within a day.
In 1971, Mary St. John Douglas and Susan Savage Speers became the first female trustees,
and in 1974 quotas for men and women were eliminated. Following a 1979 lawsuit, the eating clubs were required to go coeducational in 1991 after an appeal to the
U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
was denied. In 2001, Princeton elected its first female president.
Campus
![Washington Road Elm Allée (east side)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Washington_Road_Elm_All%C3%A9e_%28east_side%29.jpg)
The main campus consists of more than 200 buildings on in Princeton, New Jersey.
The James Forrestal Campus, a smaller location designed mainly as a research and instruction complex, is split between nearby
Plainsboro and
South Brunswick. The campuses are situated about one hour from both New York City and Philadelphia on the train. The university also owns more than of property in
West Windsor Township,
and is where Princeton is planning to construct a graduate student housing complex, which will be known as "Lake Campus North".
The first building on campus was Nassau Hall, completed in 1756 and situated on the northern edge of the campus facing Nassau Street. The campus expanded steadily around Nassau Hall during the early and middle 19th century. The McCosh presidency (1868–88) saw the construction of a number of buildings in the
High Victorian Gothic
High Victorian Gothic was an eclectic architectural style and movement during the mid-late 19th century. It is seen by architectural historians as either a sub-style of the broader Gothic Revival style, or a separate style in its own right.
Prom ...
and
Romanesque Revival
Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...
styles, although many of them are now gone, leaving the remaining few to appear out of place. At the end of the 19th century, much of Princeton's architecture was designed by the
Cope and Stewardson
Cope and Stewardson (1885–1912) was a Philadelphia architecture firm founded by Walter Cope and John Stewardson, and best known for its Collegiate Gothic building and campus designs. Cope and Stewardson established the firm in 1885, and were jo ...
firm (the same architects who designed a large part of
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
and
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
) resulting in the
Collegiate Gothic
Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
style for which the university is known for today.
Implemented initially by
William Appleton Potter
William Appleton Potter (December 10, 1842 – February 19, 1909) was an American architect who designed numerous buildings for Princeton University, as well as municipal offices and churches. He served as a Supervising Architect of the Treasur ...
,
and later enforced by the university's supervising architect,
Ralph Adams Cram, the Collegiate Gothic style remained the standard for all new building on the Princeton campus until 1960. A flurry of construction projects in the 1960s produced a number of new buildings on the south side of the main campus, many of which have been poorly received. Several prominent architects have contributed some more recent additions, including
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions.
His works are considered ...
(Lewis Library),
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
(Spelman Halls),
Demetri Porphyrios
Demetri Porphyrios ( el, Δημήτρης Πορφυρίου; born 1949) is a Greece, Greek architect and author who practices architecture in London as principal of the firm Porphyrios Associates. In addition to his architectural practice and ...
(
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...
, a Collegiate Gothic project),
Robert Venturi
Robert Charles Venturi Jr. (June 25, 1925 – September 18, 2018) was an American architect, founding principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, and one of the major architectural figures of the twentieth century.
Together with h ...
and
Denise Scott Brown
Denise Scott Brown (née Lakofski; born October 3, 1931) is an American architect, planner, writer, educator, and principal of the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates in Philadelphia. Scott Brown and her husband and partner, Robert Venturi, ...
(
Frist Campus Center
Frist Campus Center is a focal point of social life at Princeton University. The campus center is a combination of the former Palmer Physics Lab, and a modern addition completed in 2001. It was endowed with money from the fortune the Frist family ...
, among several others),
Minoru Yamasaki
was an American architect, best known for designing the original World Trade Center in New York City and several other large-scale projects. Yamasaki was one of the most prominent architects of the 20th century. He and fellow architect Edward D ...
(Robertson Hall), and
Rafael Viñoly
Rafael Viñoly Beceiro (born 1944) is a Uruguayan architect. He is the principal of Rafael Viñoly Architects, which he founded in 1983. The firm has offices in New York City, Palo Alto, London, Manchester, Abu Dhabi, and Buenos Aires.
Viñ ...
(
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahn (; born February 16, 1936) is an American financier. He is the founder and controlling shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a public company and diversified conglomerate holding company based in Sunny Isles Beach. Icahn takes l ...
Laboratory).
A group of 20th-century sculptures scattered throughout the campus forms the Putnam Collection of Sculpture. It includes works by
Alexander Calder
Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and his ...
(''Five Disks: One Empty''),
Jacob Epstein
Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911.
He often produc ...
(''Albert Einstein''),
Henry Moore
Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi- abstract monumental bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. As well as sculpture, Moore produced ...
(''
Oval with Points
''Oval with Points'' is a series of enigmatic abstract sculptures by British sculptor Henry Moore, made in plaster and bronze from 1968 to 1970, from a maquette in 1968 (LH 594) made in plaster and then cast in bronze, through a working model in ...
''),
Isamu Noguchi
was an American artist and landscape architect whose artistic career spanned six decades, from the 1920s onward. Known for his sculpture and public artworks, Noguchi also designed stage sets for various Martha Graham productions, and several ...
(''White Sun''), and
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
(''Head of a Woman'').
Richard Serra
Richard Serra (born November 2, 1938) is an American artist known for his large-scale sculptures made for site-specific landscape, urban, and architectural settings. Serra's sculptures are notable for their material quality and exploration o ...
's ''
The Hedgehog and The Fox
''The Hedgehog and the Fox'' is an essay by philosopher Isaiah Berlin that was published as a book in 1953. It was one of his most popular essays with the general public. However, Berlin said, "I meant it as a kind of enjoyable intellectual gam ...
'' is located between Peyton and Fine halls next to Princeton Stadium and the Lewis Library.
At the southern edge of the campus is Lake Carnegie, an artificial lake named for Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie financed the lake's construction in 1906 at the behest of a friend and his brother who were both Princeton alumni. Carnegie hoped the opportunity to take up rowing would inspire Princeton students to forsake
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, which he considered "not gentlemanly." The
Shea Rowing Center
The C. Bernard Shea Rowing Center is the boathouse for the Princeton University rowing programs. Located on Lake Carnegie in Princeton, New Jersey, the center consists of the Class of 1887 Boathouse and the Richard Ottesen Prentke ‘67 Training ...
on the lake's shore continues to serve as the headquarters for Princeton rowing.
Princeton's grounds were designed by
Beatrix Farrand
Beatrix Cadwalader Farrand (née Jones; June 19, 1872 – February 28, 1959) was an American landscape gardener and landscape architect. Her career included commissions to design about 110 gardens for private residences, estates and country ho ...
between 1912 and 1943. Her contributions were most recently recognized with the naming of a courtyard for her. Subsequent changes to the landscape were introduced by Quennell Rothschild & Partners in 2000. In 2005,
Michael Van Valkenburgh
Michael Robert Van Valkenburgh (born September 5, 1951) is an American landscape architect and educator. He has worked on a wide variety of projects in the United States, Canada, Korea, and France, including public parks, college campuses, sculp ...
was hired as the new consulting landscape architect for Princeton's 2016 Campus Plan.
Lynden B. Miller was invited to work with him as Princeton's consulting gardening architect, focusing on the 17 gardens that are distributed throughout the campus.
Buildings
Nassau Hall
![Cannon Green and Nassau Hall, Princeton University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Cannon_Green_and_Nassau_Hall%2C_Princeton_University.jpg)
Nassau Hall is the oldest building on campus. Begun in 1754 and completed in 1756, it was the first seat of the
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the ...
in 1776, was involved in the Battle of Princeton in 1777, and was the seat of the
Congress of the Confederation
The Congress of the Confederation, or the Confederation Congress, formally referred to as the United States in Congress Assembled, was the governing body of the United States of America during the Confederation period, March 1, 1781 – Mar ...
(and thus capitol of the United States) from June 30, 1783, to November 4, 1783. Since 1911, the front entrance has been flanked by two bronze tigers, a gift of the Princeton Class of 1879, which replaced two lions previously given in 1889. Starting in 1922, commencement has been held on the front lawn of Nassau Hall when there is good weather. In 1966, Nassau Hall was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. Nowadays, it houses the office of the university president and other administrative offices.
To the south of Nassau Hall lies a courtyard that is known as Cannon Green. Buried in the ground at the center is the "Big Cannon," which was left in Princeton by British troops as they fled following the Battle of Princeton. It remained in Princeton until the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
, when it was taken to
New Brunswick
New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...
. In 1836, the cannon was returned to Princeton and placed at the eastern end of town. Two years later, it was moved to the campus under cover of night by Princeton students, and in 1840, it was buried in its current location.
A second "Little Cannon" is buried in the lawn in front of nearby Whig Hall. The cannon, which may also have been captured in the Battle of Princeton, was stolen by students of
Rutgers University
Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
in 1875. The theft ignited the
Rutgers-Princeton Cannon War. A compromise between the presidents of Princeton and Rutgers ended the war and forced the return of the Little Cannon to Princeton.
The protruding cannons are occasionally painted scarlet by Rutgers students who continue the traditional dispute.
Art Museum
![Art Museum Princeton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Art_Museum_Princeton.JPG)
Though art collection at the university dates back to its very founding, the
Princeton University Art Museum
The Princeton University Art Museum (PUAM) is the Princeton University gallery of art, located in Princeton, New Jersey. With a collecting history that began in 1755, the museum was formally established in 1882, and now houses over 113,000 works o ...
wasn't officially established until 1882 by President McCosh. Its establishment arose from a desire to provide direct access to works of art in a museum for a curriculum in the arts, an education system familiar to many European universities at the time. The museum took on the purposes of providing "exposure to original works of art and to teach the history of art through an encyclopedic collection of world art."
Numbering over 112,000 objects, the collections range from ancient to contemporary art and come from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. The museum's art is divided into ten extensive curatorial areas. There is a collection of Greek and Roman
antiquities
Antiquities are objects from antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures. Artifacts from earlier periods such as the Meso ...
, including ceramics, marbles, bronzes, and Roman mosaics from faculty excavations in
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
, as well as other art from the ancient Egyptian,
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, and Islamic worlds. The non-Islamic coins were catalogued by
Dorothy B. Waage.
Medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Europe is represented by sculpture, metalwork, and stained glass. The collection of Western European paintings includes examples from the early
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
through the 19th century, with pieces by
Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
,
Cézanne, and
Van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2,100 artworks, inclu ...
, and features a growing collection of 20th-century and contemporary art, including paintings such as
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...
's Blue Marilyn.
The museum features a collection of Chinese and Japanese art, with holdings in bronzes, tomb figurines, painting, and
calligraphy
Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...
, as well as collections of Korean, Southeast, and Central Asian art. Its collection of
pre-Columbian
In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, th ...
art includes examples of
Mayan
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
and
Olmec
The Olmecs () were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. Following a progressive development in Soconusco, they occupied the tropical lowlands of the modern-day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. It has been speculated that t ...
art, and its indigenous art ranges from Chile to Alaska to Greenland. The museum has collections of
old master print
An old master print is a work of art produced by a printing process within the Western tradition. The term remains current in the art trade, and there is no easy alternative in English to distinguish the works of "fine art" produced in printmakin ...
s and drawings, and it has a comprehensive collection of over 20,000 photographs. Approximately 750 works of
African art
African art describes the modern and historical paintings, sculptures, installations, and other visual culture from native or indigenous Africans and the African continent. The definition may also include the art of the African diasporas, su ...
are represented. The Museum oversees the outside
John B. Putnam, Jr., Memorial Collection of Sculpture.
University Chapel
![Pu-chapel-front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Pu-chapel-front.jpg)
The
Princeton University Chapel
The Princeton University Chapel is located on that university's main campus in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. It replaces an older chapel that burned down in 1920. Designed in 1921 by Ralph Adams Cram in his signature Collegiate Gothic styl ...
is located on the north side of campus near Nassau Street. It was built between 1924 and 1928 at a cost of $2.3 million, approximately $ million adjusted for inflation in 2020. Ralph Adams Cram, the university's supervising architect, designed the chapel, which he viewed as the crown jewel for the Collegiate Gothic motif he had championed for the campus.
At the time of its construction, it was the second largest university chapel in the world, after
King's College Chapel, Cambridge
King's College Chapel is the chapel of King's College in the University of Cambridge. It is considered one of the finest examples of late Perpendicular Gothic English architecture and features the world's largest fan vault. The Chapel was bui ...
. It underwent a two-year, $10 million restoration campaign between 2000 and 2002. The Chapel seats around 2,000 and serves as a site for religious services and local celebrations.
Measured on the exterior, the chapel is long, wide at its
transepts
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...
, and high.
The exterior is
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
, trimmed with
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
, and the interior is made of limestone and
Aquia Creek sandstone
Aquia Creek sandstone is a brown to light-gray freestone used extensively in building construction in Washington, D.C. in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Quarried at Aquia Creek in Stafford County, Virginia, the stone was valuable for i ...
.
The design evokes characteristics of an
English church of the Middle Ages.
The extensive iconography, in stained glass, stonework, and wood carvings, has the common theme of connecting religion and scholarship.
Sustainability
Published in 2008, the Sustainability Action Plan was the first formal plan for sustainability enacted by the university. It focused on reducing
greenhouse gas
A greenhouse gas (GHG or GhG) is a gas that Absorption (electromagnetic radiation), absorbs and Emission (electromagnetic radiation), emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse ...
emissions, conservation of resources, and research, education, and civic engagement for sustainability through 10 year objectives.
Since the 2008 plan, Princeton has aimed at reducing its carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels without the purchase of market
offsets and predicts to meet the goal by 2026 (the former goal was by 2020 but
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
requirements delayed this).
Princeton released its second Sustainability Action Plan in 2019 on
Earth Day
Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally by EarthDay.org (formerly Earth Day Network) including 1 b ...
with its main goal being reducing campus greenhouse gases to
net zero
Carbon neutrality is a state of net-zero carbon dioxide emissions. This can be achieved by balancing emissions of carbon dioxide with its removal (often through carbon offsetting) or by eliminating emissions from society (the transition to the " ...
by 2046 as well as other objectives building on those in the 2008 plan.
In 2021, the university agreed to divest from
thermal coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when de ...
and
tar sand
Oil sands, tar sands, crude bitumen, or bituminous sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. Oil sands are either loose sands or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and wate ...
segments of the fossil fuel industry and from companies that are involved in climate disinformation after student protest.
Princeton's Sustainability Action Plan also aims to have zero waste through recycling programs, sustainable purchasing, and behavioral and operational strategies.
Organization and administration
Governance and structure
![Christopher Eisgruber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Christopher_Eisgruber.jpg)
Princeton's 20th and current president is Christopher Eisgruber, who was appointed by the university's
board of trustees
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
in 2013.
The board is responsible for the overall direction of the university. It consists of no fewer than 23 and no more than 40 members at any one time, with the president of the university and the
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
serving as
ex officio member
An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...
s. It approves the operating and capital budgets, supervises the investment of the university's endowment, and oversees campus real estate and long-range physical planning. The trustees also exercise prior review and approval concerning changes in major policies such as those in instructional programs and admission as well as tuition and fees and the hiring of faculty members.
The university is composed of the Undergraduate College, the
Graduate School
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
, the
School of Architecture
This is a list of architecture schools at colleges and universities around the world.
An architecture school (also known as a school of architecture or college of architecture), is an institution specializing in architectural education.
Africa
...
, the
School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the
School of Public and International Affairs
A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...
.
Additionally, the school's
Bendheim Center for Finance
Bendheim Center for Finance (BCF) is an interdisciplinary center at Princeton University. It was established in 1997 at the initiative of Ben Bernanke and is dedicated to research and education in the area of money and finance, in lieu of there ...
provides education for the area of money and finance in lieu of a
business school
A business school is a university-level institution that confers degrees in business administration or management. A business school may also be referred to as school of management, management school, school of business administration, o ...
. Princeton did host a
Princeton Law School
The Law School at the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University) was a department of Princeton University from 1847 until 1852. It began instruction in 1847 as a modest effort consisting of three professors: Joseph Coerten Hornblower, Rich ...
for a short period, before eventually closing in 1852 due to poor income. Princeton's lack of other professional schools can be attributed to a university focus on undergraduates.
The university has ties with the Institute for Advanced Study,
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...
, Rutgers University, and the
Westminster Choir College
Westminster Choir College (WCC) is a historic conservatory of music currently operating on the campus of Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Rider's Westminster College of the Arts, the college under which the historic institution has b ...
of
Rider University
Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey. It consists of four academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Human Services, and West ...
. Princeton is a member of the
Association of American Universities
The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...
, the
Universities Research Association
The Universities Research Association is a non-profit association of more than 90 research universities, primarily but not exclusively in the United States. It has members also in Japan, Italy, and in the United Kingdon. It was founded in 1965 a ...
, and the
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) located in Washington D.C.. It is an organization of private American colleges and universities. Founded in 1976, it has over 1,000 independent hig ...
. The university is accredited by the
Middle States Commission on Higher Education
The Middle States Commission on Higher Education (abbreviated as MSCHE and legally incorporated as the Mid-Atlantic Region Commission on Higher Education) is a voluntary, peer-based, non-profit membership organization that performs peer evalua ...
(MSCHE), with its last reaffirmation in 2014.
Finances
Princeton University's endowment of $37.7 billion (per 2021 figures) was ranked as the
fourth largest endowment in the United States,
and it had the greatest per-student endowment in the world at over $4.4 million per student. The endowment is sustained through continued donations and is maintained by investment advisers. Princeton's operating budget is over $2 billion per year, with 50% going to academic departments and programs, 33% to administrative and student service departments, 10% to financial aid departments, and 7% to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
Academics
Undergraduate
![McCosh 50 Renovated](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/McCosh_50_Renovated.jpg)
Princeton follows a
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
curriculum, and offers two bachelor's degrees to students: a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
(A.B.) and a
Bachelor of Science in Engineering
A Bachelor of Engineering (BEng) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) is an academic undergraduate degree awarded to a student after three to five years of studying engineering at an accredited college or university.
In the UK, a Bach ...
(B.S.E.).
Typically, A.B. students choose a major (called a concentration) at the end of sophomore year, while B.S.E. students declare at the end of their freshman year. Students must complete distribution requirements, departmental requirements, and independent work to graduate with either degree.
A.B. students must complete distribution requirements in literature and the arts, science and engineering, social analysis, cultural difference,
epistemology
Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics.
Episte ...
and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, historical analysis, and quantitative and computational reasoning; they must also have satisfactory ability in a foreign language.
Additionally, they must complete two papers of independent work during their junior year—known as the junior papers—and craft a senior thesis to graduate;
both revolve around the concentration they are pursuing.
B.S.E. majors complete fewer courses in the humanities and social sciences and instead fulfill requirements in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer programming.
They likewise must complete independent work, which typically involves a design project or senior thesis, but not the junior papers.
A.B. majors must complete 31 courses, whereas B.S.E. majors must complete 36 courses.
Students can choose from either 36 concentrations or create their own. They can also participate in 55 interdisciplinary certificate programs;
since Princeton does not offer an
academic minor
{{Unreferenced, date=May 2019
An academic minor is a college or university student's declared secondary academic discipline during their undergraduate studies. As with a major, the college or university in question lays out a framework of required ...
, the certificates effectively serve as one. Course structure is determined by the instructor and department. Classes vary in their format, ranging from small seminars to medium-sized lecture courses to large lecture courses.
The latter two typically have
precepts
A precept (from the la, præcipere, to teach) is a commandment, instruction, or order intended as an authoritative rule of action.
Religious law
In religion, precepts are usually commands respecting moral conduct.
Christianity
The term is enco ...
, which are extra weekly discussion sessions that are led by either the professor or a graduate student.
The average class meeting time is 3–4 hours a week, although this can vary depending on the course.
The student to faculty ratio is 5 to 1,
and a majority of classes have fewer than 20 students. In the ''
Fiske Guide to Colleges
The Fiske Guide to Colleges is an American media company that publishes, ''inter alia'', descriptions, ratings, and analysis for more than 320 U.S. colleges and universities. It is the best-selling college guide in the United States, although it r ...
'', academic culture is considered as "tight-knit, extremely hardworking, highly cooperative, and supportive."
Undergraduates agree to adhere to an academic integrity policy called the Honor Code. Under the Honor Code, faculty do not proctor examinations; instead, the students proctor one another and must report any suspected violation to an Honor Committee made up of undergraduates. The Committee investigates reported violations and holds a hearing if it is warranted. An acquittal at such a hearing results in the destruction of all records of the hearing; a conviction results in the student's suspension or expulsion. Violations pertaining to all other academic work fall under the jurisdiction of the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline. Undergraduates are expected to sign a pledge on their written work affirming that they have not
plagiarized
Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
the work.
Grade deflation policy
The first focus on issues of grade inflation by the Princeton administration began in 1998 when a university report was released showcasing a steady rise in undergraduate grades from 1973 to 1997.
Subsequent reports and discussion from the report culminated to when in 2004,
Nancy Weiss Malkiel
Nancy Joan Weiss Malkiel (born 1944) is an American historian. She became the first woman to join Princeton University's Department of History and served as Princeton's Dean of the college for 24 years. Weiss Malkiel holds the title of Professor o ...
, the dean of the college, implemented a grade deflation policy to address the findings.
Malkiel's reason for the policy was that an A was becoming devalued as a larger percentage of the student body received one.
Following its introduction, the number of A's and average GPA on campus dropped, although A's and B's were still the most frequent grades awarded.
The policy received mixed approval from both faculty and students when first instituted.
Criticism for grade deflation continued through the years, with students alleging negative effects like increased competition and lack of willingness to choose challenging classes.
Other criticism included job market and graduate school prospects, although Malkiel responded by saying that she sent 3,000 letters to numerous institutions and employers informing them.
In 2009, transcripts began including a statement about the policy.
In October 2013, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber created a faculty committee to review the deflation policy.
In August 2014, the committee released a report recommending the removal of the policy and instead develop consistent standards for grading across individual departments. In October 2014, following a faculty vote, the numerical targets were removed in response to the report. In a 2020 analysis of undergraduate grades following the removal of a policy, there were no long-lasting effects, with the percent of students receiving A's higher than in 1998.
Graduate
For the 2019–2020 academic year, the
Graduate School
Postgraduate or graduate education refers to Academic degree, academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by higher education, post-secondary students who have earned an Undergraduate education, un ...
enrolled 2,971 students. Approximately 40% of the students were female, 42% were international, and 35% of domestic students were a member of a U.S. minority group. The average time to complete a doctoral degree was 5.7 years.
The university awarded 318 Ph.D. degrees and 174 final master's degrees for the 2019–2020 academic year.
The Graduate School offers degrees in 42 academic departments and programs, which span the
humanities
Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...
,
social sciences
Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...
,
natural sciences
Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...
, and engineering.
Doctoral education is available for all departments while master's degrees are only available in the architecture, engineering, finance, and public policy departments. Doctoral education focuses on original, independent scholarship whereas master's degrees focus more on career preparation in both public life and professional practice. Graduate students can also concentrate in an interdisciplinary program and be granted a certificate.
Joint degrees are available for several disciplines, as are dual
M.D./Ph.D. or M.P.A./J.D. programs.
Students in the graduate school can participate in regional cross-registration agreements, domestic exchanges with other
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
schools and similar institutions, and in international partnerships and exchanges.
Rankings
Princeton ranked first in the 2021 ''U.S. News'' rankings for the tenth consecutive year.
Princeton ranked fourth for undergrad teaching for 2021, falling from first place in the 2020 rankings.
In the 2022 ''
Times Higher Education
''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education.
Ownership
TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...
'' assessment of the world's best universities, Princeton was ranked 7th. In the 2022 ''
QS World University Rankings
''QS World University Rankings'' is an annual publication of university rankings by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). The QS system comprises three parts: the global overall ranking, the subject rankings (which name the world's top universities for the ...
'', it was ranked 20th overall in the world.
In the 2021 ''U.S. News & World Report'' "Graduate School Rankings," 13 of Princeton's 14 graduate programs were ranked in their respective top 10 (with Engineering 22nd), 7 of them in the top 5, and two in the top spot (Economics and Mathematics).
Research
Princeton is
classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity." Based on data for the 2020 fiscal year, the university received approximately $250 million in sponsored research for its main campus, with 81.4% coming from the government, 12.1% from foundations, 5.5% from industry, and 1.0% from private and other. An additional $120 million in sponsored research was for the Plasma Physics Lab; the main campus and the lab combined totaled to $370 million for sponsored research. Based on 2017 data, the university ranked 72nd among 902 institutions for research expenditures.
Based on 2018 data, Princeton's
National Academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but also the humanit ...
Membership totaled to 126, ranking 9th in the nation. The university hosts 75 research institutes and centers and two national laboratories. Princeton is a member of the
New Jersey Space Grant Consortium.
Library system
![Firestone Library Princeton front](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/Firestone_Library_Princeton_front.jpg)
The
Princeton University Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...
system houses over 13 million holdings through 11 buildings,
including seven million bound volumes, making it one of the largest university libraries in the country.
Built in 1948, the main campus library is
Firestone Library
Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...
and serves as the main repository for the humanities and social sciences.
Its collections include the autographed manuscript of
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
's ''
The Great Gatsby
''The Great Gatsby'' is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts First-person narrative, first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with mysterious mil ...
'' and
George F. Kennan
George Frost Kennan (February 16, 1904 – March 17, 2005) was an American diplomat and historian. He was best known as an advocate of a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely and wrote scholarly hist ...
's Long Telegram. In addition to Firestone library, specialized libraries exist for architecture, art and archaeology, East Asian studies, engineering, music, public and international affairs, public policy and university archives, and the sciences. The library system provides access to subscription-based electronic resources and databases to students.
National laboratories
The United States Department of Energy, Department of Energy's
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory for plasma physics and nuclear fusion science. Its primary mission is research into and development of fusion as an energy source. It is known ...
(PPPL) stemmed from Project Matterhorn, a top secret cold war project created in 1951 aimed at achieving controlled nuclear fusion.
Princeton astrophysics professor Lyman Spitzer became the first director of the project and remained director until the lab's declassification in 1961 when it received its current name.
Today, it is an institute for fusion energy research and plasma physics research.
Founded in 1955 and located at Princeton's Forrestal Campus since 1968, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA's
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) is a laboratory in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR). The current director is Dr. Venkatachalam Ramaswamy. It is one of se ...
(GFDL) conducts climate research and modeling.
Princeton faculty, research scientists, and graduate scientists can participate in research with the lab.
Admissions and financial aid
Admissions
Princeton offers several methods to apply: the Common Application, the Coalition for College, Coalition Application, and the QuestBridge, QuestBridge Application.
Princeton's application requires several writing supplements and submitting a graded written paper.
Princeton's undergraduate program is highly selective, admitting 5.8% of undergraduate applicants in the 2019–2020 admissions cycle (for the Class of 2024).
The middle 50% range of SAT scores was 1470–1560, the middle 50% range of the ACT (test), ACT composite score was 33–35, and the average high school GPA was a 3.91.
For graduate admissions, in the 2021–2022 academic year, Princeton received 12,553 applications for admission and accepted 1,322 applicants, with a yield rate of 51%.
In the 1950s, Princeton used an ABC system to function as a precursory early program, where admission officers would visit feeder schools and assign A, B, or C ratings to students. From 1977 to 1995, Princeton employed an early action program, and in 1996, transitioned to an early decision program.
In September 2006, the university announced that all applicants for the Class of 2012 would be considered in a single pool, ending the school's early decision program. In February 2011, following decisions by the University of Virginia and Harvard University to reinstate their early admissions programs, Princeton announced it would institute a single-choice early action option for applicants,
which it still uses.
Princeton reinstated its transfer students program in 2018 after a three decades moratorium; the program encourages applicants from low-income families, the military, and community colleges.
Costs and financial aid
As of the 2021–2022 academic year, the total cost of attendance is $77,690. 61% of all undergraduates receive financial aid, with the average financial aid grant being $57,251.
Tuition, room, and board is free for families making up to $65,000, and financial aid is offered to families making up to $180,000. In 2001, expanding on earlier reforms, Princeton became the first university to eliminate the use of student loans in Student financial aid (United States), financial aid, replacing them with grants.
In addition, all admissions are Need-blind admission, need-blind, and financial aid meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. The university does not use academic or athletic merit scholarships. In September 2022, Princeton announced that it would cover all costs for families earning $100,000 a year or less, with reduced costs for higher income families as well.
''Kiplinger'' magazine in 2019 ranked Princeton as the fifth best value school in a combined list comparing Private university, private universities, private liberal arts colleges, and Public university, public colleges, noting that the average graduating debt was $9,005.
For its 2021 rankings, the ''U.S. News & World Report'' ranked it second in its category for "Best Value Schools."
Student life and culture
Residential colleges
The university guarantees housing for students for all four years,
with more than 98% of undergraduates living on campus.
Freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus, specifically in one of the university's six
residential college
A residential college is a division of a university that places academic activity in a community setting of students and faculty, usually at a residence and with shared meals, the college having a degree of autonomy and a federated relationship wi ...
s. Once put into a residential college, students have an upperclassmen residential college adviser to adjust to college life and a faculty academic adviser for academic guidance.
Upperclassmen are given the option to keep living in the college or decide to move into upperclassmen dorms;
upperclassmen still remain affiliated with their college even if they live somewhere else.
Each residential college has its own distinct layout and architecture.
Additionally, each college has its own faculty head, dean, director of studies, and director of student life. The colleges feature various amenities, such as dining halls, common rooms, laundry rooms, academic spaces, and arts and entertainment resources. Three of the colleges house students from all classes while the other three house only underclassmen.
Princeton's residential college system dates back to when university president Woodrow Wilson's proposed the creation of quadrangles. While the plan was vetoed, it eventually made a resurgence with the creation of Wilson Lodge (now known as First College) in 1957 to provide an alternative to the eating clubs.
Wilson Lodge was dedicated as Wilson College in 1968 and served as an experiment for the residential college system. In 2020, Princeton University elected to change the name of Wilson College to First College after the recent deaths involving police brutality of black individuals. When enrollment increased in the 1970s, a university report in 1979 recommended the establishment of five residential colleges. Funding was raised within a year, leading to the development of Rockefeller College (1982), Mathey College (1983), Butler College (1983), and Forbes College (1984).
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...
was founded and constructed in 2007 at a cost of $100 million. Butler's dorms were demolished in 2007 and a new complex was built in 2009.
Butler and Mathey previously acted as only underclassmen colleges, but transitioned to four-year colleges in fall 2009. Princeton is scheduled to open up two new residential colleges—Residential College 7, Yeh College and New College West—in time for the 2022–2023 academic year.
Princeton has one graduate residential college, known as the Princeton University Graduate College, Graduate College, located on a hill about half a mile from the main campus.
The location of the Graduate College was the result of a dispute between Woodrow Wilson and then-Graduate School Dean Andrew Fleming West. Wilson preferred a central location for the college; West wanted the graduate students as far as possible from the campus, and ultimately, he prevailed. The Graduate College is composed of a large
Collegiate Gothic
Collegiate Gothic is an architectural style subgenre of Gothic Revival architecture, popular in the late-19th and early-20th centuries for college and high school buildings in the United States and Canada, and to a certain extent Europ ...
section crowned by Cleveland Tower,
a memorial tower for former Princeton trustee Grover Cleveland. The tower also has 67 carillon bells, making it one of the largest carillons in the world. The attached New Graduate College provides a modern contrast in architectural style to the gothic Old Graduate College.
Graduate students also have the option of living in student apartments.
File:Walker Hall, Wilson College, Princeton University, Princeton NJ.jpg, alt=A picture of First College, First College (founded 1957)
File:Forbes College from College Rd West.jpg, alt=A picture of Forbes College, Forbes College (founded 1984)
File:Mathey College, Princeton University.jpg, alt=The exterior of Mathey College, specifically Blair Arch., Mathey College (founded 1983)
File:Princeton (6035183309).jpg, alt=A picture of Rockefeller College, Rockefeller College (founded 1982)
File:Entrance, Butler College, Princeton University, Princeton NJ.jpg, alt=A picture showcasing the entrance to Butler College, Butler College (founded 1983)
File:Whitman College at Princeton University.jpg, alt=The exterior of Whitman College., Whitman College
Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacifi ...
(founded 2007)
Eating clubs and dining
![Ivy Club Princeton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/Ivy_Club_Princeton.JPG)
Each residential college has a dining hall for students in the college, and they vary in their environment and food served.
Upperclassmen who no longer live in the college can choose from a variety of options: join an
eating club
A dining club (UK) or eating club (US) is a social group, usually requiring membership (which may, or may not be available only to certain people), which meets for dinners and discussion on a regular basis. They may also often have guest speakers. ...
and choose a shared meal plan; join a dining co-op, where groups of students eat, prepare, and cook food together; or organize their own dining.
The university offers Kosher foods, kosher dining through the Center for Jewish Life and halal dining options for Muslim students in the dining halls.
Social life takes place primarily on campus and is involved heavily with one's residential college or eating club.
Residential colleges host a variety of social events and activities, ranging from Broadway theatre, Broadway show outings to regular barbecues.
Eating clubs, while not affiliated with the university, are co-ed organizations that serve as social centers, host events, and invite guest speakers.
Additionally, they serve as a place of community for upperclassmen.
Five of the clubs have first-serve memberships called "sign-ins" and six clubs use a selective process, in which students must "bicker."
This requires prospective members to undergo an interviewing process. Each eating club has a fee to join which ranges from around $9,000 to $10,000. As a result, Princeton increases financial aid for upperclassmen, and the eating clubs also offer financial assistance. Cumulatively, there are ten clubs located on Prospect Avenue—Cannon Club, Cannon, Cap and Gown Club, Cap and Gown, Princeton Charter Club, Charter, Cloister Inn, Cloister, Colonial Club, Colonial, University Cottage Club, Cottage, Ivy Club, Ivy, Quadrangle Club, Quadrangle, Tiger Inn, Tiger, and Tower Club, Tower—and one located on Washington Road—Terrace Club, Terrace.
68% of upperclassmen are members of a club, with each one containing around 150 to 200 students
Campus organizations
Princeton hosts around 500 recognized student organizations and several campus centers.
The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) serves as Princeton's Student Government, student government.
The USG funds student organization events, sponsors campus events, and represents the undergraduate student body when convening with faculty and administration.
![Whig Hall Princeton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/Whig_Hall_Princeton.jpg)
Founded in about 1765, the American Whig–Cliosophic Society, American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the nation's oldest collegiate political, literary, and debate society,
and is the largest and oldest student organization on campus. The Whig-Clio Society has several subsidiary organizations, each specialized to different areas of politics: the Princeton Debate Panel, International Relations Council, Princeton Mock Trial, and Princeton Model Congress. The International Relations Council manages two Model United Nations conferences: the Princeton Diplomatic Invitational (PDI) for collegiate competition and the Princeton Model United Nations Conference (PMUNC) for high school competition.
There are several publications on campus and a radio station. Founded in 1876, ''The Daily Princetonian'', otherwise known as ''The Prince'', is the second oldest college daily Student publication, student newspaper in the United States.
Other publications include ''The Nassau Literary Review'', the ''The Princeton Tory, Princeton Tory'', a campus journal of conservative thought, ''The Princeton Diplomat'', the only student-run magazine on global affairs, the ''Princeton Political Review'', the only multi-partisan political publication on campus, and the recently revived ''Princeton Progressive'', the only left-leaning political publication on campus, among others. Princeton's WPRB (103.3 FM) radio station is the oldest licensed college radio station in the nation.
![McCarter Theater2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/McCarter_Theater2.JPG)
Princeton is home to a variety of performing arts and music groups. Many of the groups are represented by the Performing Arts Council. Dating back to 1883, the Princeton Triangle Club is America's oldest touring musical-comedy theater group.
It performs its annual Triangle Show every fall at the 1,000 seat McCarter Theatre, as well as original musical comedies, revues, and other shows throughout campus.
Princeton's oldest choir is the Princeton Glee Club, Glee Club, which began in 1874.
The comedic Scramble band, scramble Princeton University Band, Tiger Band was formed in 1919 and plays at halftime shows and other events. Other groups include the Princeton University Orchestra, the flagship symphony orchestra group founded in 1896,
and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra, both of which perform at Alexander Hall (Princeton University), Alexander Hall.
A cappella groups are a staple of campus life, with many holding concerts, informal shows, and arch sings.
Arch sings are where a cappella performances are held in one of Princeton's many gothic arches. The oldest a cappella ensemble is the Princeton Nassoons, Nassoons, which were formed in 1941. All-male groups include the Princeton Tigertones, Tigertones (1946) and Princeton Footnotes, Footnotes (1959); all-female groups include the Tigerlilies (1971), Tigressions (1981), Wildcats (1987); the oldest coed a cappella group in the Ivy League is the Princeton Katzenjammers (1973), which was followed by the Roaring 20 (1983) and Shere Khan (1994).
Princeton features several campus centers for students that provide resources and information for students with certain identities. These include the Center for Jewish Life, the Davis International Center, the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, the Women's Center, and the LGBT Center. The Frist Campus Center and the Campus Club are additional facilities for the entire campus community that hold various activities and events.
Princeton features 15 chaplaincies and multiple religious student groups. The following faiths are represented on campus: Baháʼí Faith, Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Unitarian Universalism.
Traditions
Princeton students partake in a wide variety of campus traditions, both past and present.
![Fitzrandolph_Gate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Fitzrandolph_Gate.jpg)
Current traditions Princeton students celebrate include the ceremonial bonfire, which takes place on the Cannon Green behind Nassau Hall. It is held only if Princeton beats both Harvard University and Yale University at College football, football in the same season.
Another tradition is the use of traditional college cheers at events and reunions, like the "Locomotive", which dates back to before 1894.
Princeton students abide by the tradition of never exiting the campus through FitzRandolph Gates until one graduates. According to tradition, anyone who exits campus before their graduation will not graduate. A more controversial tradition is Newman Day, Newman's Day, where some students attempt to drink 24 beers in the 24 hours of April 24. According to ''The New York Times'', "the day got its name from an apocryphal quote attributed to Paul Newman: '24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not.'"
Newman has spoken out against the tradition.
One of the biggest traditions celebrated annually are Princeton Reunions, Reunions, which are massive annual gatherings of alumni. At Reunions, a traditional parade of alumni and their families, known as the "P-rade", process through the campus.
Princeton also has several traditions that have faded into the past. One of them was Bell clapper, clapper theft, the act of climbing to the top of Nassau Hall to steal the bell clapper, which rings to signal the start of classes on the first day of the school year. For safety reasons, the clapper was permanently removed. Another was the Nude Olympics, an annual nude and partially nude frolic in Holder Courtyard that used to take place during the first snow of the winter. Started in the early 1970s, the Nude Olympics went co-educational in 1979 and gained much notoriety with the American press. Due to issues of sexual harassment and safety reasons, the administration banned the Olympics in 2000 to the disappointment of students.
Alma mater
"Old Nassau" has been Princeton University's school song since 1859, when it was written that year by freshman Harlan Page Peck. It was originally published in the ''Nassau Literary Magazine'', where it won the magazine's prize for best college song. After an unsuccessful attempt at singing it to ''Auld Lang Synes melody, Karl Langlotz, a Princeton professor, wrote the music for it. In 1987, the university changed the gendered lyrics of "Old Nassau" to reflect the school's co-educational student body.
Transportation
Tiger Transit is the bus system of the university, mostly open to the public and linking university campuses and areas around Princeton. NJ Transit provides bus service on the lines and rail service on the Princeton Branch, Dinky, a small commuter train that provides service to the Princeton Junction Station.
Coach USA, through their subsidiary Suburban Transit, provides bus service to New York City and other destinations in New Jersey.
Student body
Princeton has made significant progress in expanding the diversity of its student body in recent years. The 2021 admitted freshman class was one of the most diverse in the school's history, with 68% of students identifying as students of color. The university has worked to increase its enrollment of first-generation and low-income students in recent years. The median family income of Princeton students is $186,100, with 72% of students coming from the top 20% highest-earning families.
In 2017, 22% of freshman qualified for federal Pell Grants, above the 16% average for the top 150 schools ranked by the ''U.S. News & World Report''; nationwide, the average was 44%. Based on data in a 2019 article in ''The Daily Princetonian,'' 10% of students hail from ''Bloomberg News, Bloomberg's'' 2018 list of "100 richest places", and that the top 20% of high schools send as many students to Princeton as the bottom 80%.
In 1999, 10% of the student body was Jewish, a percentage lower than those at other Ivy League schools. 16% of the student body was Jewish in 1985; the number decreased by 40% from 1985 to 1999. This decline prompted ''The Daily Princetonian'' to write a series of articles on the decline and its reasons. ''The New York Observer'' wrote that Princeton was "long dogged by a reputation for anti-Semitism" and that this history as well as Princeton's elite status caused the university and its community to feel sensitivity towards the decrease of Jewish students. In the ''Observer'', several theories are proposed for the drop, ranging from campus culture to changing admission policies to national patterns.
As of 2021, according to the Center for Jewish Life on campus, the university has approximately 700 Jewish students.
Starting in 1967, African American enrollment surged from 1.7% to 10% but has stagnated ever since. Bruce M. Wright was admitted into the university in 1936 as the first African Americans, African American, however, his admission was a mistake and when he got to campus he was asked to leave. Three years later Wright asked the dean for an explanation on his dismissal and the dean suggested to him that "a member of your race might feel very much alone" at Princeton University. Princeton wouldn't admit its first Black students until in 1945 when Princeton instituted the V-12 Navy College Training Program, V-12 program on campus. In 1947, John L. Howard, one of the four naval cadets admitted to the program, would become the first Black student to graduate with a bachelor's degree.
Athletics
![Princeton University Cleo tiger](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Princeton_University_Cleo_tiger.jpg)
Princeton supports organized athletics at three levels: varsity intercollegiate, club intercollegiate, and Intramural sports, intramural. It also provides "a variety of physical education and recreational programs" for members of the Princeton community. Most undergraduates participate in athletics at some level.
Princeton's colors are orange and black.
The school's athletes are known as the ''Tigers'', and the mascot is a tiger.
The Princeton administration considered naming the mascot in 2007, but the effort was dropped in the face of alumni opposition.
Varsity
![Princeton Tigers vs Lehigh](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Princeton_Tigers_vs_Lehigh.jpg)
Princeton hosts 37 men's and women's varsity sports.
Princeton is an
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
school, with its athletic conference being the
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight school ...
.
Its rowing teams compete in the College rowing in the United States#Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges, Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges, and its men's volleyball team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association. Princeton's sailing team, though a club sport, competes at the varsity level in the Middle Atlantic Intercollegiate Sailing Association, MAISA conference of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.
Princeton Tigers football, Princeton's football team competes in the Football Championship Subdivision of NCAA Division I with the rest of the Ivy League. Princeton played against Rutgers University in the 1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game, first intercollegiate football game in the U.S. on November 6, 1869; Rutgers won the game. As of 2021, Princeton claims 28 national football championships, which would make it the most of any school, although the NCAA only recognizes 15 of the wins. With its last win being in 2018, Princeton has won 12 Ivy League championships. In 1951, Dick Kazmaier won Princeton its only Heisman Trophy, the last to come from the Ivy League.
The Princeton Tigers men's basketball, men's basketball program is noted for its success under Pete Carril, the head coach from 1967 to 1996. During this time, Princeton won 13 Ivy League titles and made 11 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA tournament appearances.
Carril introduced the Princeton offense, an offensive strategy that has since been adopted by a number of college and professional basketball teams.
Carril's final victory at Princeton came when the Tigers beat UCLA, the defending national champion, in the opening round of the 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, 1996 NCAA tournament.
On December 14, 2005, Princeton tied the record for the fewest points in a Division I game since the institution of the three-point line in 1986–87, when the Tigers scored 21 points in a loss against Monmouth University.
Princeton women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship semi-finals in 2004, becoming the first Ivy League team to do so in a 64 team setting. The men's soccer team was coached from 1984 to 1995 by Princeton alumnus and future United States men's national soccer team, United States men's national team manager Bob Bradley, who lead the Tigers to win two Ivy League titles and make an appearance at the NCAA Final Four in 1993. Princeton's Princeton Tigers men's lacrosse, men's lacrosse program undertook a period of notable success from 1992 to 2001, during which time it won six national championships. In 2012, its field hockey team became the first in the Ivy League to win a national championship.
Princeton has won at least one Ivy League title every year since 1957, and it became the first university in its conference to win over 500 Ivy League athletic championships.
From 1896 to 2018, 113 athletes from Princeton have competed in the
Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, winning 19 gold medals, 24 silver medals, and 23 bronze medals.
Club and intramural
![1877 Cane Spree, Scribner's Magazine](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/1877_Cane_Spree%2C_Scribner%27s_Magazine.png)
In addition to varsity sports, Princeton hosts 37 club sports teams, which are open to all Princeton students of any skill level.
Teams compete against other collegiate teams both in the Northeast and nationally.
The intramural sports program is also available on campus, which schedules competitions between residential colleges, eating clubs, independent groups, students, and faculty and staff.
Several leagues with differing levels of competitiveness are available.
In the fall, freshman and sophomores participate in the intramural athletic competition called Cane Spree. Although the event centers on cane wrestling, freshman and sophomores compete in other sports and competitions. This commemorates a time in the 1870s when sophomores, angry with the freshmen who strutted around with fancy canes, stole all of the canes from the freshmen, hitting them with their own canes in the process.
Notable people
Alumni
U.S. Presidents
The president of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States, indirectly elected to a four-year term
Term may refer to:
* Terminology, or term, a noun or compound word used in a specific context, in pa ...
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
and
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
and Vice Presidents George M. Dallas, John C. Breckinridge, John Breckinridge, and Aaron Burr graduated from Princeton,
as did Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the United States. Former Chief Justice of the United States Oliver Ellsworth was an alumnus, as are current Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor. Alumnus Jerome Powell was appointed as Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in 2018.
Princeton graduates played a major role in the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, including the first and last Colonels to die on the Patriot side Philip Johnston (New Jersey soldier), Philip Johnston and Nathaniel Scudder, as well as the highest ranking civilian leader on the British side David Mathews.
Notable graduates of Princeton's School of Engineering and Applied Science include Apollo astronaut and commander of Apollo 12 Pete Conrad, Amazon.com, Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos, former Chairman of Alphabet Inc. Eric Schmidt, and Lisa P. Jackson, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Actors Jimmy Stewart, Wentworth Miller, José Ferrer, David Duchovny, and Brooke Shields graduated from Princeton as did composers Edward T. Cone and Milton Babbitt. Soccer-player alumna, Diana Matheson, scored the game-winning goal that earned Canada their 2012 Summer Olympics, Olympic bronze medal in 2012.
![Princeton University Class of 1879](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4a/Princeton_University_Class_of_1879.jpg)
Writers Booth Tarkington,
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (September 24, 1896 – December 21, 1940) was an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. He is best known for his novels depicting the flamboyance and excess of the Jazz Age—a term he popularize ...
, and Eugene O'Neill attended but did not graduate. Writer Selden Edwards and poet W. S. Merwin graduated from Princeton. American novelist Jodi Picoult and author David Remnick graduated. Pulitzer Prize, Pulitzer prize-winning journalists Barton Gellman and Lorraine Adams, as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, are Princeton alumni.
William P. Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and founding editor of the Cherokee Phoenix, ''Cherokee Advocate'', graduated in 1844.
Notable graduate alumni include Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Thornton Wilder, Richard Feynman, Lee Iacocca, John Forbes Nash Jr., John Nash, Alonzo Church, Alan Turing, Terence Tao, Edward Witten, John Milnor, John Bardeen, Steven Weinberg, John Tate (mathematician), John Tate, and David Petraeus. Royal family, Royals such as Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco, Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, and Queen Noor of Jordan have attended Princeton.
Faculty
As of 2021, notable current faculty members include Angus Deaton, Daniel Kahneman, Cornel West, Robert Keohane, Edward Felten, Edward W. Felten, Anthony Grafton, Peter Singer, Jhumpa Lahiri, Jim Peebles, Manjul Bhargava, Brian Kernighan, Betsy Levy Paluck and Robert P. George. Notable former faculty members include
John Witherspoon
John Witherspoon (February 5, 1723 – November 15, 1794) was a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister, educator, farmer, slaveholder, and a Founding Father of the United States. Witherspoon embraced the concepts of Scottish common sense reali ...
, Walter Kaufmann (philosopher), Walter Kaufmann, John von Neumann, Ben Bernanke, Paul Krugman, Joseph Henry, Toni Morrison, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Mullen, Andrew Wiles, and alumnus
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
.
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theory ...
, though on the faculty at the
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States, is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholar ...
rather than at Princeton, came to be associated with the university through frequent lectures and visits on the campus.
See also
* Higher education in New Jersey
* Big Three (colleges)
* The Princeton University Summer Journalism Program
*Princeton University Department of Physics
Notes
References
Works cited
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Further reading
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External links
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Princeton Athletics website*
{{Authority control
Princeton University,
Princeton, New Jersey
Educational institutions established in 1746
1746 establishments in New Jersey
Colonial colleges
Eastern Pennsylvania Rugby Union
Universities and colleges in Mercer County, New Jersey
Environmental research institutes
Private universities and colleges in New Jersey