Princeton In Brief

Princeton is a residential university and provides housing for all undergraduate students. Freshmen and sophomores are required to live on campus in one of six residential colleges, which provide a variety of academic, social, and cultural programs. With the opening of Whitman College in 2007, the residential college system was expanded to enable those juniors and seniors who wish to do so to continue living in a residential college. Each college includes a cluster of dormitories, a dining hall, lounges, computer facilities, a library, game and television rooms, and, in some cases, theaters and other spaces for the arts. The student community in each college is supported by academic advisers, college administrators, and undergraduate residential college advisers.

Students have a wide range of dining options. Freshmen and sophomores typically take meals in dining halls in the residential colleges. Many juniors and seniors dine in one of the 10 historic eating clubs, which also offer social, athletic, educational, and community service programs. All juniors and seniors are given two meals a week in the residential colleges, whether or not they reside in a residential college. Juniors and seniors who live in residential colleges may take all of their meals there or may divide their meals between a college and an eating club. Other options for juniors and seniors include numerous dining facilities across the campus as well as opportunities for preparing meals in their campus apartments or co-ops.

The University has many libraries and hundreds of collections. The main library is Firestone, which has more than 70 miles of shelving and room for more than 2,000 students to study at any given time, including 500 enclosed carrels (many of which are assigned to seniors writing their theses). Undergraduates have access to more than 6 million printed volumes, 50,000 feet of manuscripts, 3 million microforms, and thousands of online journals and research tools.

The Princeton University Art Museum is a teaching museum for the Department of Art and Archaeology as well as a cultural resource for the entire University and surrounding community.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) supports students with a powerful computing environment. A high-speed data connection and wireless service are available in every undergraduate dormitory room. OIT’s New Media Center provides access to and instruction in cutting-edge technology.

Frist Campus Center is a lively gathering place for the entire campus community and offers various dining options and places to relax, study, and talk. Other key campus centers include the Center for Jewish Life; the Davis International Center; the Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Center; and the Women’s Center.

The Princeton undergraduate student body is a highly active one. There are six theaters of various sizes on campus and a host of theater groups including the Princeton Shakespeare Company, Theatre Intime, and the Princeton Triangle Club. Music opportunities include the Princeton University Orchestra, the Princeton University Concert Choir (Glee Club), the Princeton University Jazz Ensemble, the Princeton University Opera Theatre, the University Band, the Chapel Choir, the Gospel Ensemble, numerous chamber music groups, and several a cappella groups. There are more than 250 student organizations, including cultural/performing, multicultural, political, religious, service/social action, science, and a variety of media organizations. The Daily Princetonian is the student newspaper and WPRB is the student radio station. The American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the oldest college political, literary, and debating society in the United States (founded by Princetonians James Madison and Aaron Burr). Students have ample opportunity to pursue civic engagement projects through the Pace Center, the Student Volunteers Council, and Community House, among others.

The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) plays a substantial role within the University community. Members of the USG, or students appointed by the USG, serve on virtually all important University-wide committees.

Princeton is an NCAA Division I school. The University offers 38 varsity sports and nearly 40 club teams. Each year more than 1,000 students participate in intercollegiate varsity and junior varsity sports. Women’s varsity sports include basketball, crew, cross country, diving, fencing, field hockey, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, squash, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo. Men compete in baseball, basketball, crew, cross country, diving, fencing, football, sprint football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, squash, swimming, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling.

Among the diverse range of student organizations are numerous groups that have a multicultural emphasis, such as:

Acción Latina y Amigos
AKWAABA: African Students Association
American Asian Students Association
Arab Society of Princeton
Asian Pacific American Heritage Council
Black History Month Planning Committee
Black Leaders on Campus
Black Men’s Awareness Group
Black Student Union
Black Student Union’s Leadership and Mentoring Program
Canadian Club
Carl A. Fields Center Governance Board
Chicano Caucus
Chinese Students Association
Community House
Consortium of International Student Organizations
Cuban American Undergraduate Group
Friends of Lebanon
German Cultural Organization
Hawaii Club
Hong Kong Student Association
International Students Association of Princeton
Japanese Student Association
Korean American Students Association
Latino Heritage Month Committee
Liberty in North Korea
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Native Americans at Princeton
Pakistani Students Group
Persian Society of Princeton
Philhellenic Activities Organization
Pride Alliance
Princeton Association of Black Women
Princeton Caribbean Connection
Romanian Students and Scholars Association
Russian Club
Singapore Society
South Asian Students Association
Southeast Asia Society
Taiwanese American Students Association
Turkish Students Association
Ukrainian Alliance
Union of Multiracial and Multicultural Students