Princeton University

Academic Life

The Faculty

In spring 2005, the faculty (including visitors and part-time faculty) totaled 1,140, including 485 professors, 57 associate professors, 183 assistant professors, 15 instructors, 294 lecturers, and 106 visitors.

Seventy-five percent of the professorial faculty is tenured. Excluding visitors, approximately 290 members of the faculty are women, and 162 are identified as members of minority groups. There were 105 tenured women on the faculty in spring 2005.

Approximately half of Princeton’s tenured faculty members were promoted to tenure while at Princeton; the other half were hired with tenure from other institutions.

All faculty members at Princeton are expected to teach as well as engage in scholarly research. Faculty members work most closely with undergraduates in the supervision of junior-year independent work and senior theses.

Ten members of the current Princeton faculty (including emeritus) are recipients of the Nobel Prize: Philip W. Anderson, Joseph Henry Professor of Physics Emeritus, won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1977; Val L. Fitch, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics Emeritus, won the Nobel Prize in physics in 1980; Chloe Anthony Morrison, Robert F. Goheen Professor in the Humanities, won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1993; Joseph H. Taylor, James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of Physics, shared the Nobel Prize in physics in 1993 with Russell A. Hulse, principal research physicist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory on Princeton’s Forrestal campus; John F. Nash, senior research mathematician, won the 1994 Nobel Prize in economic sciences; Eric F. Wieschaus, Squibb Professor of Molecular Biology, won the 1995 Nobel Prize in medicine; Daniel C. Tsui, Arthur Legrand Doty Professor of Electrical Engineering, won the 1998 Nobel Prize in physics; Daniel Kahneman, Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of psychology and public affairs, won the 2002 Nobel Prize in economic sciences; and David J. Gross, Thomas D. Jones Professor of Mathematical Physics Emeritus, won the 2004 Nobel Prize in physics. Twenty-one faculty members have been named MacArthur Fellows.

Undergraduate College

Program of Study

Princeton offers two bachelor’s degrees: a bachelor of arts (A.B.) and a bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.). Within these degree programs, students can choose from among 69 departments and interdepartmental programs. In lieu of existing programs, students may apply for independent concentration.

Undergraduates in the A.B. program must successfully complete general education requirements that include two courses each in literature and the arts, science and technology (with laboratory), and social analysis; and one course each in epistemology and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, historical analysis, and quantitative reasoning.

Departmental requirements combine upper-level courses with independent work in both the junior and senior years. A senior thesis is required of all A.B. candidates.

Engineering students take at least seven courses in the humanities and social sciences in addition to satisfying the writing requirement and meeting the requirements in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer programming as specified by the School of Engineering and Applied Science. B.S.E. students are required to take one course in four of the following six areas: epistemology and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, foreign language, historical analysis, literature and the arts, and social analysis.

All engineering departments offer upperclass students opportunities to pursue independent work in lieu of formal course work. In some departments, independent work or a senior thesis is required for completion of the B.S.E. degree.

Departments and Programs

Academic Departments

Undergraduates may concentrate their studies in the following fields:

Anthropology

Architecture

Art and Archaeology

Astrophysical Sciences

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Classics

Comparative Literature

Computer Science

East Asian Studies

Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Economics

Electrical Engineering

English

French and Italian

Geosciences

German

History

Mathematics

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Molecular Biology

Music

Near Eastern Studies

Operations Research and Financial Engineering

Philosophy

Physics

Politics

Psychology

Religion

Slavic Languages and Literatures

Sociology

Spanish and Portuguese Languages and Cultures

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Interdepartmental Programs

Undergraduates may supplement their concentration by participating in any of the following programs, most of which grant certificates of proficiency:

African-American Studies

African Studies

American Studies

Applications of Computing

Applied and Computational Mathematics

Architecture and Engineering

Biophysics

Contemporary European Politics and Society

Creative Writing

East Asian Studies

Engineering Biology

Engineering and Management Systems

Engineering Physics

Environmental Studies

European Cultural Studies

Finance

Geological Engineering

Hellenic Studies

Humanistic Studies

Judaic Studies

Language and Culture

Latin American Studies

Linguistics

Materials Science and Engineering

Medieval Studies

Musical Performance

Near Eastern Studies

Neuroscience

Robotics and Intelligent Systems

Russian and Eurasian Studies

Teacher Preparation

Theater and Dance

Visual Arts

Study of Women and Gender

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

Areas of Concentration

Undergraduate concentration patterns have remained fairly constant over the years. Here, in descending order, are the 15 areas of concentration for juniors and seniors that were most popular in academic year 2004–05:

Department	Number of Concentrators
Politics	250
History	245
Economics	222
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs	164
English	128
Molecular Biology	124
Psychology	109
Operations Research and Financial Engineering	106
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	91
Sociology	72
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering	68
Electrical Engineering	58
Anthropology	55
Religion	52
Chemistry	51

Admission and Enrollment

Admission to Princeton is quite competitive. In recent years, Princeton has offered admission to about 10 percent of those who apply. Successful applicants must demonstrate exceptionally high academic ability and performance. Personal strengths and nonacademic talents and commitment are also highly valued.

Princeton offers two admission programs: Early Decision, where candidates file their completed applications by November 1, and Regular Decision, where candidates file their completed applications by January 1.

In 2004–05, there were 3,948 candidates for the A.B. degree and 730 for the B.S.E. degree. The largest numbers of students came from New York (636), New Jersey (614), California (522), Pennsylvania (297), Maryland (203), Massachusetts (185), and Texas (183).

Undergraduate Enrollment, 2004–05

	Number	%
Total	4,678
Men	2,482	53
Women	2,196	47
American minorities*	1,344	29
Alumni children	631	14
Foreign citizens	391	8
*Includes African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and Native American students.

Approximate Undergraduate Enrollment, 2005–06

	Number	%
Total	4,710
Men	2,510	53
Women	2,200	47
American minorities*	1,319	28
Alumni children	612	13
Foreign citizens	377	8
*Includes African-American, Asian-American, Latino, and Native American students.

In recent years, approximately 88 percent of each entering class has graduated from Princeton within four years, and 97 percent of all undergraduates have received a degree from Princeton within six years.

Awards and Scholarships

Princeton students do very well in the national scholarship and fellowship competitions. During the past 10 years, 16 Princeton undergraduates have been Rhodes Scholars.

The table below lists seven of the award programs open to graduates and shows the number of Princetonians who have won these scholarships over the past five years.

Awarded nationally		00–01	01–02	02–03	03–04	04–05
Churchill	11	0	1	1	0	0
Fulbright	958	13	14	9	15	10
Hertz	30	0	0	0	1	0
Marshall	40	1	4	0	2	2
Mellon	80	5	0	4	5	1
NSF*	850	19	18	20	18	8
Rhodes	32	1	4	1	2	0
*National Science Foundation

Costs and Financial Aid

Here is what it costs for an undergraduate to study in 2005–06:

	Amount
Tuition and other fees	$31,450
Room	4,610
Board	4,153
Miscellaneous expenses (books, supplies, etc.)	3,212
Total	$43,425

Firmly committed to equality of opportunity, Princeton admits students without regard to their financial circumstances and provides student grants and campus jobs—not student loans—to meet the full demonstrated financial need of all students offered admission. This policy applies to both domestic and international applicants. Currently, more than half of Princeton’s undergraduate students receive financial aid from the University.

Class of 2009

Aid distribution	Amount		% of class
Average aid award	$28,930		54%
Grant aid	$27,250	94%
Campus job	$1,680	6%
Non-aid			46%

Students who receive financial aid help pay for their education by working in the summer and during the school year. Since they are no longer required to take loans to help pay their basic expenses, the University provides grants to fill any gap between the cost of attendance and the amount a student and his or her parents are able to pay.

The amount parents are asked to contribute varies from family to family based on a review of their financial circumstances. Princeton uses its own need formula to determine parental contributions.

Princeton’s Financial Aid Budget, 2005–06

Number of undergraduates receiving financial aid	51%	2,400
Median family income of students receiving aid		$95,900
Total scholarship budget		$64,000,000
Provided by the University	91%
Endowed scholarships		44,020,000
General funds		11,010,000
Yearly gifts to scholarship program		3,260,000
Provided by government	4%	2,650,000
Provided by outside organizations	5%	3,060,000
Earnings of financial aid students		$2,000,000

The Graduate School

The Graduate School, established in 1900, enrolled 1,999 degree candidates in 40 departments and programs in academic year 2004–05. By history and design, the Graduate School is relatively small and traditionally has emphasized Ph.D. programs in the arts, social and natural sciences, and engineering. In 2004–05, Princeton awarded 277 Ph.D.’s and 151 final master’s degrees. Princeton University has no business, law, or medical schools.

Thirty-nine percent of the Graduate School’s students are female, 40 percent are citizens of other countries, and 13 percent are members of U.S. minority groups. The approximate enrollment of graduate degree candidates by academic division for 2004–05 is given below.

Division	Number	%
Natural sciences and mathematics	569	28.5
Humanities	379	19.0
School of Engineering and Applied Science	470	23.5
Social sciences	325	16.2
Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs	186	9.3
School of Architecture	70	3.5
Total	1,999	100

Of the 8,120 applicants to the Graduate School for 2005–06, 1,050 were admitted and 540 accepted the offer of admission.

The Graduate School participates in all major national fellowship programs. Graduate students win many of the following awards: Department of Defense Fellowships, Ford Predoctoral Fellowships for Minorities, Hertz Fellowships in the Applied Sciences, Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies, National Science Foundation Fellowships, and U.S. Department of Education Fellowships (FLAS, GAANN, Javits).

Most degree candidates receive financial support for the duration of their degree program through some combination of University fellowships, assistantships in research or teaching, and non-University awards.

The median time from matriculation to receiving a Ph.D. at Princeton, including all departments, is 5.6 years (for 2004–05).

The School of Architecture

The School of Architecture, Princeton’s center of teaching and research in architectural design, history, and theory, provides students with a course of study that reflects contemporary and emerging issues in architecture. Its roots reach back to 1832, when Professor Joseph Henry, an amateur architect and scientist, taught a course on the history of architecture. The School of Architecture was opened in 1919; its official opening was delayed due to World War I.

Principal degrees offered by the school include a bachelor of arts (A.B.), a master of architecture (M.Arch.), and a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). The master of architecture program, accredited by the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), is intended for students who plan to practice architecture professionally. The curriculum for the master’s degree emphasizes design expertise in the context of architectural scholarship.

Architecture is understood as a cultural practice involving both speculative intelligence and practical know-how. Students are encouraged to construct a personal course of study around a core of required courses that represent the knowledge essential to the education of an architect today. Graduates of the program are qualified to take the state professional licensing examination after the completion of a required internship.

The four-year doctoral program focuses on the history, theory, and criticism of architecture, urbanism, landscape, and building technology. The approach is interdisciplinary, covering a broad range of research interests from an architectural perspective. Working closely with the faculty of the school and allied departments in the University, students build individual programs of study involving at least two years of course work, general examinations, and a dissertation.

Students at the School of Architecture benefit from its small size and thorough integration with the University community. In recent years, the school has enrolled approximately 60 graduate students and roughly the same number of undergraduates. Its curriculum always has responded to changes in the profession and in architectural education, providing students with courses that reflect contemporary and emerging issues in architecture.

The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)

Engineering education at Princeton is distinguished by technical excellence as well as a broad exposure to the economic, political, artistic, and other social contexts that drive and are driven by technological development. In 2005, the engineering school established the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education to build on this unique combination of depth and breadth.

Engineering research at Princeton also takes a broadly multidisciplinary approach, with many collaborations taking place between engineering departments and scientists and scholars in other fields. A leading example is the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM), which involves 77 faculty members in 11 departments and has developed new generations of devices for photonics, telecommunications, medicine, and other fields. Other interdepartmental programs include applications of computing, architecture and engineering, engineering biology, engineering and management systems, engineering physics, environmental studies, geological engineering, and robotics and intelligent systems. Total engineering research expenditures for fiscal year 2004 were $46.6 million.

Engineering education at Princeton began in 1875 and grew into the formal creation of the School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1921. Throughout its history, the school has helped create and support new fields of study, including aeronautical engineering in 1942 and the Department of Operations Research and Financial Engineering in 1999. Principal degrees offered by the school include a bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.), a bachelor of arts (A.B.), a master of science in engineering (M.S.E.), a master of engineering (M.Eng.), and a doctor of philosophy (Ph.D.). In spring 2004 there were 721 engineering undergraduates, including 229 women. The school currently enrolls about 455 graduate students. More than 125 faculty members serve the six departments.

The Engineering Quadrangle (E-Quad), built in 1962, houses five departments: chemical, civil and environmental, electrical, mechanical and aerospace, and operations research and financial engineering. Computer science occupies its own building, completed in 1989. The Friend Center for Engineering Education was completed in 2001, with 70,500 square feet of library, classroom, and computer cluster space that provide some of the brightest, most inviting, and best-equipped spaces on campus.

The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs

The Woodrow Wilson School, which celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, was founded in 1930 as the School of Public and International Affairs. A professional school that prepares talented women and men who seek careers in public service, it offers a rigorous education for undergraduates and graduate students. Its degree programs include a two-year course of study leading to a master in public affairs (M.P.A.), a one-year program for mid-career professionals leading to a master in public policy (M.P.P.), and a Ph.D. program in public affairs.

In its early days the school was a small, interdisciplinary program at the undergraduate level. Beyond normal course work, students took part in semester-long “policy conferences,” in which they focused on policy issues and conducted original research in order to formulate policy recommendations. These conferences are still key to the school’s undergraduate curriculum.

In 1948 a graduate professional program was added, and the school was named in honor of President Wilson. That program was greatly strengthened in the 1960s through a generous gift from Charles Robertson ’26 and Marie Robertson.

The fledgling school shaped the internationalist outlook of a new generation of leaders that emerged from World War II. It counts among its alumni two secretaries of state, a secretary of defense, several senators and governors, a chair of the Federal Reserve Board, leaders of nonprofit organizations, many ambassadors, and other influential policymakers.

Today the school emphasizes policy-oriented research and learning in its graduate program, serving interests in both domestic public policy and international affairs. M.P.A. candidates follow a core curriculum and then branch into one of four fields of concentration. Two joint-degree programs and three certificate programs expand the graduate curriculum.

Both undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to gain real-world experience either domestically or internationally. Undergraduate task forces have included work abroad or have studied U.S. domestic issues. Graduate students are required to complete a policy workshop—recent workshops have focused on currency unions, education, human rights, poverty, conflict resolution, economic sanctions, and international humanitarian law. Graduate students also gain professional experience during the required summer internship between their first and second years.

Study of the Humanities and the Life Sciences

Princeton University is unique in combining the strengths of a major research university with the qualities of an outstanding liberal arts college. With a student-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, Princeton excels in its commitment to teaching and provides learning opportunities both within and outside of the classroom. Whether through independent study, student-initiated seminars or lectures in emerging fields such as neuroscience, Princeton students have the flexibility to shape dynamic academic programs that prepare them for leadership and lives of service.

Whether focusing on a junior paper that traces irony from Shakespeare to Toni Morrison, strolling through the Art Museum to study early Chinese art and archaeology or presenting on the microeconomics involved in corporate restructuring, Princeton undergraduates have outstanding opportunities in the humanities and the life sciences.

Students may choose from among 34 majors and participate in more than 30 special programs. The University also provides ample support resources, such as a modern language lab that bolsters the instruction in 17 foreign languages currently offered.

Study of the Arts

Music Study. Princeton attracts student musicians who want a broad liberal arts education and the chance to pursue their musical interests. The Department of Music offers courses in composition and theory as well as music history and literature. Several courses that incorporate student performance are offered each year.

Creative Writing. The Program in Creative Writing offers undergraduate students the unique opportunity to pursue original work in fiction, poetry, and translation under the guidance of renowned practicing writers. Throughout the academic year, a reading series brings to campus several distinguished poets and novelists to read from their work.

Theater and Dance. The Program in Theater and Dance offers workshop courses in writing, acting, directing, design, dance, and choreography—all taught by professional performing artists. The program also presents a series of student-acted productions each year. Modern dance courses focus on technique and composition, while the program’s modern dance concert presents works choreographed by students and faculty.

Visual Arts. The Program in Visual Arts introduces students to the studio arts in the context of a liberal arts education. Courses are offered in ceramics, drawing, film theory and history, painting, photography, digital photography, printmaking, sculpture, and film and video. Facilities include painting and drawing studios; a computer lab for digital photography; darkrooms; digital cameras; light kits and audio equipment; a computer lab for video editing; a printmaking shop; and ceramics and sculpture studios.

Academic Resources

The 500-acre Princeton campus is a nexus of opportunity for students. A wealth of resources and support services help them get the most out of their time at the University. From first-rate libraries to innovative computer technology, students have access to many tools to explore academic interests.

The Library

The Princeton University Library, one of the world’s most distinguished research libraries, consists of the Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library and 15 special libraries. Its holdings include more than 6 million books, 6 million microforms, 36,000 linear feet of manuscripts, and smaller but distinguished holdings of rare books, prints, archives, and other material that require special handling. The library’s extensive electronic resources include databases and journals, statistical packages, images, and digital maps. The budget for 2004–05 exceeded $36.7 million, which included more than $14.5 million for acquisitions.

The Art Museum

The Princeton University Art Museum is used extensively as a teaching resource. Its collections and exhibitions include artifacts of the ancient world (including rare pre-Columbian, classical, and Far Eastern objects); paintings and sculpture of the Renaissance, modern Europe, and America; important collections of prints, drawings, and photographs; and a collection of 20th-century sculpture displayed throughout campus.

Information Technology

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) supports the use of information technologies and Internet access for the University’s academic and administrative needs. Princeton’s computing resources are connected to a campus fiber-optic network and to the Internet. Students’ personally owned computers can access the campus network and the Internet from around campus. Students also have access to workstations in clusters. OIT also provides administrative information systems, audiovisual services, the Blackboard course management system, centralized printing and mailing services, computer hardware repair, coordination and training for distributed campus computing support personnel, an instructional technology New Media Center, the Language Resource Center, software purchases, the University’s telephone system, its World Wide Web server, and help desk assistance in the use of these resources.