Welcome
Welcome to Princeton University. From its modest beginnings in Elizabeth, N.J., in 1746, Princeton has become one of the world’s foremost research universities engaged in graduate education while preserving its historic commitment to undergraduate instruction. We expect our faculty to be great scholars as well as great teachers, and we offer our students a diverse yet close-knit community that gives them the widest possible scope for academic exploration and growth.
Whether one is a Nobel laureate or a newly matriculated freshman, whether one’s field is electrical engineering or comparative literature, Princeton invites its faculty and students to join a common search for answers to the fundamental and pressing questions that confront society. We do so not in the name of learning alone but, in the words of our informal motto, to serve our nation and all nations. As Princeton’s fourth president declared in 1760, “Let it be the vigorous unremitted effort of your whole life to leave the world wiser and better than you found it at your entrance.”
Today, we continue to foster this spirit by identifying talented students at home and abroad and by giving them the skills and insights they need to realize their potential and, as alumni, to make a positive difference in their communities.
Whatever the purpose of your visit, I hope that you will find the answers you are seeking and return one day soon.
Sincerely,
Shirley M. Tilghman