Princeton’s honor system against cheating was established by the undergraduates in 1893 and has been in effect without interruption since that time. Entirely student-run, the honor code has been successful because generations of undergraduates have respected it, and by common agreement they afford it the highest place among their obligations as Princeton students. Under the honor system, students have a twofold responsibility: individually, they must not violate the code, and as a community, they are responsible to see that suspected violations are reported. Students sign a pledge when they matriculate, and again on every exam they take, that they will not and have not violated the honor code.

The honor system applies to all written examinations, tests, and quizzes, and suspected violations are brought to the Undergraduate Honor Committee. Violations of rules and regulations pertaining to all other academic work, including essays, term papers, and laboratory reports, fall under the jurisdiction of the Faculty/Student Committee on Discipline.

To learn more about the Honor Code, please click here. For more on academic regulations, please see Rights, Rules, Responsibilities.