Princeton University

For other Princetons, see Princeton. Most of them are named after the University.

About Princeton

Princeton offers two main undergraduate degrees: the bachelor of arts (A.B.) and the bachelor of science in engineering (B.S.E.). Courses in the humanities are traditionally either seminars or semi-weekly lectures with an additional discussion seminar, called a "precept" (short for "preceptorial"). To graduate, all A.B. candidates must complete a senior thesis and one or two extensive pieces of independent research, known as "junior papers" or "JPs". They must also fulfill a two semester foreign language requirement and distribution requirements. B.S.E. candidates follow a different track with some but fewer distribution requirements that includes a rigorous science and math curriculum and at least two semesters of independent research.

Related Topics:
Undergraduate - Bachelor of arts - Bachelor of science

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Princeton offers postgraduate research degrees (most notably the Ph.D.), and ranks among the best in many fields, including mathematics, physics, economics, history, and philosophy. However, it does not have the extensive range of professional postgraduate schools of many other universities --- for instance, it has no medical school or business school (a short-lived Princeton Law School folded in 1852). Its most famous professional school is the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (known as "Woody Woo" to the students), founded in 1930 as the School of Public and International Affairs and renamed in 1948. The university also offers professional graduate degrees in engineering and architecture.

Related Topics:
Ph.D. - Princeton Law School - Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs - Engineering - Architecture

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The university's libraries have 11 million holdings, and the main university library, Firestone Library, houses over six million volumes and ranks as one of the largest university libraries in the world (indeed, the largest "open stack" library in existence); it is not, however, open to the public. In addition to Firestone, many individual disciplines have their own libraries, including architecture, art history, East Asian studies, engineering, geology, international affairs and public policy, and Near Eastern studies. Seniors in some departments can register for enclosed carrels in the main library for workspace and the private storage of books and research materials.

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The university is also home to the third largest university chapel in the world, the Princeton University Chapel. Known for its gothic architecture, the chapel houses one of the largest and most precious stained glass collections in the country. Both the Opening Exercises for entering freshmen and the Baccalaureate Service for graduating seniors take place in the University Chapel.

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The campus, located on 2 km² of landscaped grounds, features a large number of Neo-gothic-style buildings, most dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is situated about one hour from each of two major metropolitan centers, New York City and Philadelphia. The main university administration building, Nassau Hall, was built in 1756 and briefly served as the United States Capitol in 1783. Stanhope Hall (once a library, now the police department and communications office) and East and West College, both dormitories, followed. While many of the succeeding buildings -- particularly the dormitories of the Northern campus -- were built in a Collegiate Gothic style, the university is something of a hodge-podge of American architectural movements. Greek Revival temples (Whig and Clio Halls) abut the lawn south of Nassau Hall, while a crenellated theater (Murray-Dodge) guards the route west to the library. Modern buildings are confined to the west and south of the campus, a quarter overlooked by the 14-story Fine Hall. Fine, the Math Department's home, designed by Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde and completed in 1970, is the tallest building at the University. Contemporary additions feature a number of big-name architects, including IM Pei's Spelman Halls, Robert Venturi's Frist Campus Center, Rafael Vinoly's Carl Icahn Laboratory, and the Hillier Group's Bowen Hall. A residential college by Demetri Porphyrios and a science library by Frank Gehry are under construction. Much sculpture adorns the campus, including pieces by Henry Moore (Oval with Points, also nicknamed "Nixon's Nose"), Clement Meadmoore (Upstart II), and Alexander Calder (Five Disks: One Empty). At the base of campus is the Delaware and Raritan Canal, dating from 1830, and Lake Carnegie, a man-made lake donated by the steel magnate Andrew Carnegie, used for rowing.

Related Topics:
Neo-gothic - Metropolitan - New York City - Philadelphia - United States Capitol - Collegiate Gothic - Warner, Burns, Toan and Lunde - IM Pei - Robert Venturi - Frist Campus Center - Rafael Vinoly - Carl Icahn - Demetri Porphyrios - Frank Gehry - Sculpture - Henry Moore - Nixon - Alexander Calder - Andrew Carnegie

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Princeton is among the wealthiest universities in the world, with an endowment of more than eleven billion US dollars (Daily Princetonian, September 2005) sustained through the continued donations of its alumni and maintained by investment advisors. Some of Princeton's wealth is invested in its art museum, which features works by Claude Monet and Andy Warhol, among other prominent artists. Princeton is the wealthiest Ivy League school on a per-student basis.

Related Topics:
Billion - Art museum - Claude Monet - Andy Warhol

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Financial Aid

Princeton University was named by the Princeton Review as one of the most affordable colleges in the nation. Leveraging its immense wealth to further advantage in attracting top students, in 2001, Princeton eliminated loans for all students who qualify for aid, expanding a program instituted three years earlier in which loans were replaced with grants for low and middle-income students. The unprecedented move followed a series of enhancements to Princeton's aid program beginning in 1998, which included: admitting international students on a "need-blind" basis along with U.S. students; removing the value of the family home from the formula that calculates how much parents are expected to contribute to college; reducing the contribution rate on student savings; and decreasing summer savings expectations for lower- and middle-income students. Princeton is also named by both US News and Princeton Review to have the least number of students graduate with debt. Since students still may wind up taking out some loans to pay for computer purchases, eating club dues or other living expenses, the Office of Financial Aid estimates that Princeton seniors on aid will graduate with average indebtedness of $2,360. That compares to the national average of about $20,000 for graduating seniors who have borrowed, according to the office. Statistics show that for the incoming class of 2009, close to 60% of the incoming students are on some type of financial aid.

Related Topics:
Princeton Review - 2001 - Loans - Aid - Need-blind - US News - Eating club - Financial Aid

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