Princeton University

• 1. Founding And Colonial Origins

  ›

  In 1746, the College of New Jersey received its charter from acting governor John Hamilton on October 22. This institution emerged from a split within the Presbyterian church following the Great Awakening. Four founders who were expelled or withdrew from the Synod of Philadelphia devised a plan to establish a new college. They chose New Jersey as the location because no other institution existed between Yale in Connecticut and William & Mary in Virginia. The school opened in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where classes were held in President Jonathan Dickinson's parsonage. Approximately five months after acquiring the charter, the trustees elected Dickinson as president. In 1747, the college moved to Newark, New Jersey, following Dickinson's death. That same year, Anglicans disputed Princeton's first charter, but Governor Jonathan Belcher granted a second charter on the 14th of September 1748. Belcher donated his 474-volume library, making it one of the largest libraries in the colonies. In 1756, the college moved again to its present home in Princeton, New Jersey. The college's home was Nassau Hall, named for King William III of England. During the American Revolution, British soldiers briefly occupied Nassau Hall before surrendering to General George Washington in 1777. From the 30th of June 1783, to the 4th of November 1783, Nassau Hall served as the seat of Congress and thus the capital of the United States. The Continental Congress met there during the summer and fall of 1783. John Witherspoon became president in 1768 and remained until his death in 1794. He tightened academic standards and broadened the curriculum while growing the size of the institution.

  1781014

• 2. Evolution Of Academic Structure

  ›

  In 1896, the College officially became a university and changed its name to Princeton University. Francis Patton took the presidency in 1888 and oversaw an expansion where enrollment and faculty doubled. The Graduate School was formally established in 1900 under Woodrow Wilson. Wilson introduced the preceptorial system in 1905, which augmented standard lectures with small group interactions. In 1912, John Grier Hibben became president and remained for two decades. On the 2nd of October 1913, the Princeton University Graduate College was dedicated. During World War I, military training schools opened on campus and laboratories were used for research programs. More than 6,000 students served in the armed forces, with 151 dying during the war. The trustees established the system of selective admission in 1922. From the 1920s to the 1930s, student body featured many from preparatory schools and zero Black students. Hibben introduced the senior thesis in 1923 as part of The New Plan of Study. He created the School of Architecture in 1919, the School of Engineering in 1921, and the School of Public and International Affairs in 1930. By the end of his presidency, the endowment had increased by 374 percent. Harold Willis Dodds led the university through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean Conflict. Many European scientists left Nazi Germany and came to the United States. In 1930, the Institute for Advanced Study was founded to provide space for scientists like Albert Einstein. During World War II, Princeton offered an accelerated program for students to graduate early before entering the armed forces. Robert Goheen succeeded Dodds and served until 1972. His presidency saw a rise in Black applicants and eventual coeducation in 1969.

  1316253536

• 3. Campus Architecture And Expansion

  ›

  Nassau Hall is the oldest building on campus, begun in 1754 and completed in 1756. It was the first seat of the New Jersey Legislature in 1776. Since 1911, the front entrance has been flanked by two bronze tigers from the Class of 1879. Starting in 1922, commencement has been held on the front lawn when weather permits. The McCosh presidency (1868, 88) saw construction of buildings in High Victorian Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles. Much of Princeton's architecture at the end of the 19th century was designed by Cope and Stewardson firm. This resulted in the Collegiate Gothic style which remained standard until 1960. A flurry of construction projects in the 1960s produced new buildings on the south side. Frank Gehry designed Lewis Library while I. M. Pei designed Spelman Halls. Demetri Porphyrios created Whitman College as a Collegiate Gothic project. Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown designed Frist Campus Center. Minoru Yamasaki built Robertson Hall and Rafael Viñoly constructed Carl Icahn Laboratory. The Princeton University Chapel was built between 1924 and 1928 at a cost of $2.3 million. Ralph Adams Cram designed the chapel as the crown jewel for the Collegiate Gothic motif. It seats around 2,000 people and underwent a two-year restoration campaign between 2000 and 2002. Lake Carnegie is an artificial lake named for Andrew Carnegie who financed its construction in 1906. The Shea Rowing Center serves as headquarters for Princeton rowing. Beatrix Farrand designed the grounds between 1912 and 1943. Michael Van Valkenburgh was hired in 2005 as consulting landscape architect for the 2016 Campus Plan.

  2180818299

• 4. Social Dynamics And Student Life

  ›

  Princeton explicitly prohibited admission of women from founding until 1969. For about a decade from 1887 to 1897, nearby Evelyn College for Women was largely composed of daughters of professors. In 1961, Sabra Follett Meservey became the first female graduate student. She earned her master's degree while already a member of faculty at Douglass College. Eight more women enrolled the following year in the Graduate School. T'sai-ying Cheng became the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in 1964. Five women came to study critical languages as undergraduates in 1963 but were not candidates for degrees. Trustees voted 24, 8 in favor of coeducation in January 1969. One hundred one female freshman and 70 transfer students enrolled in September 1969. Those admitted were housed in Pyne Hall which had a security system added. Mary St. John Douglas and Susan Savage Speers became the first female trustees in 1971. Quotas for men and women were eliminated in 1974. Eating clubs were required to go coeducational in 1991 after an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied. The university guarantees housing for all four years with over 98 percent living on campus. Freshman and sophomores live in residential colleges while upperclassmen can choose eating clubs. Sixty-eight percent of upperclassmen are members of a club containing around 150 to 200 students. Each club has a fee ranging from $9,000 to $10,000. The American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the nation's oldest collegiate political society founded about 1765. The Daily Princetonian is the second oldest college daily student newspaper established in 1876. WPRB radio station is the oldest licensed college radio station in the nation. The Princeton Triangle Club performs its annual show at McCarter Theatre since 1883.

  6768707476

• 5. Research Leadership And Scientific Impact

  ›

  Princeton hosts the Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory which stemmed from Project Matterhorn created in 1951. Lyman Spitzer became first director and remained until declassification in 1961. The Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory conducts climate research and modeling since 1955. Based on data for fiscal year 2020, the university received approximately US$250 million in sponsored research. Eighty-one point four percent came from government sources. An additional $120 million was for the Plasma Physics Lab making combined total $370 million. The university ranked 72nd among 902 institutions for research expenditures based on 2017 data. Princeton has one of the largest university libraries with over 13 million holdings through 11 buildings. Firestone Library serves as main repository for humanities and social sciences built in 1948. Collections include autographed manuscript of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. As of October 2025, 81 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Princeton University. Sixteen Fields Medalists and 17 Turing Award laureates are also counted among alumni or faculty. Twenty-one National Medal of Science awardees and five Abel Prize awardees are associated with the institution. Two U.S. presidents and twelve Supreme Court justices count among alumni body. One hundred thirteen athletes competed in Olympics winning 19 gold medals, 24 silver, and 23 bronze. The university is classified among R1 Doctoral Universities with very high research activity.

  312474895

• 6. Financial Endowment And Admissions Policy

  ›

  Princeton has an endowment of $37.7 billion which is the largest per student in United States. Per-student endowment exceeds $4.4 million according to 2021 figures. Operating budget is over $2 billion annually with 50 percent going to academic departments. Ten percent goes to financial aid departments while seven percent supports Plasma Physics Lab. Total cost of attendance was $77,690 for 2021, 2022 academic year. Sixty-one percent of undergraduates receive financial aid averaging $57,251. Tuition, room, and board free for families making up to $65,000. Financial aid offered to families making up to $180,000. In 2001, Princeton became first university to eliminate student loans replacing them with grants. All admissions are need-blind meeting 100 percent of demonstrated financial need. University does not use academic or athletic merit scholarships. September 2022 announcement covered all costs for families earning $100,000 a year or less. Kiplinger magazine ranked Princeton fifth best value school in 2019 noting average graduating debt was $9,005. U.S. News & World Report ranked it second in category for Best Value Schools in 2021. Undergraduate program admits 5.8 percent of applicants in 2019, 2020 cycle. Middle 50 percent range SAT scores were 1470, 1560 while ACT composite was 33, 35. Average high school GPA was 3.91. Graduate admissions received 12,553 applications accepting 1,322 with yield rate of 51 percent.

  35454678