Princeton University

{{Main|History of Princeton University}}

File:Log College.jpg, an influential aspect of Princeton's development|alt=A drawing of the Log College|upright=1.1]]

Princeton University, founded as the College of New Jersey, was shaped much in its formative years by the "Log College", a seminary founded by the Reverend William Tennent at Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, in about 1726. While no legal connection ever existed, many of the pupils and adherents from the Log College would go on to financially support and become substantially involved in the early years of the university.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=291–292}} While early writers considered it as the predecessor of the university,{{Cite journal|date=March 1877|editor-last=Holland|editor-first=J. G.|title=Princeton College|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnyb78&view=1up&seq=633&q1=princeton%20college|journal=Scribner's Monthly|volume=XIII|issue=5|page=626|via=HathiTrust|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624225048/https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hnyb78&view=1up&seq=633&q1=princeton%20college|url-status=live}} the idea has been rebuked by Princeton historians.{{Cite journal|last=Craven|first=Elijah R.|date=1902|title=The Log College of Neshaminy and Princeton University|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23322482|journal=Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society|volume=1|issue=4|pages=308–314|jstor=23322482|access-date=July 24, 2021|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724223748/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23322482|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=291–292}}

The founding of the university itself originated from a split in the Presbyterian church following the Great Awakening.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=11}} In 1741, New Light Presbyterians were expelled from the Synod of Philadelphia in defense of how the Log College ordained ministers.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=198}} The four founders of the College of New Jersey, who were New Lights, were either expelled or withdrew from the Synod and devised a plan to establish a new college, for they were disappointed with Harvard and Yale's opposition to the Great Awakening and dissatisfied with the limited instruction at the Log College.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=198}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=11}} They convinced three other Presbyterians to join them and decided on New Jersey as the location for the college, as at the time, there was no institution between Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut, and the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia; it was also where some of the founders preached.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=12}} Although their initial request was rejected by the Anglican governor Lewis Morrison, the acting governor after Morrison's death, John Hamilton, granted a charter for the College of New Jersey on October 22, 1746.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=199}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=12}} In 1747, approximately five months after acquiring the charter, the trustees elected Jonathan Dickinson as president and opened in Elizabeth, New Jersey,{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=199}} where classes were held in Dickinson's parsonage.{{cite web|title=Jonathan Dickinson|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/dickinson/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183254/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/dickinson/index.html|archive-date=July 9, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} With its founding, it became the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The founders aimed for the college to have an expansive curriculum to teach people of various professions, not solely ministerial work.{{Sfn|Morrison|2005|p=47}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=199}} Though the school was open to those of any religious denomination,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=15}} with many of the founders being of Presbyterian faith, the college became the educational and religious capital of Scotch-Irish Presbyterian America.{{Cite journal|last=Wertenbaker|first=Thomas J.|date=December 1958|title=The College of New Jersey and the Presbyterians|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23325333|journal=Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society|volume=36|issue=4|page=213|jstor=23325333|access-date=June 18, 2021|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625023454/https://www.jstor.org/stable/23325333|url-status=live}}

File:Aula Nassovica.jpg|right|alt=An engraving of Nassau Hall from 1760]]

In 1747, following the death of then President Jonathan Dickinson, the college moved from Elizabeth to Newark, New Jersey, as that was where presidential successor Aaron Burr Sr.'s parsonage was located.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=199}} That same year, Princeton's first charter came under dispute by Anglicans, but on September 14, 1748, the recently appointed governor Jonathan Belcher granted a second charter.{{cite web|title=Governor Jonathan Belcher|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/history/early-years/belcher|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210614190521/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/history/early-years/belcher|archive-date=June 14, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=200}} Belcher, a Congregationalist, had become alienated from his alma mater, Harvard, and decided to "adopt" the infant college.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=15}} Belcher would go on to raise funds for the college and donate his 474-volume library, making it one of the largest libraries in the colonies.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=16}}

File:Peale, Charles Willson, John Witherspoon (1723-1794), President (1768-94).jpg, President of the college (1768–94) and signer of the Declaration of Independence|alt=A portrait of John Witherspoon]]

In 1756, the college moved again to its present home in Princeton, New Jersey, because Newark was felt to be too close to New York.{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=443}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=18–19}} Princeton was chosen for its location in central New Jersey and by strong recommendation by Belcher.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=19}} The college's home in Princeton was Nassau Hall, named for the royal William III of England, a member of the House of Orange-Nassau.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=329}} The trustees of the College of New Jersey initially suggested that Nassau Hall be named in recognition of Belcher because of his interest in the institution; the governor vetoed the request.

Burr, who would die in 1757, devised a curriculum for the school and enlarged the student body.{{cite web|title=Aaron Burr Sr.|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/burr/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627221122/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/burr/index.html|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} Following the untimely death of Burr and the college's next three presidents,{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=17}} John Witherspoon became president in 1768 and remained in that post until his death in 1794.{{cite web|date=November 26, 2013|title=John Witherspoon|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/witherspoon/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210321195234/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/witherspoon/|archive-date=March 21, 2021|access-date=June 20, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} With his presidency, Witherspoon focused the college on preparing a new generation of both educated clergy and secular leadership in the new American nation.{{Sfn|Morrison|2005|p=47–48}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=525}} To this end, he tightened academic standards, broadened the curriculum, solicited investment for the college, and grew its size.{{Sfn|Noll|2004|p=29–30}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=525}}

A signatory of the Declaration of Independence, Witherspoon and his leadership led the college to becoming influential to the American Revolution.{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=454}}{{Cite journal|last=Tucker|first=Louis Leonard|date=1979|title=Centers of Sedition: Colonial Colleges and the American Revolution|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080846|journal=Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society|volume=91|pages=16–34|jstor=25080846|access-date=July 24, 2021|archive-date=July 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724070059/https://www.jstor.org/stable/25080846|url-status=live}} In 1777, the college became the site for the Battle of Princeton. During the battle, British soldiers briefly occupied Nassau Hall before eventually surrendering to American forces led by General George Washington.{{cite web|title=Nassau Hall|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318172900/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|archive-date=March 18, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} During the summer and fall of 1783, the Continental Congress and Washington met in Nassau Hall, making Princeton the country's capital for four months;{{cite web |url=https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/ |title=Meeting Places for the Continental Congresses and the Confederation Congress, 1774–1789 |publisher=US House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives |access-date=May 31, 2022 |archive-date=January 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114200713/https://history.house.gov/People/Continental-Congress/Meeting-Places/ |url-status=live }} Nassau Hall is where Congress learned of the peace treaty between the colonies and the British.{{cite web|title= The Nine Capitals of the United States|url=https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm|url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616041354/https://www.senate.gov/reference/reference_item/Nine_Capitals_of_the_United_States.htm|archive-date=June 16, 2021|access-date=June 18, 2021|publisher=United States Senate}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=23}} The college did suffer from the revolution, with a depreciated endowment and hefty repair bills for Nassau Hall.{{Sfn|Gunning|2005|p=455}}

In 1795, President Samuel Stanhope Smith took office, the first alumnus to become president.{{cite web|title=Samuel Smith|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/smith/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628090358/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/smith/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} Nassau Hall suffered a large fire that destroyed its interior in 1802, which Smith blamed on rebellious students.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=31}} The college raised funds for reconstruction, as well as the construction of two new buildings.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=444}} In 1807, a large student riot occurred at Nassau Hall, spurred by underlying distrust of educational reforms by Smith away from the Church.{{cite web|last=Lange|first=Gregg|date=March 21, 2007|title=PAW Web Exclusives: Under the Ivy|url=https://www.princeton.edu/~paw/columns/under_the_ivy/uti032107.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200104025900/http://www.princeton.edu/~paw/columns/under_the_ivy/uti032107.html|archive-date=January 4, 2020|access-date=July 4, 2021|website=Princeton Alumni Weekly|publisher=Princeton University}} Following Smith's mishandling of the situation, falling enrollment, and faculty resignations, the trustees of the university offered resignation to Smith, which he accepted.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=444}} In 1812, Ashbel Green was unanimously elected by the trustees of the college to become the eighth president.{{Cite journal|last=Lewis|first=Robert E.|date=September 1957|title=ASHBEL GREEN, 1762—1848—PREACHER, EDUCATOR, EDITOR|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23325169|journal=Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society|volume=35|issue=3|pages=145–147|jstor=23325169}} After the liberal tenure of Smith, Green represented the conservative "Old Side", in which he introduced rigorous disciplinary rules and heavily embraced religion.{{cite web|title=Ashbel Green|url=https://www.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/green/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704063524/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/green/|archive-date=July 4, 2019|access-date=June 29, 2015|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=229}} Even so, believing the college was not religious enough, he took a prominent role in establishing the Princeton Theological Seminary next door. While student riots were a frequent occurrence during Green's tenure, enrollment did increase under his administration.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=230}}

In 1823, James Carnahan became president, arriving as an unprepared and timid leader.{{cite web|title=James Carnahan|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/carnahan/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628205830/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/carnahan/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=52}} With the college riven by conflicting views between students, faculty, and trustees, and enrollment hitting its lowest in years, Carnahan considered closing the university. Carnahan's successor, John Maclean Jr., who was only a professor at the time, recommended saving the university with the help of alumni; as a result, Princeton's alumni association, led by James Madison, was created and began raising funds.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=81}} With Carnahan and Maclean, now vice-president, working as partners, enrollment and faculty increased, tensions decreased, and the college campus expanded.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=81}} Maclean took over the presidency in 1854, and led the university through the American Civil War.{{cite web|title=John Maclean|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/maclean/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628145417/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/maclean/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} When Nassau Hall burned down again in 1855,{{cite web|title=3. The Fire of 1855|url=https://www.princetonianamuseum.org/artifact/de3eff9c-7aff-41d7-8ee5-c1fae3f2f8bf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706040843/https://www.princetonianamuseum.org/artifact/de3eff9c-7aff-41d7-8ee5-c1fae3f2f8bf|archive-date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=Princetoniana Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} Maclean raised funds and used the money to rebuild Nassau Hall and run the university on an austerity budget during the war years. With a third of students from the college being from the South, enrollment fell.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=298}} Once many of the Southerners left, the campus became a sharp proponent for the Union,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=64}} even bestowing an honorary degree to President Lincoln.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=65}}File:James McCosh.jpg, President of the college (1868–88)|alt=A portrait of James McCosh]] James McCosh became the college's president in 1868, and lifted the institution out of a low period that had been brought about by the war.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=301–304}} During his two decades of service, he overhauled the curriculum, oversaw an expansion of inquiry into the sciences, recruited distinguished faculty, and supervised the addition of a number of buildings in the High Victorian Gothic style to the campus.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=301–304}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=72}} McCosh's tenure also saw the creation and rise of many extracurricular activities, like the Princeton Glee Club, the Triangle Club, the first intercollegiate football team, and the first permanent eating club,{{cite web|title=James McCosh|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/mccosh/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629022525/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/mccosh/index.html|archive-date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} as well as the elimination of fraternities and sororities.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=82}} In 1879, Princeton conferred its first doctorates on James F. Williamson and William Libby, both members of the Class of 1877.{{cite web|title=History|url=https://gradschool.princeton.edu/about/history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316041323/https://gradschool.princeton.edu/about/history|archive-date=March 16, 2021|access-date=June 18, 2021|website=The Graduate School|publisher=Princeton University}}

Francis Patton took the presidency in 1888, and although his election was not met by unanimous enthusiasm, he was well received by undergraduates.{{cite web|title=Francis Patton|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/patton/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628152800/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/patton/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 5, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} Patton's administration was marked by great change, for Princeton's enrollment and faculty had doubled. At the same time, the college underwent large expansion and social life was changing in reflection of the rise in eating clubs and burgeoning interest in athletics.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=355}} In 1893, the honor system was established, allowing for unproctored exams.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=102}}{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=566}} In 1896, the college officially became a university,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=91}} and as a result, it officially changed its name to Princeton University.{{Cite news|date=October 25, 1896|title=Review of the Week|page=6|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|quote="The name of the college was changed to Princeton University."}} In 1900, the Graduate School was formally established.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=91}} Even with such accomplishments, Patton's administration remained lackluster with its administrative structure{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=356}} and towards its educational standards.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=102}} Due to profile changes in the board of trustees and dissatisfaction with his administration, he was forced to resign in 1902.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=356}}

File:Woodrow Wilson 1902 cph.3b11773.jpg, President of Princeton University (1902–10) and 28th president of the United States]]

Following Patton's resignation, Woodrow Wilson, an alumnus and popular professor, was elected the 13th president of the university.{{cite web|title=Woodrow Wilson|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/wilson/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627221344/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/wilson/index.html|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=96}} Noticing falling academic standards, Wilson orchestrated significant changes to the curriculum, where freshman and sophomores followed a unified curriculum while juniors and seniors concentrated study in one discipline.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=513}} Ambitious seniors were allowed to undertake independent work, which would eventually shape Princeton's emphasis on the practice for the future.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=104}} Wilson further reformed the educational system by introducing the preceptorial system in 1905,{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=513}} a then-unique concept in the United States that augmented the standard lecture method of teaching with a more personal form in which small groups of students, or precepts, could interact with a single instructor, or preceptor, in their field of interest.{{cite journal|last1=Griffin|first1=Nathaniel|date=April 1910|title=The Princeton Preceptorial System|url=|journal=The Sewanee Review|volume=18|issue=2|pages=169–176|jstor=27532370}} The changes brought about many new faculty and cemented Princeton's academics for the first half of the 20th century.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=107}} Due to the tightening of academic standards, enrollment declined severely until 1907.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=513}} In 1906, the reservoir Lake Carnegie was created by Andrew Carnegie,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=268–269}} and the university officially became nonsectarian.{{Sfn|Axtell|2006|p=330}} Before leaving office, Wilson strengthened the science program to focus on "pure" research and broke the Presbyterian lock on the board of trustees.{{Cite book|last=Heckscher|first=August|url=https://archive.org/details/woodrowwilson00heck/mode/2up|title=Woodrow Wilson: A Biography|publisher=Macmillan|year=1991|isbn=978-0-684-19312-0|location=New York|page=155}} However, he did fail in winning support for the permanent location of the Graduate School and the elimination of the eating clubs, which he proposed replacing with quadrangles, a precursor to the residential college system.{{Sfn|Axtell|2006|p=1}} Wilson also continued to keep Princeton closed off from accepting Black students.{{Cite journal|last=O'Reilly|first=Kenneth|date=1997|title=The Jim Crow Policies of Woodrow Wilson|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2963252|journal=The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education|publisher=The JBHE Foundation, Inc|issue=17|pages=117–121|doi=10.2307/2963252|jstor=2963252|access-date=July 20, 2021|archive-date=July 21, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721163714/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2963252|url-status=live|issn = 1077-3711}} When an aspiring Black student wrote a letter to Wilson, he got his secretary to reply telling him to attend a university where he would be more welcome.{{Sfn|Bradley|2010|p=112}}

John Grier Hibben became president in 1912, and would remain in the post for two decades.{{cite web|title=John Hibben|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/hibben/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628004116/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/hibben/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} On October 2, 1913, the Princeton University Graduate College was dedicated.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=268–269}} When the United States entered World War I in 1917, Hibben allocated all available University resources to the government. As a result, military training schools opened on campus and laboratories and other facilities were used for research and operational programs. Overall, more than 6,000 students served in the armed forces, with 151 dying during the war.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=252–253}} After the war, enrollment spiked and the trustees established the system of selective admission in 1922.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=117–118}} From the 1920s to the 1930s, the student body featured many students from preparatory schools, zero Black students, and dwindling Jewish enrollment because of quotas.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=119}} Aside from managing Princeton during WWI, Hibben introduced the senior thesis in 1923 as a part of The New Plan of Study.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=253–254}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=122}} He also brought about great expansion to the university, with the creation of the School of Architecture in 1919, the School of Engineering in 1921, and the School of Public and International Affairs in 1930.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=254}} By the end of his presidency, the endowment had increased by 374 percent, the total area of the campus doubled, the faculty experienced impressive growth, and the enrollment doubled.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=254–255}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=122}}

Hibben's successor, Harold Willis Dodds would lead the university through the Great Depression, World War II, and the Korean Conflict.{{cite web|title=Harold Dodds|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/dodds/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628205941/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/dodds/index.html|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University}} With the Great Depression, many students were forced to withdraw due to financial reasons.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=123}} At the same time, Princeton's reputation in physics and mathematics surged as many European scientists left for the United States due to uneasy tension caused by Nazi Germany.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=125}} In 1930, the Institute for Advanced Study was founded to provide a space for the influx of scientists, such as Albert Einstein.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=125–126}} Many Princeton scientists would work on the Manhattan Project during the war,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=127}} including the entire physics department.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=164}} During World War II, Princeton offered an accelerated program for students to graduate early before entering the armed forces.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=138}} Student enrollment fluctuated from month to month, and many faculty were forced to teach unfamiliar subjects. Still, Dodds maintained academic standards and would establish a program for servicemen, so they could resume their education once discharged.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=138–139}}

File:Princeton University Forrestal Campus (1), Oct. 2024.jpg

The post-war years saw scholars renewing broken bonds through numerous conventions, expansion of the campus, and the introduction of distribution requirements.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=139}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=137}} The period saw the desegregation of Princeton, which was stimulated by changes to the New Jersey constitution.{{Sfn|Bradley|2010|p=115}} Princeton began undertaking a sharper focus towards research in the years after the war, with the construction of Firestone Library in 1948 and the establishment of the Forrestal Research Center in nearby Plainsboro Township in the 1950s.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=158}} Government sponsored research increased sharply, particularly in the physics and engineering departments,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=165–166}} with much of it occurring at the new Forrestal campus.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=168}} Though, as the years progressed, scientific research at the Forrestal campus declined, and in 1973, some of the land was converted to commercial and residential spaces.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=170}}

Robert Goheen would succeed Dodds by unanimous vote and serve as president until 1972.{{cite web|title=Robert Goheen|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/goheen/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200702024907/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/goheen/|archive-date=July 2, 2020|access-date=July 22, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} Goheen's presidency was characterized as being more liberal than previous presidents, and his presidency would see a rise in Black applicants,{{Sfn|Bradley|2010|p=116}} as well as the eventual coeducation of the university in 1969. During this period of rising diversity, the Third World Center (now known as the Carl A. Fields Center) was dedicated in 1971.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=466}} Goheen also oversaw great expansion for the university, with square footage increasing by 80 percentage.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=219}}

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Princeton experienced unprecedented activism, with most of it centered on the Vietnam War.{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=James|date=November 15, 2019|title=Peace in Palmer Square: A history of Vietnam War activism|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/11/peace-in-palmer-square-a-history-of-vietnam-war-activism|access-date=July 23, 2021|archive-date=July 23, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723071952/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/11/peace-in-palmer-square-a-history-of-vietnam-war-activism|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=196}} While Princeton activism initially remained relatively timid compared to other institutions, protests began to grow with the founding of a local chapter of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) in 1965, which organized many of the later Princeton protests. In 1966, the SDS gained prominence on campus following picketing against a speech by President Lyndon B. Johnson, which gained frontpage coverage by the New York Times.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=199}}{{Cite news|last=Sullivan|first=Ronald|date=May 12, 1966|title=PRESIDENT URGES SCHOLARS TO BACK WAR IN VIETNAM; Replies to Fulbright Charge of 'Arrogance of Power' Speaks at Princeton 300 PICKET ON CAMPUS Plea for Understanding by 'Responsible' Intellectuals Is Heard by 3,000 PRESIDENT SEEKS AID OF SCHOLARS|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1966/05/12/archives/president-urges-scholars-to-back-war-in-vietnam-replies-to.html|access-date=July 23, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} A notable point of contention on campus was the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and would feature multiple protests, some of which required police action.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=209–211}} In 1967, SDS members and sympathizers beat the campus R.O.T.C. chapter in a game of touch football.{{Cite news |last=Philips |first=McCandlish |date=November 18, 1967 |title=Princeton War Debate Taken to Ball Field; Pacifist Team Beats R.O.T.C. in Touch Football Game |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/18/archives/princeton-war-debate-taken-to-ball-field-pacifist-team-beats-rotc.html |access-date=January 19, 2024 |work=The New York Times |pages=12 |archive-date=January 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240120035223/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/11/18/archives/princeton-war-debate-taken-to-ball-field-pacifist-team-beats-rotc.html |url-status=live }} As the years went on, the protests' agenda broadened to investments in South Africa, environmental issues, and women's rights.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=202}} In response to these broadening protests, the Council of the Princeton University Community (CPUC) was founded to serve as a method for greater student voice in governance.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=204}} Activism culminated in 1970 with a student, faculty, and staff member strike, so the university could become an "institution against expansion of the war."{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=207–209}}{{Efn|The strike was part of the broader Student Strike of 1970.}} Princeton's protests would taper off later that year, with The Daily Princetonian saying that, "Princeton 1970–71 was an emotionally burned out university."

In 1982, the residential college system was officially established under Goheen's successor William G. Bowen, who would serve until 1988.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=269}}{{cite web|title=William Bowen|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/bowen/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629022527/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/bowen/index.html|archive-date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 22, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} During his presidency, Princeton's endowment increased from $625 million to $2 billion, and a major fundraising drive known as "A Campaign for Princeton" was conducted. President Harold T. Shapiro would succeed Bowen and remain president until 2001. Shapiro would continue to increase the endowment, expand academic programs, raise student diversity, and oversee the most renovations in Princeton's history.{{cite web|title=Harold Shapiro|url=https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/shapiro/index.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627211631/https://pr.princeton.edu/pub/presidents/shapiro/index.html|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 22, 2021|website=The Presidents of Princeton University|publisher=Princeton University}} One of Shapiro's initiatives was the formation of the multidisciplinary Princeton Environmental Institute in 1994, renamed the High Meadows Environmental Institute in 2020.{{cite news |last1=Wohlforth |first1=Charles |title=PEI Celebrates 25 Years: Princeton's Hub of Environmental Studies Surveys the Global Challenges Ahead |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/pei-celebrates-25-years-princetons-hub-environmental-studies-surveys-global-challenges-ahead |access-date=June 29, 2023 |work=Princeton Alumni Weekly |date=December 4, 2019 |language=en}}{{cite news |last1=Valenti |first1=Denise |title=Can the humanities help solve climate change? |url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/08/29/can-humanities-help-solve-climate-change |access-date=June 22, 2023 |work=Princeton University |date=August 29, 2022 |language=en |archive-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613022400/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/08/29/can-humanities-help-solve-climate-change |url-status=live }} In 2001, Princeton shifted the financial aid policy to a system that replaced all loans with grants. That same year, Princeton elected its first female president, Shirley M. Tilghman. Before retiring in 2012, Tilghman expanded financial aid offerings and conducted several major construction projects like the Lewis Center for the Arts and a sixth residential college.{{Cite news|last=Kaminer|first=Ariel|date=September 22, 2012|title=Princeton President Announces She Will Step Down|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/education/shirley-tilghman-princeton-president-says-she-will-step-down.html|access-date=July 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613022513/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/education/shirley-tilghman-princeton-president-says-she-will-step-down.html|url-status=live}} Tilghman also lead initiatives for more global programs, the creation of an office of sustainability, and investments into the sciences.{{Sfn|Durkee|2022|p=14}}

Princeton's 20th and current president, Christopher Eisgruber, was elected in 2013.{{Cite news|last=Yee|first=Vivian|date=April 21, 2013|title=Princeton Chooses Its Provost to Become Its Next President|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/nyregion/princeton-names-provost-eisgruber-as-president.html|access-date=July 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722224536/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/22/nyregion/princeton-names-provost-eisgruber-as-president.html|url-status=live}} In 2017, Princeton University unveiled a large-scale public history and digital humanities investigation into its historical involvement with slavery called the Princeton & Slavery Project. The project saw the publication of hundreds of primary sources, 80 scholarly essays, a scholarly conference, a series of short plays, and an art project.{{Cite news|last=Schuessler|first=Jennifer|date=November 6, 2017|title=Princeton Digs Deep Into Its Fraught Racial History|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/arts/princeton-digs-deep-into-its-fraught-racial-history.html|access-date=February 22, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222184933/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/06/arts/princeton-digs-deep-into-its-fraught-racial-history.html|url-status=live}} In April 2018, university trustees announced that they would name two public spaces for James Collins Johnson and Betsey Stockton, enslaved people who lived and worked on Princeton's campus and whose stories were publicized by the project.{{Cite news|last=Schuessler|first=Jennifer|date=April 17, 2018|title=Princeton to Name Two Campus Spaces in Honor of Slaves|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/arts/princeton-to-name-two-campus-spaces-in-honor-of-slaves.html|access-date=February 22, 2019|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223020434/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/17/arts/princeton-to-name-two-campus-spaces-in-honor-of-slaves.html|url-status=live}} In 2019, large-scale student activism again entered the mainstream concerning the school's implementation of federal Title IX policy relating to campus sexual assault.{{cite news |last1=Fink |first1=Jenni |title=Princeton Students Protest Title IX Process, Demand Firing of Administrator |url=https://www.newsweek.com/princeton-students-protest-title-ix-demand-firing-faculty-1421460 |access-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118193010/https://www.newsweek.com/princeton-students-protest-title-ix-demand-firing-faculty-1421460 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Kang |first1=Jimin |title=Princeton Students Are Sitting In for Title IX Reform |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/princeton-students-are-sitting-in-for-title-ix-reform/ |access-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118193011/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/princeton-students-are-sitting-in-for-title-ix-reform/ |url-status=live }} The activism consisted of sit-ins in response to a student's disciplinary sentence.{{cite news |last1=Vagianos |first1=Alanna |title=A Sexual Assault Survivor At Princeton Tried To Protest. Instead, She Was Fined $2,700. |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sexual-assault-survivor-princeton-protests-title-ix_n_5cdad56ee4b0615b0819c2a2 |access-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-date=November 18, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211118194505/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/sexual-assault-survivor-princeton-protests-title-ix_n_5cdad56ee4b0615b0819c2a2 |url-status=live }}

In April 2024, students joined other campuses across the United States in protests and establishing encampments against the Gaza war and the alleged genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.{{Cite web |title=Pro-Palestine organizers mark return to campus with protest |url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2024/09/princeton-news-following-tightened-protest-regulations-pro-palestinian-organizations-hold-protest |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=The Princetonian |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=From LA to NY, pro-Palestine college campus protests grow strong in US |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2024/4/27/from-la-to-new-york-student-protests-in-support-of-palestine-grow-strong |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Iqbal |first=Razia |date=2024-04-29 |title=Princeton Students Join the Gaza Solidarity Movement |url=https://www.thenation.com/article/activism/princeton-campus-protest-gaza/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |language=en-US |issn=0027-8378}} The protestors called for divestment from Israel,{{Cite web |title=Day six of 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' at Princeton |url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2024/04/princeton-news-live-update-sit-in-gaza-solidarity-encampment-sixth-day-clio-hall-cannon-green-mccosh |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=The Princetonian |language=en-US}} started a hunger strike and were joined by faculty.{{Cite web |title=Over dozen US university faculty members join pro-Gaza hunger strikers |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/over-dozen-us-university-faculty-members-join-pro-gaza-hunger-strikers/3216677 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-08 |title='We are doing this in solidarity with the people of Gaza': a Princeton student explains why he's currently part of a hunger strike |url=https://mondoweiss.net/2024/05/we-are-doing-this-in-solidarity-with-the-people-of-gaza-a-princeton-student-explains-why-hes-currently-part-of-a-hunger-strike/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Mondoweiss |language=en-US}} The sit-in of Clio Hall led to arrests by police.{{Cite web |last=Brandt |first=Joe |date=2024-04-25 |title=Pro-Palestinian groups protest at Princeton University amid wave of college protests - CBS Philadelphia |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/princeton-university-college-campus-palestinian-protests-today/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=CBS News |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-04-30 |title=13 protesters arrested at Princeton: 'We prayed and sang together while zip-tied' |url=https://6abc.com/princeton-university-rutgers-new-jersey-palestinian-protests/14746032/ |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=6abc Philadelphia |language=en}} Activism and protests continued in the new academic year starting September 2024 with administrators facing calls for resignation from faculty.{{Cite web |title=Top administrators reflect on protests at first USG meeting, Calhoun makes rare student-facing appearance |url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2024/09/princeton-news-stlife-usg-policy-updates-protests-dean-crotty-vp-calhoun |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=The Princetonian |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |date=2024-09-06 |title=Pro-Palestinian Protesters Return With Rally, March to Nassau Hall |url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/pro-palestinian-protesters-return-rally-march-nassau-hall |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=Princeton Alumni Weekly |language=en}}

File:Pyne Hall, Princeton University.jpg

Princeton explicitly prohibited the admission of women from its founding in 1746 until 1969. Since it lacked an affiliated women's college, it was often referred to as a "monastery", both lovingly and derisively, by members of the Princeton community.{{Cite journal |date=May 14, 1954 |title=Dodds, Firstenberg Air Views on Responsibility |url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/?a=d&d=Princetonian19540514-01.2.5&srpos=61&e=-------en-20-Princetonian-61-byDA-txt-txIN-monastery------ |journal=The Daily Princetonian |volume=LXXVIII |issue=67 |pages=1 |quote="In reply to criticisms of the university as a 'secular monastery,' Dr. Dodds observed, 'the undergraduate of years ago would have been shocked by anything different from the monastic atmosphere of which he was so proud.'" |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202920/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/?a=d&d=Princetonian19540514-01.2.5&srpos=61&e=-------en-20-Princetonian-61-byDA-txt-txIN-monastery------ |url-status=live }}

For about a decade, from 1887 to 1897, nearby Evelyn College for Women was largely composed of daughters of professors and sisters of Princeton undergraduates. While no legal connection existed, many Princeton professors taught there and several Princeton administrators, such as Francis Patton, were on its board of trustees. It closed in 1897 following the death of its founder, Joshua McIlvaine.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=170–171}}

In 1947, three female members of the library staff enrolled in beginning Russian courses to deal with an increase in Russian literature in the library.{{cite web|title=Research Guides: Coeducation: History of Women at Princeton University|url=https://libguides.princeton.edu/c.php?g=84581&p=543232|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210513202343/https://libguides.princeton.edu/c.php?g=84581&p=543232|archive-date=May 13, 2021|access-date=June 20, 2021|website=Princeton University Library|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} In 1961, Princeton admitted its first female graduate student, Sabra Follett Meservey,{{Cite news|last=Markham|first=James M.|date=October 1, 1962|title=Grad School Accepts...Eight Women and the End of a Monastery|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/princetonperiodicals?a=d&d=Princetonian19621001-01.2.2&srpos=4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|access-date=July 20, 2021|archive-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720020322/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/princetonperiodicals?a=d&d=Princetonian19621001-01.2.2&srpos=4&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------|url-status=live}} who would go on to be the first woman to earn a master's degree at Princeton. Meservey was, at the time of her admission, already a member of the faculty at Douglass College within Princeton. The dean of the graduate school issued a statement clarifying that Meservey's admission was an exception, and that "Princeton may permit other women in the future as special cases, but does not plan to make general admissions of women graduate students."{{Cite journal |last=Hamilton |first=Donald R. |date=April 18, 1961 |title=Dean Clarifies Official Policy of Grad School |url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |journal=The Daily Princetonian |volume=LXXXV |issue=51 |pages=4 |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202917/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |url-status=live }} The student-run Daily Princetonian ran four articles about Meservey in one issue,{{Cite journal |date=April 18, 1961 |title=Princeton Takes First Woman Student As Local Resident Enters Grad School: Ms. Meservey Begins Study Toward Degree |url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |journal=The Daily Princetonian |volume=LXXXV |issue=51 |pages=1, 4 |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202917/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |last=McWhirter |first=William A. |date=April 18, 1961 |title=School News Stirs Routine of Housewife |url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |journal=The Daily Princetonian |volume=LXXV |issue=51 |pages=1, 4 |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709202917/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |url-status=live }}{{Cite journal |date=April 18, 1961 |title=Not a Precedent? |url=https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |journal=The Daily Princetonian |volume=LXXXV |issue=51 |pages=2 |access-date=July 9, 2023 |archive-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613022405/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/cgi-bin/imageserver.pl?oid=Princetonian19610418-01&getpdf=true |url-status=live }} including an editorial lamenting the potential "far reaching implications" of Meservey's admission which concluded: "Princeton is unique as an undergraduate men's college and must remain so." Eight more women enrolled the following year in the Graduate School. In 1964, T'sai-ying Cheng became the first woman at Princeton to receive a Ph.D. In 1963, five women came to Princeton for one year to study "critical languages" as undergraduates, but were not candidates for a Princeton degree. Following abortive discussions with Sarah Lawrence College to relocate the women's college to Princeton and merge it with the university in 1967,{{Cite news|last=Folsom|first=Merrill|date=June 3, 1967|title=SARAH LAWRENCE DECLINES MERGER; Talks With Princeton Fail, but Men Students Are Foreseen in Future|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/03/archives/sarah-lawrence-declines-merger-talks-with-princeton-fail-but-men.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720011951/https://www.nytimes.com/1967/06/03/archives/sarah-lawrence-declines-merger-talks-with-princeton-fail-but-men.html|url-status=live}} the administration commissioned a report on admitting women. The final report was issued in January 1969, supporting the idea. That same month, Princeton's trustees voted 24–8 in favor of coeducation and began preparing the institution for the transition.{{Cite news|date=January 13, 1969|title=Princeton's Board Backs Coeducation But Sets No Date|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/13/archives/princetons-board-backs-coeducation-but-sets-no-date.html|access-date=July 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720020321/https://www.nytimes.com/1969/01/13/archives/princetons-board-backs-coeducation-but-sets-no-date.html|url-status=live}} The university finished these plans in April 1969 and announced there would be coeducation in September.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=530}} Ultimately, 101 female freshman and 70 female transfer students enrolled at Princeton in September 1969.{{Cite magazine|last=Syken|first=Bill|title=Princeton's First Female Students|magazine=Life|url=https://www.life.com/history/fifty-years-ago-princeton-admitted-its-first-female-students/|access-date=July 19, 2021|archive-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720020322/https://www.life.com/history/fifty-years-ago-princeton-admitted-its-first-female-students/|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=530}}{{Efn|505 women applied to join the Princeton freshman class.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=183}}}} Those admitted were housed in Pyne Hall, a fairly isolated dormitory; a security system was added, although the women deliberately broke it within a day.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=185}}

In 1971, Mary St. John Douglas and Susan Savage Speers became the first female trustees, and in 1974, quotas for men and women were eliminated.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=187}} Following a 1979 lawsuit, the eating clubs were required to go coeducational in 1991, after an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was denied.{{Cite news|date=January 23, 1991|title=Princeton Eating Club Loses Bid to Continue Ban on Women|work=Los Angeles Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-23-mn-751-story.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=2165-1736|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201925/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-23-mn-751-story.html|url-status=live}} In 2001, Princeton elected its first female president.{{Cite journal|last=Horwitz|first=Stephen|date=2001|title=Biologist becomes first woman to lead Princeton|journal=Nature Medicine|volume=7|issue=6|page=646|doi=10.1038/88993|s2cid=35267000|doi-access=free}}

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File:Washington Road Elm Allée (east side).jpg, one of the entrances to the campus|left|alt=A picture of Washington Road Elm Allée, which is one of the entrances to the campus]]

The main campus consists of more than 200 buildings on {{convert|600|acre|km2}} in Princeton, New Jersey.{{cite web|date=2020|title=About Princeton University|url=https://profile.princeton.edu/about-princeton-university|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628205539/https://profile.princeton.edu/about-princeton-university|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=A Princeton Profile|publisher=Princeton University}} The James Forrestal Campus, a smaller location designed mainly as a research and instruction complex, is split between nearby Plainsboro and South Brunswick. The campuses are situated about one hour from both New York City and Philadelphia on the train.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=567}} The university also owns more than {{Convert|520|acre|km2}} of property in West Windsor Township, and is where Princeton is planning to construct a graduate student housing complex, which will be known as "Lake Campus North".{{Cite news|last=Muchhal|first=Siddharth|date=April 16, 2019|title=Princeton University gearing up to develop Lake Campus in West Windsor|work=Community News|url=https://communitynews.org/2019/04/16/princeton-university-gearing-up-to-develop-lake-campus-in-west-windsor/|access-date=May 6, 2021|archive-date=May 6, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506143409/https://communitynews.org/2019/04/16/princeton-university-gearing-up-to-develop-lake-campus-in-west-windsor/|url-status=live}}

The first building on campus was Nassau Hall, completed in 1756, and situated on the northern edge of the campus facing Nassau Street.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=328}} The campus expanded steadily around Nassau Hall during the early and middle 19th century.{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter II: The College Expands: 1802–1846|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap2.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514072658/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap2.html|archive-date=May 14, 2013|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}}{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter III: Princeton at Mid-Century, 1846–1868|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap3.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514091226/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap3.html|archive-date=May 14, 2013|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} The McCosh presidency (1868–88) saw the construction of a number of buildings in the High Victorian Gothic and Romanesque Revival styles, although many of them are now gone, leaving the remaining few to appear out of place.{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter IV: The McCosh Presidency, 1868–1888|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap4.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120509182959/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap4.html|archive-date=May 9, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} At the end of the 19th century, much of Princeton's architecture was designed by the Cope and Stewardson firm (led by the same University of Pennsylvania professors of architecture who designed a large part of Washington University in St. Louis and University of Pennsylvania) resulting in the Collegiate Gothic style for which Princeton is known for today.{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter V: The Rise of the Collegiate Gothic|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap5.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130122230854/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap5.html|archive-date=January 22, 2013|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} Implemented initially by William Appleton Potter, and later enforced by the university's supervising architect, Ralph Adams Cram,{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter VI: Spires and Gargoyles, The Princeton Campus 1900–1917|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap6.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120503090633/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap6.html|archive-date=May 3, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} the Collegiate Gothic style remained the standard for all new building on the Princeton campus until 1960.{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter VII: Princeton Between the Wars, 1919–1939|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap7.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314021900/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap7.html|archive-date=March 14, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}}{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter VIII: Princeton at Mid-Century: Campus Architecture, 1933–1960|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap8.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130514084020/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap8.html|archive-date=May 14, 2013|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} A flurry of construction projects in the 1960s produced a number of new buildings on the south side of the main campus, many of which have been poorly received.{{cite web|title=Princeton University: An Interactive Campus History. Chapter IX: The Sixties|url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap9.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314021910/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/chap9.html|archive-date=March 14, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} Several prominent architects have contributed some more recent additions, including Frank Gehry (Lewis Library),{{cite news|last = Lack|url = http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2008/09/lewis-library-makes-a-grand-debut/|title = Lewis Library makes a grand debut|date = September 11, 2008|newspaper = The Daily Princetonian|access-date = October 16, 2015|first = Kelly|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017005342/http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2008/09/lewis-library-makes-a-grand-debut/|archive-date = October 17, 2015|url-status = dead}} I. M. Pei (Spelman Halls),{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=447}} Demetri Porphyrios (Whitman College, a Collegiate Gothic project),{{cite web |url=http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=1751 |title=Old is new at Princeton |publisher=World Architecture News |date=December 19, 2007 |access-date=June 2, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120004236/http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.projectview&upload_id=1751 |archive-date=January 20, 2012 |url-status=dead }} Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown (Frist Campus Center, among several others),{{cite web|title=Frist Campus Center Iconography|url=https://www.princeton.edu/frist/iconography/q5.shtml|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806105916/https://www.princeton.edu/frist/iconography/q5.shtml|archive-date=August 6, 2020|access-date=June 2, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} Minoru Yamasaki (Robertson Hall),{{cite web |title=Robertson Hall {{!}} Facilities |url=https://facilities.princeton.edu/locations/robertson-hall |access-date=May 22, 2022 |website=facilities.princeton.edu |archive-date=May 28, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528204948/https://facilities.princeton.edu/locations/robertson-hall |url-status=dead }} and Rafael Viñoly (Carl Icahn Laboratory).{{Cite magazine|last=Pearson|first=Clifford A.|date=November 2003|title=Carl Icahn Laboratory Lewis-Sigler Institute|url=https://www.architecturalrecord.com/ext/resources/archives/backissues/2003-11.pdf?1067662800|format=PDF|magazine=Architectural Record|volume=191|issue=11|pages=180|issn=0003-858X}}

A group of 20th-century sculptures scattered throughout the campus forms the Putnam Collection of Sculpture. It includes works by Alexander Calder (Five Disks: One Empty), Jacob Epstein (Albert Einstein), Henry Moore (Oval with Points), Isamu Noguchi (White Sun), and Pablo Picasso (Head of a Woman).{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=398}} Richard Serra's The Hedgehog and The Fox is located between Peyton and Fine halls next to Princeton Stadium and the Lewis Library.{{cite web|last=Peterson|first=Megan|date=June 16, 2011|title=Princeton sculpture enriches beauty and character of campus|url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S30/81/71I92/index.xml?section=featured|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619013340/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/06/16/princeton-sculpture-enriches-beauty-and-character-campus?section=featured|archive-date=June 19, 2021|access-date=November 30, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}}

At the southern edge of the campus is Lake Carnegie, an artificial lake named for Andrew Carnegie. Carnegie financed the lake's construction in 1906 at the behest of a friend and his brother who were both Princeton alumni.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=82}} Carnegie hoped the opportunity to take up rowing would inspire Princeton students to forsake football, which he considered "not gentlemanly."{{cite web|title=The Richest Man in the World: Andrew Carnegie. Philanthropy 101: Scourge of the Campus|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/sfeature/p_campus.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121114134211/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carnegie/sfeature/p_campus.html|archive-date=November 14, 2012|access-date=June 2, 2011|website=American Experience|publisher=PBS}} The Shea Rowing Center on the lake's shore continues to serve as the headquarters for Princeton rowing.{{cite web|title=Shea Rowing Center – Facilities|url=https://goprincetontigers.com/facilities/shea-rowing-center/16|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210418190546/https://goprincetontigers.com/facilities/shea-rowing-center/16|archive-date=April 18, 2021|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Princeton University Athletics|publisher=Princeton University}}

Princeton's grounds were designed by Beatrix Farrand between 1912 and 1943. Her contributions were most recently recognized with the naming of a courtyard for her.{{cite web|author=Aronson|first=Emily|date=February 5, 2019|title=University to name courtyard for influential landscape architect Beatrix Farrand|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/02/05/university-name-courtyard-influential-landscape-architect-beatrix-farrand|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420185815/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/02/05/university-name-courtyard-influential-landscape-architect-beatrix-farrand|archive-date=April 20, 2021|access-date=January 18, 2019|publisher=Princeton University}} Subsequent changes to the landscape were introduced by Quennell Rothschild & Partners in 2000. In 2005, Michael Van Valkenburgh was hired as the new consulting landscape architect for Princeton's 2016 Campus Plan.{{cite web|title=PRINCETON UNIVERSITY MASTER PLAN Princeton, NJ (2005–2008)|url=https://www.mvvainc.com/project.php?id=64|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825041504/https://www.mvvainc.com/project.php?id=64|archive-date=August 25, 2020|access-date=January 18, 2020|publisher=Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates}} Lynden B. Miller was invited to work with him as Princeton's consulting gardening architect, focusing on the 17 gardens that are distributed throughout the campus.{{Cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Mark F.|date=June 11, 2008|title=Growing the campus|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/growing-campus|access-date=January 18, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728080053/https://paw.princeton.edu/article/growing-campus|url-status=live}}

File:Cannon Green and Nassau Hall, Princeton University.jpg, the university's oldest building and former capitol of the United States. Pictured in front is Cannon Green.|alt=A picture of Nassau Hall, the university's oldest building]]

Nassau Hall is the oldest building on campus. Begun in 1754 and completed in 1756,{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=328–329}} it was the first seat of the New Jersey Legislature in 1776,{{cite news|url = http://dailyprincetonian.com/multimedia/2003/07/nassau-hall-national-history-center-of-campus/|title = Nassau Hall: National history, center of campus|date = July 14, 2003|first = Ryan|last = Bradner|newspaper = The Daily Princetonian|access-date = October 16, 2015|at = In the beginning|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151222152929/http://dailyprincetonian.com/multimedia/2003/07/nassau-hall-national-history-center-of-campus/|archive-date = December 22, 2015|df = mdy-all}} was involved in the Battle of Princeton in 1777,{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=330}} and was the seat of the Congress of the Confederation (and thus capitol of the United States) from June 30, 1783, to November 4, 1783.{{cite web|title=Buildings of the Department of State: Nassau Hall, Princeton, NJ|url=https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/buildings/section8|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603014405/https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/buildings/section8|archive-date=June 3, 2021|access-date=June 3, 2011|publisher=United States Department of State}} Since 1911, the front entrance has been flanked by two bronze tigers, a gift of the Princeton Class of 1879, which replaced two lions previously given in 1889.{{cite web|title=Pair of tigers|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/campus-art/objects/86951|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420013046/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/campus-art/objects/86951|archive-date=April 20, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Campus Art Princeton|publisher=Princeton University}} Starting in 1922, commencement has been held on the front lawn of Nassau Hall when there is good weather.{{cite web|title=Commencement|url=https://president.princeton.edu/vice-president-and-secretary/commencement|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401142459/https://president.princeton.edu/vice-president-and-secretary/commencement|archive-date=April 1, 2021|access-date=June 18, 2021|website=Office of the President|publisher=Princeton University}} In 1966, Nassau Hall was added to the National Register of Historic Places.{{cite web|title=National Register of Historical Places – NEW JERSEY (NJ), Mercer County|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/nj/Mercer/state2.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806141627/http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/nj/Mercer/state2.html|archive-date=August 6, 2020|access-date=June 3, 2011|publisher=National Register of Historic Places}} Nowadays, it houses the office of the university president and other administrative offices.{{cite web|title=About The Office|url=https://president.princeton.edu/about-office|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627190255/https://president.princeton.edu/about-office|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 29, 2021|website=Office of the President|publisher=Princeton University}}{{cite web|title=Nassau Hall|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318172900/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/nassau-hall|archive-date=March 18, 2021|access-date=August 6, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}

To the south of Nassau Hall lies a courtyard that is known as Cannon Green.{{cite web|title=Cannons|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/landmarks/cannons|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121212507/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/campus/landmarks/cannons|archive-date=January 21, 2021|access-date=July 21, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} Buried in the ground at the center is the "Big Cannon", which was left in Princeton by British troops as they fled following the Battle of Princeton. It remained in Princeton until the War of 1812, when it was taken to New Brunswick.{{cite book|last=Hageman|first=John Frelinghuysen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uYwMAAAAYAAJ|title=History of Princeton and Its Institutions|publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co.|year=1879|edition=2nd|volume=1|location=Philadelphia|page=139|isbn=9780598745637|oclc=3175821|access-date=March 19, 2023|archive-date=May 31, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240531225248/https://books.google.com/books?id=uYwMAAAAYAAJ|url-status=live}} In 1836, the cannon was returned to Princeton and placed at the eastern end of town. Two years later, it was moved to the campus under cover of night by Princeton students, and in 1840, it was buried in its current location.{{cite book|last=Hageman|first=John Frelinghuysen|url=https://archive.org/details/historyprinceto01hagegoog|title=History of Princeton and Its Institutions|publisher=J. B. Lippincott & Co.|year=1879|edition=2nd|volume=2|location=Philadelphia|pages=317–319|oclc=3175821}} A second "Little Cannon" is buried in the lawn in front of nearby Whig Hall. The cannon, which may also have been captured in the Battle of Princeton, was stolen by students of Rutgers University in 1875. The theft ignited the Rutgers-Princeton Cannon War. A compromise between the presidents of Princeton and Rutgers ended the war and forced the return of the Little Cannon to Princeton. The protruding cannons are occasionally painted scarlet by Rutgers students who continue the traditional dispute.{{cite news|last=Carroll|first=Kate|date=October 5, 2006|title=Vandals spraypaint campus Rutgers red|newspaper=The Daily Princetonian|url=http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2006/10/vandals-spraypaint-campus-rutgers-red/|url-status=dead|access-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222133002/http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2006/10/vandals-spraypaint-campus-rutgers-red/|archive-date=December 22, 2015}}{{Cite news|last=Stamato|first=Linda|date=September 11, 2012|title=Rutgers and Princeton: Tradition, rivalry and the cannon wars|work=NJ.com|url=https://www.nj.com/njv_linda_stamato/2012/09/rutgers_and_princeton_traditio.html|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203122/https://www.nj.com/njv_linda_stamato/2012/09/rutgers_and_princeton_traditio.html|url-status=live}}

File:Art Museum Princeton.JPG, which holds over 112,000 objects|left|alt=A picture of Princeton University Art Museum]]

Though art collection at the university dates back to its very founding, the Princeton University Art Museum was not officially established until 1882 by President McCosh. Its establishment arose from a desire to provide direct access to works of art in a museum for a curriculum in the arts, an education system familiar to many European universities at the time. The museum took on the purposes of providing "exposure to original works of art and to teach the history of art through an encyclopedic collection of world art."{{cite web|title=History|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/about/history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428075435/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/about/history|archive-date=April 28, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}}

Numbering over 112,000 objects, the collections range from ancient to contemporary art and come from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.{{cite web|title=Accessing the Collections|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/learn/teach/accessing-collections|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506082747/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/learn/teach/accessing-collections|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} The museum's art is divided into ten extensive curatorial areas.{{cite web|title=Curatorial Areas|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/curatorial-areas|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506124834/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/curatorial-areas|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} There is a collection of Greek and Roman antiquities, including ceramics, marbles, bronzes, and Roman mosaics from faculty excavations in Antioch, as well as other art from the ancient Egyptian, Byzantium, and Islamic worlds.{{cite web|title=Ancient, Byzantine, and Islamic Art|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/1972|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506011117/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/1972|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} The non-Islamic coins were catalogued by Dorothy B. Waage.{{Cite journal |last=Jenkins |first=G. K. |date=1954 |title=Antioch-on-the-Orontes, IV, part 2: Greek, Roman, Byzantine and Crusaders' Coins. By Dorothy B. Waage. Princeton: University Press, 1952 (London: Oxford University Press). Pp. xii + 187, 8 pll. £8 2s. 6d. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/abs/antiochontheorontes-iv-part-2-greek-roman-byzantine-and-crusaders-coins-by-dorothy-b-waage-princeton-university-press-1952-london-oxford-univeristy-press-pp-xii-187-8-pll-8-2s-6d/19A0B8A9BD7B113CE03339934C860B13 |journal=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |language=en |volume=74 |pages=233 |doi=10.2307/627648 |jstor=627648 |s2cid=164052522 |issn=2041-4099 |access-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-date=November 22, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221122163639/https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-hellenic-studies/article/abs/antiochontheorontes-iv-part-2-greek-roman-byzantine-and-crusaders-coins-by-dorothy-b-waage-princeton-university-press-1952-london-oxford-univeristy-press-pp-xii-187-8-pll-8-2s-6d/19A0B8A9BD7B113CE03339934C860B13 |url-status=live }} Medieval Europe is represented by sculpture, metalwork, and stained glass. The collection of Western European paintings includes examples from the early Renaissance through the 19th century, with pieces by Monet, Cézanne, and Van Gogh,{{cite web|title=European Art|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/599|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506113615/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/599|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum}} and features a growing collection of 20th-century and contemporary art, including paintings such as Andy Warhol's Blue Marilyn.{{cite web|title=Modern and Contemporary Art|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/2712|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512194419/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/2712|archive-date=May 12, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum}}

The museum features a collection of Chinese and Japanese art, with holdings in bronzes, tomb figurines, painting, and calligraphy, as well as collections of Korean, Southeast, and Central Asian art.{{cite web|title=Asian Art|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/597|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506133736/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/597|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} Its collection of pre-Columbian art includes examples of Mayan and Olmec art, and its indigenous art ranges from Chile to Alaska to Greenland.{{cite web|title=Art of the Ancient Americas|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/604|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508213333/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/604|archive-date=May 8, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} The museum has collections of old master prints and drawings,{{cite web|title=Prints and Drawings|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/601|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508213335/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/601|archive-date=May 8, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} and it has a comprehensive collection of over 20,000 photographs.{{cite web|title=Photography|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/600|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506014649/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/600|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} Approximately 750 works of African art are represented.{{cite web|title=African and Oceanic Art|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/150860|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506121257/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/150860|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}} The Museum oversees the outside John B. Putnam Jr., Memorial Collection of Sculpture.{{cite web|title=Campus Collections|url=https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/1416|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506124838/https://artmuseum.princeton.edu/collections/1416|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Art Museum|publisher=Princeton University}}

File:Pu-chapel-front.jpg seats 2,000 people.|alt=A picture of the Princeton University Chapel]]

The Princeton University Chapel is located on the north side of campus near Nassau Street. It was built between 1924 and 1928 at a cost of $2.3 million,{{cite web |url=http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/text_univchapel.html |first=Sara |last=Bush |title=The University Chapel |publisher=Princeton University |access-date=June 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314021940/http://etcweb.princeton.edu/Campus/text_univchapel.html |archive-date=March 14, 2012 |url-status=dead }} approximately ${{inflation|US|2.3|1928|r=1}} million adjusted for inflation in 2020. Ralph Adams Cram, the university's supervising architect, designed the chapel, which he viewed as the crown jewel for the Collegiate Gothic motif he had championed for the campus. At the time of its construction, it was the second largest university chapel in the world, after King's College Chapel, Cambridge.{{Cite magazine|date=June 11, 1928|title=Religion: Princeton's Chapel|url=https://time.com/vault/issue/1928-06-11/page/32/|magazine=Time|volume=XI|issue=24|page=30|issn=0040-781X|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706043418/https://time.com/vault/issue/1928-06-11/page/32/|archive-date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021}} It underwent a two-year, $10 million restoration campaign between 2000 and 2002.{{cite news|last=Greenwood|first=Kathryn Federici|date=March 13, 2002|title=Features: Chapel gets facelift and a new dean|magazine=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_new/PAW01-02/11-0313/features1.html|url-status=dead|access-date=March 26, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215635/http://www.princeton.edu/paw/archive_new/PAW01-02/11-0313/features1.html|archive-date=March 4, 2016}} The Chapel seats around 2,000 and serves as a site for religious services and local celebrations.{{cite web|title=Chapel|url=https://m.princeton.edu/default/map/detail?feed=campus_map&parentId=campus_map%2FBuilding&filter=Chapel&id=_0051|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628180422/https://m.princeton.edu/default/map/detail?feed=campus_map&parentId=campus_map%2FBuilding&filter=Chapel&id=_0051|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Princeton Mobile|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

Measured on the exterior, the chapel is {{convert|277|ft|m|0}} long, {{convert|76|ft|m|0}} wide at its transepts, and {{convert|121|ft|m|0}} high.{{cite book|last=Stillwell|first=Richard|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvxcrz68.7|title=The Chapel of Princeton University|chapter=The Present Chapel and ITS Predecessors|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1971|location=Princeton, NJ|pages=7–11|doi=10.2307/j.ctvxcrz68.7|jstor=j.ctvxcrz68.7|isbn=9780691195209|s2cid=240950675|oclc=472188116}} The exterior is Pennsylvania sandstone, trimmed with Indiana limestone, and the interior is made of limestone and Aquia Creek sandstone. The design evokes characteristics of an English church of the Middle Ages. The extensive iconography, in stained glass, stonework, and wood carvings, has the common theme of connecting religion and scholarship.{{Cite journal|last=Milliner|first=Matthew J.|date=Spring 2009|title=Primus inter pares: Albert C. Friend and the Argument of the Princeton University Chapel|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.70.3.0471|journal=The Princeton University Library Chronicle|volume=70|issue=3|pages=471–517|doi=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.70.3.0471|jstor=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.70.3.0471|access-date=July 21, 2021|archive-date=August 13, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230813054834/https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.70.3.0471|url-status=live}}

Published in 2008, the Sustainability Action Plan was the first formal plan for sustainability enacted by the university.{{cite web|title=Overview|url=https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/overview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315222344/https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/overview|archive-date=March 15, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of Sustainability|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} It focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, conservation of resources, and research, education, and civic engagement for sustainability through 10 year objectives.{{cite web|last=Stevens|first=Ruth|date=February 21, 2008|title=Plan sets aggressive goals for Princeton sustainability efforts|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2008/02/21/plan-sets-aggressive-goals-princeton-sustainability-efforts|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420231344/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2008/02/21/plan-sets-aggressive-goals-princeton-sustainability-efforts|archive-date=April 20, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Aronson|first=Emily|date=April 22, 2019|title=Princeton University sustainability plan aims for net zero emissions by 2046|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/04/22/princeton-university-sustainability-plan-aims-net-zero-emissions-2046|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503021919/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/04/22/princeton-university-sustainability-plan-aims-net-zero-emissions-2046|archive-date=May 3, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Since the 2008 plan, Princeton has aimed at reducing its carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels without the purchase of market offsets and predicts to meet the goal by 2026 (the former goal was by 2020 but COVID-19 requirements delayed this).{{cite web|title=Reduce Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Net Zero|url=https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/ghg-emissions|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315213917/https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/ghg-emissions|archive-date=March 15, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of Sustainability|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton released its second Sustainability Action Plan in 2019 on Earth Day with its main goal being reducing campus greenhouse gases to net zero by 2046 as well as other objectives building on those in the 2008 plan. In 2021, the university agreed to divest from thermal coal and tar sand segments of the fossil fuel industry and from companies that are involved in climate disinformation after student protest.{{Cite news|last=Buch|first=Anika|date=June 4, 2021|title=Princeton to divest from some sectors of the fossil fuel industry|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/06/princeton-university-divestment-decision-reached-net-zero-board-of-trustees|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605193353/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/06/princeton-university-divestment-decision-reached-net-zero-board-of-trustees|archive-date=June 5, 2021}} Princeton is a member of the Ivy Plus Sustainability Consortium, through which it has committed to best-practice sharing and the ongoing exchange of campus sustainability solutions along with other member institutions.{{cite web|title=Partnerships|url=https://sustain.princeton.edu/about/partnerships|access-date=November 17, 2023|publisher=Princeton Office of Sustainability|archive-date=November 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231117211212/https://sustain.princeton.edu/about/partnerships|url-status=live}}

Princeton's Sustainability Action Plan also aims to have zero waste through recycling programs, sustainable purchasing, and behavioral and operational strategies.{{cite web|title=Reduce Waste and Expand Sustainable Purchasing|url=https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/purchasing-waste|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315232142/https://sustain.princeton.edu/sustainability-action-plan/purchasing-waste|archive-date=March 15, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of Sustainability|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

File:Christopher Eisgruber.jpg, the 20th and current president of the university]]

Princeton's 20th and current president is Christopher Eisgruber, who was appointed by the university's board of trustees in 2013. The board is responsible for the overall direction of the university. It consists of no fewer than 23 and no more than 40 members at any one time, with the president of the university and the governor of New Jersey serving as ex officio members. It approves the operating and capital budgets, supervises the investment of the university's endowment, and oversees campus real estate and long-range physical planning. The trustees also exercise prior review and approval concerning changes in major policies such as those in instructional programs and admission as well as tuition and fees and the hiring of faculty members.{{cite web|title=Board of Trustees|url=https://president.princeton.edu/vice-president-and-secretary/board-trustees|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424144200/https://president.princeton.edu/vice-president-and-secretary/board-trustees|archive-date=April 24, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of the President|publisher=Princeton University}}

The university is composed of the Undergraduate College, the Graduate School, the School of Architecture, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the School of Public and International Affairs.{{cite web|title=Academic Life|url=https://profile.princeton.edu/academic-life|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717055849/https://profile.princeton.edu/academic-life|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=A Princeton Profile|publisher=Princeton University}} Additionally, the school's Bendheim Center for Finance provides education for the area of money and finance in lieu of a business school.{{cite web|date=November 23, 2020|title=About|url=https://bcf.princeton.edu/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719052723/https://bcf.princeton.edu/about/|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=Bendheim Center for Finance|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton did host a Princeton Law School for a short period, before eventually closing in 1852 due to poor income.{{Cite news|last=Ravindran|first=Pavithran|date=January 4, 2016|title=A Lawless University: The History Of Princeton Law|work=The Princeton Tory|url=http://theprincetontory.com/a-lawless-university-the-history-of-princeton-law/|access-date=July 21, 2021|archive-date=July 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717055846/http://theprincetontory.com/a-lawless-university-the-history-of-princeton-law/|url-status=live}} Princeton's lack of other professional schools can be attributed to a university focus on undergraduates.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=564}}

The university has ties with the Institute for Advanced Study,{{cite web|date=November 24, 2015|title=Frequently Asked Questions|url=https://www.ias.edu/about/faqs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627190224/https://www.ias.edu/about/faqs|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|publisher=Institute for Advanced Study|quote=The Institute is a private, independent academic institution that enjoys close, collaborative ties with Princeton University...}} Princeton Theological Seminary, Rutgers University, and the Westminster Choir College of Rider University.{{cite web|title=Cross-Registration Programs|url=https://odoc.princeton.edu/curriculum/special-academic-programs/cross-registration-programs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413203121/https://odoc.princeton.edu/curriculum/special-academic-programs/cross-registration-programs|archive-date=April 13, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of the College|publisher=Princeton University}} Princeton is a member of the Association of American Universities,{{cite web|title=Our Members|url=https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210605095215/https://www.aau.edu/who-we-are/our-members|archive-date=June 5, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Association of American Universities}} the Universities Research Association,{{cite web|title=Member Universities|url=https://www.ura-hq.org/members/member-universities/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704052523/https://www.ura-hq.org/members/member-universities/|archive-date=July 4, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Universities Research Association}} and the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.{{cite web|title=NAICU – Membership Directory|url=https://www.naicu.edu/membership/membership-directory.aspx?Alpha=P&keyword=&AddressState=|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125221241/https://www.naicu.edu/membership/membership-directory.aspx?Alpha=P&keyword=&AddressState=|archive-date=November 25, 2020|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=NAICU}} The university is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE), with its last reaffirmation in 2014.{{cite web|title=Princeton University|url=https://www.msche.org/institution/0229/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719213344/https://www.msche.org/institution/0229/|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 18, 2021|website=Middle States Commission on Higher Education|language=en-US}}

Princeton University's endowment of $37 billion (per 2021 figures) was ranked as the fourth largest endowment in the United States,{{Cite news|last=Kowarski|first=Ilana|date=September 22, 2020|title=10 Universities With the Biggest Endowments|work=U.S. News & World Report|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=July 20, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720170959/https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments|url-status=live}} and it had the greatest per-student endowment in the world at over $4.4 million per student.{{Cite news|last=Burns|first=Hilary|date=January 28, 2021|title=Campus Rejects|work=American City Business Journals|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2021/01/28/why-the-nation-s-wealthiest-colleges-are-turning-d.html|access-date=June 19, 2021|archive-date=March 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210324145840/https://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/news/2021/01/28/why-the-nation-s-wealthiest-colleges-are-turning-d.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Toscano |first=Paul |date=March 1, 2011 |title=Colleges with the Biggest Endowment Per Student |website=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2011/03/01/Colleges-with-the-Biggest-Endowment-Per-Student.html |access-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-date=August 14, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230814054707/https://www.cnbc.com/2011/03/01/Colleges-with-the-Biggest-Endowment-Per-Student.html |url-status=live }} The endowment is sustained through continued donations and is maintained by investment advisers.{{Cite news|last=Mukherji|first=Aniket|date=October 29, 2021|title=Princeton's endowment grows to $37.7B, with second-highest yearly returns in the Ivy League|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/10/princeton-endowment-returns-2021-ivy-league|access-date=October 29, 2021|archive-date=October 29, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211029200851/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/10/princeton-endowment-returns-2021-ivy-league|url-status=live}} Princeton's operating budget is over $2 billion per year, with 50% going to academic departments and programs, 33% to administrative and student service departments, 10% to financial aid departments, and 7% to the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.{{cite web|title=Operating Budget Overview|url=https://finance.princeton.edu/budgeting-financial-management/budgeting-and-planning/operating-budget-overview|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315235142/https://finance.princeton.edu/budgeting-financial-management/budgeting-and-planning/operating-budget-overview|archive-date=March 15, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Office of Finance and Treasury|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

File:McCosh 50 Renovated.jpg

Princeton follows a liberal arts curriculum,{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=564}} and offers two bachelor's degrees to students: a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.). Typically, A.B. students choose a major (called a concentration) at the end of sophomore year, while B.S.E. students declare at the end of their freshman year.{{cite web|date=May 6, 2021|title=When and how do I choose a major?|url=https://path.princeton.edu/content/when-and-how-do-i-choose-major#:~:text=The%20first%20thing%20to%20bear,end%20of%20their%20first%20year%20.|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719004441/https://path.princeton.edu/content/when-and-how-do-i-choose-major|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 18, 2021|website=Your Path to Princeton|publisher=Princeton University}} Students must complete distribution requirements, departmental requirements, and independent work to graduate with either degree.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=564}} A.B. students must complete distribution requirements in literature and the arts, science and engineering, social analysis, cultural difference, epistemology and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, historical analysis, and quantitative and computational reasoning; they must also have satisfactory ability in a foreign language. Additionally, they must complete two papers of independent work during their junior year—known as the junior papers—and craft a senior thesis to graduate;{{cite web|last=Gullickson|first=Cricket|date=January 4, 2014|title=The Junior Paper|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/blogs/junior-paper|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719004441/https://admission.princeton.edu/blogs/junior-paper|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=565}} both revolve around the concentration they are pursuing.{{cite web|title=Independent Work|url=https://undergraduateresearch.princeton.edu/independent-work|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719005917/https://undergraduateresearch.princeton.edu/independent-work|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Office of Undergraduate Research|publisher=Princeton University}} B.S.E. majors complete fewer courses in the humanities and social sciences and instead fulfill requirements in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer programming. They likewise must complete independent work, which typically involves a design project or senior thesis, but not the junior papers. A.B. majors must complete 31 courses, whereas B.S.E. majors must complete 36 courses.{{cite web|last=Bogucki|first=Peter|title=Princeton Degrees Explained|url=https://path.princeton.edu/princeton-degrees-explained|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150517035050/http://path.princeton.edu:80/princeton-degrees-explained|archive-date=May 17, 2015|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Your Path to Princeton|publisher=Princeton University}}

Students can choose from either 36 concentrations or create their own. They can also participate in 55 interdisciplinary certificate programs; since Princeton does not offer an academic minor, the certificates effectively serve as one.{{cite web|date=September 15, 2016|title=Certificate Programs|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/academics/certificate-programs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715110454/https://admission.princeton.edu/academics/certificate-programs|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Course structure is determined by the instructor and department. Classes vary in their format, ranging from small seminars to medium-sized lecture courses to large lecture courses.{{cite web|last=Lestition|first=Steven|title=How do classes at Princeton work?|url=https://path.princeton.edu/node/28|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719004452/https://path.princeton.edu/node/28|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Your Path to Princeton|publisher=Princeton University}} The latter two typically have precepts, which are extra weekly discussion sessions that are led by either the professor or a graduate student.{{cite web|date=October 12, 2016|title=The Precept System|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/academics/precept-system|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717191004/https://admission.princeton.edu/academics/precept-system|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} The average class meeting time is 3–4 hours a week, although this can vary depending on the course. The student to faculty ratio is 5 to 1, and a majority of classes have fewer than 20 students.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=565}} In the Fiske Guide to Colleges, academic culture is considered as "tight-knit, extremely hardworking, highly cooperative, and supportive."{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|p=566|2019}}

Undergraduates agree to adhere to an academic integrity policy called the Honor Code. Under the Honor Code, faculty do not proctor examinations; instead, the students proctor one another and must report any suspected violation to an Honor Committee made up of undergraduates.{{cite web|title=The Undergraduate Honor System|url=https://ua.princeton.edu/contents/undergraduate-honor-system|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719004441/https://ua.princeton.edu/contents/undergraduate-honor-system|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=Undergraduate Announcement|publisher=Princeton University}} The Committee investigates reported violations and holds a hearing if it is warranted. An acquittal at such a hearing results in the destruction of all records of the hearing; a conviction results in the student's suspension or expulsion.{{cite web|title=About Us|url=https://honor.princeton.edu/about-us|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515163433/https://honor.princeton.edu/about-us|archive-date=May 15, 2021|access-date=October 19, 2015|website=Honor Committee|publisher=Princeton University}} Violations pertaining to all other academic work fall under the jurisdiction of the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline.{{cite web|title=Committees|url=https://odus.princeton.edu/community-standards/committees|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414070308/https://odus.princeton.edu/community-standards/committees|archive-date=April 14, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students|publisher=Princeton University}} Undergraduates are expected to sign a pledge on their written work affirming that they have not plagiarized the work.{{cite web|date=February 2019|title=Academic Integrity|url=https://odoc.princeton.edu/curriculum/academic-integrity|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506093505/https://odoc.princeton.edu/curriculum/academic-integrity|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=October 23, 2015|website=Office of the Dean of the College|publisher=Princeton University}}

The first focus on issues of grade inflation by the Princeton administration began in 1998 when a university report was released showcasing a steady rise in undergraduate grades from 1973 to 1997.{{Cite news|date=April 2004|title=Grade inflation plan passes|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2004/04/grade-inflation-plan-passes|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204920/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2004/04/grade-inflation-plan-passes|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Foderaro|first=Lisa W.|date=January 29, 2010|title=Type-A-Plus Students Chafe at Grade Deflation|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/education/31princeton.html|access-date=June 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624223738/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/education/31princeton.html|url-status=live}} Subsequent reports and discussion from the report culminated to when in 2004, Nancy Weiss Malkiel, the dean of the college, implemented a grade deflation policy to address the findings.{{cite news|date=December 2, 2009|title=On grade deflation|newspaper=The Daily Princetonian|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/02/24601/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 24, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113122642/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2009/12/02/24601/|archive-date=January 13, 2010}} Malkiel's reason for the policy was that an A was becoming devalued as a larger percentage of the student body received one. Following its introduction, the number of A's and average GPA on campus dropped, although A's and B's were still the most frequent grades awarded.{{Cite news|last=Supiano|first=Beckie|date=January 17, 2020|title=The Real Problem With Grade Inflation|work=The Chronicle of Higher Education|url=https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-real-problem-with-grade-inflation/|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624202242/https://www.chronicle.com/article/the-real-problem-with-grade-inflation/|url-status=live}} The policy received mixed approval from both faculty and students when first instituted.{{Cite news|last=Arenson|first=Karen W.|date=April 8, 2004|title=Princeton Tries To Put a Cap On Giving A's|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/princeton-tries-to-put-a-cap-on-giving-a-s.html|access-date=June 20, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624225605/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/08/nyregion/princeton-tries-to-put-a-cap-on-giving-a-s.html|url-status=live}} Criticism for grade deflation continued through the years, with students alleging negative effects like increased competition and lack of willingness to choose challenging classes.{{Cite news|last=Strauss|first=Valerie|date=August 9, 2014|title=Why Princeton students who deserve A's can't get them — report|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2014/08/09/why-princeton-students-who-deserve-as-cant-get-them-report/|access-date=June 20, 2021}} Other criticism included job market and graduate school prospects, although Malkiel responded by saying that she sent 3,000 letters to numerous institutions and employers informing them. In 2009, transcripts began including a statement about the policy.{{Cite news|last=Levenson|first=Eric|date=October 7, 2013|title=The End of Princeton's Grade Deflation Experiment?|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/end-grade-deflation-princeton-university-inflation-as/310231/|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624203426/https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/10/end-grade-deflation-princeton-university-inflation-as/310231/|url-status=live}}

In October 2013, Princeton President Christopher Eisgruber created a faculty committee to review the deflation policy. In August 2014, the committee released a report recommending the removal of the policy and instead develop consistent standards for grading across individual departments.{{cite news|last1=Mulvaney|first1=Nicole|date=August 7, 2014|title=No more A quotas: Faculty committee recommends Princeton University change its grading policy|work=NJ.com|url=http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/08/no_more_a_quotas_faculty_committee_recommends_princeton_university_change_its_grading_policy.html|access-date=June 5, 2015|archive-date=June 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150617125056/http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/08/no_more_a_quotas_faculty_committee_recommends_princeton_university_change_its_grading_policy.html|url-status=live}} In October 2014, following a faculty vote, the numerical targets were removed in response to the report.{{cite news|last1=Windemuth|first1=Anna|date=October 6, 2014|title=After faculty vote, grade deflation policy officially dead|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2014/10/breaking-after-faculty-vote-grade-deflation-policy-officially-dead/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526105447/http://dailyprincetonian.com/news/2014/10/breaking-after-faculty-vote-grade-deflation-policy-officially-dead/|archive-date=May 26, 2015}} In a 2020 analysis of undergraduate grades following the removal of a policy, there were no long-lasting effects, with the percent of students receiving A's higher than in 1998.{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Liam|date=January 12, 2020|title=The decline and fall of grade deflation|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/01/the-decline-and-fall-of-grade-deflation|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624201733/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/01/the-decline-and-fall-of-grade-deflation|url-status=live}}

File:Cleveland Tower, Princeton University Graduate College, NJ.jpg, part of the Princeton University Graduate College]]

For the 2019–2020 academic year, the Graduate School enrolled 2,971 students. Approximately 40% of the students were female, 42% were international, and 35% of domestic students were a member of a U.S. minority group. The average time to complete a doctoral degree was 5.7 years.{{cite web|date=2021|title=Admission and Costs|url=https://profile.princeton.edu/admission-and-costs-0|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629015522/https://profile.princeton.edu/admission-and-costs-0|archive-date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 13, 2021|website=A Princeton Profile|publisher=Princeton University}} The university awarded 318 Ph.D. degrees and 174 final master's degrees for the 2019–2020 academic year.

The Graduate School offers degrees in 42 academic departments and programs, which span the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. Doctoral education is available for all departments while master's degrees are only available in the architecture, engineering, finance, and public policy departments.{{cite web|title=Fields of Study|url=https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/fields-of-study|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719044025/https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/fields-of-study|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 19, 2021|website=The Graduate School|publisher=Princeton University}} Doctoral education focuses on original, independent scholarship whereas master's degrees focus more on career preparation in both public life and professional practice. Graduate students can also concentrate in an interdisciplinary program and be granted a certificate. Joint degrees are available for several disciplines, as are dual M.D./Ph.D. or M.P.A./J.D. programs.{{Efn|The M.D./Ph.D. is granted in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the Rutgers–New Brunswick Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. The M.P.A/J.D. program is offered in partnership with Columbia Law, New York University Law, Stanford Law, and Yale Law.}}

Students in the graduate school can participate in regional cross-registration agreements, domestic exchanges with other Ivy League schools and similar institutions, and in international partnerships and exchanges.{{cite web|title=Partnerships, Exchanges, and Cross-Registration|url=https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/partnerships-exchanges-and-cross-registration|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413115743/https://gradschool.princeton.edu/academics/partnerships-exchanges-and-cross-registration|archive-date=April 13, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=The Graduate School|publisher=Princeton University}}

{{Infobox US university ranking

| Forbes = 1

| THE_WSJ = 1

| USNWR_NU = 1

| Wamo_NU = 5

| ARWU_W = 7

| QS_W = 17 (tie)

| THES_W = 6

| USNWR_W = 18

}}

Princeton is one of the world's most prominent research universities, featured at the top of U.S. News & World Report{{'}}s national university rankings for the ninth consecutive year in 2024, as well as topping comparable lists by Forbes and The Wall Street Journal.{{cite web|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities|title=Best National University Rankings|work=U.S. News & World Report|access-date=August 7, 2024}}{{cite web|url=https://poetsandquants.com/2024/09/07/ranking-the-forbes-2024-2025-top-colleges-in-america/#:~:text=Princeton%2520University%2520was%2520ranked%2520the,%E2%80%9CAmerica's%2520Top%2520Colleges%E2%80%9D%2520ranking.|title=Ranking: The Forbes 2024-2025 Top Colleges in America|author=KRISTY BLEIZEFFER|publisher=Poets&Quants|date=September 7, 2024|access-date=September 20, 2024|quote=For the second straight year, Princeton University tops the list in Forbes' "America's Top Colleges" ranking.}}{{cite web|url=https://poetsandquantsforundergrads.com/news/wall-street-journals-2025-best-colleges-in-america/|title=The Wall Street Journal's 2025 Best Colleges In America|author=KRISTY BLEIZEFFER|publisher=Poets&Quants|date=September 5, 2024|access-date=September 20, 2024|quote=Another U.S. college ranking, another first for Princeton University. Princeton topped Wall Street Journal/College Pulse's 2025 Best Colleges in the U.S ranking, released today (September 5). It's the second straight year Princeton has been WSJ's top school — and it continues an impressive winning streak for the private Ivy in New Jersey.}}

Princeton is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity."{{cite web|title=Carnegie Classifications {{!}} Institution Lookup|url=https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=186131&start_page=lookup.php&clq=%7B%22ipug2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22ipgrad2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22enrprofile2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22ugprfile2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22sizeset2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22basic2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22eng2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22search_string%22:%22Princeton+University%22,%22level%22:%22%22,%22control%22:%22%22,%22accred%22:%22%22,%22state%22:%22%22,%22region%22:%22%22,%22urbanicity%22:%22%22,%22womens%22:%22%22,%22hbcu%22:%22%22,%22hsi%22:%22%22,%22tribal%22:%22%22,%22msi%22:%22%22,%22landgrant%22:%22%22,%22coplac%22:%22%22,%22urban%22:%22%22,%22community%22:%22%22%7D|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709191449/https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/view_institution.php?unit_id=186131&start_page=lookup.php&clq=%7B%22ipug2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22ipgrad2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22enrprofile2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22ugprfile2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22sizeset2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22basic2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22eng2005_ids%22:%22%22,%22search_string%22:%22Princeton+University%22,%22level%22:%22%22,%22control%22:%22%22,%22accred%22:%22%22,%22state%22:%22%22,%22region%22:%22%22,%22urbanicity%22:%22%22,%22womens%22:%22%22,%22hbcu%22:%22%22,%22hsi%22:%22%22,%22tribal%22:%22%22,%22msi%22:%22%22,%22landgrant%22:%22%22,%22coplac%22:%22%22,%22urban%22:%22%22,%22community%22:%22%22%7D|archive-date=July 9, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education}} Based on data for the 2020 fiscal year, the university received approximately US$250 million in sponsored research for its main campus, with 81.4% coming from the government, 12.1% from foundations, 5.5% from industry, and 1.0% from private and other. An additional $120 million in sponsored research was for the Plasma Physics Lab; the main campus and the lab combined totaled to $370 million for sponsored research.{{Cite report|url=https://research.princeton.edu/sites/research/files/fy2020_orpa_annual_report.pdf|title=Annual Report of the University Research Board (URB) and the Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA) Fiscal Year 2019–2020|date=2020|publisher=Princeton University|access-date=July 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183812/https://research.princeton.edu/sites/research/files/fy2020_orpa_annual_report.pdf|archive-date=July 9, 2021}} Based on 2017 data, the university ranked 72nd among 902 institutions for research expenditures.{{cite web|title=NSF – NCSES Academic Institution Profiles – Princeton University|url=https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=view&fice=2627|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711030312/https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/profiles/site?method=view&fice=2627|archive-date=July 11, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=National Science Foundation}}

Based on 2018 data, Princeton's National Academy Membership totaled to 126, ranking 9th in the nation.{{Cite report|url=https://mup.umass.edu/sites/default/files/mup-2019-top-american-research-universities-annual-report.pdf|title=The Top American Research Universities: 2019 Annual Report|last1=Lombardi|first1=John V.|last2=Abbey|first2=Craig W.|date=2020|publisher=Center for Measuring University Performance|location=Amherst, Mass.|page=78|isbn=978-0-9856170-9-7|last3=Craig|first3=Diane D.|access-date=July 8, 2021|archive-date=September 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210903164811/https://mup.umass.edu/sites/default/files/mup-2019-top-american-research-universities-annual-report.pdf|url-status=live}} The university hosts 75 research institutes and centers and two national laboratories.{{cite web|title=Research Profile|url=https://research.princeton.edu/research-profile|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316001005/https://research.princeton.edu/research-profile|archive-date=March 16, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Office of the Dean for Research|publisher=Princeton University}} Princeton is a member of the New Jersey Space Grant Consortium.{{cite web|title=NJSGC Affiliates and Partner Organizations|url=https://njsgc.rutgers.edu/affiliates|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202210634/https://njsgc.rutgers.edu/affiliates|archive-date=December 2, 2020|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=New Jersey Space Grant Consortium}}

File:Firestone Library Princeton front.jpg, the largest of Princeton's libraries|alt=A picture of Firestone Library]]The Princeton University Library system houses over 13 million holdings through 11 buildings,{{cite web|title=Firestone Library|url=https://facilities.princeton.edu/locations/firestone-library|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628181547/https://facilities.princeton.edu/locations/firestone-library|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=Facilities|publisher=Princeton University}} including seven million bound volumes, making it one of the largest university libraries in the United States.{{cite web|date=May 2009|title=The Nation's Largest Libraries: A Listing By Volumes Held – ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 22|url=http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/library/libraryfactsheet/alalibraryfactsheet22.cfm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090413193236/http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/library/libraryfactsheet/alalibraryfactsheet22.cfm|archive-date=April 13, 2009|access-date=August 12, 2009|publisher=American Library Association}} Built in 1948, the main campus library is Firestone Library and serves as the main repository for the humanities and social sciences. Its collections include the autographed manuscript of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby{{cite web|last=Skemer|first=Don|date=May 24, 2013|title='The Great Gatsby' manuscript and galleys now online through Princeton University Digital Library|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2013/05/24/great-gatsby-manuscript-and-galleys-now-online-through-princeton-university-digital|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526143251/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2013/05/24/great-gatsby-manuscript-and-galleys-now-online-through-princeton-university-digital|archive-date=May 26, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} and George F. Kennan's Long Telegram.{{cite web|title=Telegram to Secretary of State, Washington, The Long Telegram, 1946 February 22|url=https://findingaids.princeton.edu/catalog/MC076_c01560|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185140/https://findingaids.princeton.edu/catalog/MC076_c01560|archive-date=July 9, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Princeton University Library Finding Aids|publisher=Princeton University}} In addition to Firestone library, specialized libraries exist for architecture, art and archaeology, East Asian studies, engineering, music, public and international affairs, public policy and university archives, and the sciences.{{cite web|title=Libraries|url=https://library.princeton.edu/libraries|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704044114/https://library.princeton.edu/libraries|archive-date=July 4, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Princeton University Library|publisher=Princeton University}} The library system provides access to subscription-based electronic resources and databases to students.{{cite web|title=Databases|url=https://library.princeton.edu/research/databases|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210627223023/https://library.princeton.edu/research/databases|archive-date=June 27, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Princeton University Library|publisher=Princeton University}}

The Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) stemmed from Project Matterhorn, a top secret cold war project created in 1951 aimed at achieving controlled nuclear fusion.{{cite web|title=Project Matterhorn|url=https://nuclearprinceton.princeton.edu/project-matterhorn|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707224836/https://nuclearprinceton.princeton.edu/project-matterhorn|archive-date=July 7, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|website=Nuclear Princeton|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton astrophysics professor Lyman Spitzer became the first director of the project and remained director until the lab's declassification in 1961 when it received its current name. Today, it is an institute for fusion energy research and plasma physics research.{{cite web|title=About|url=https://www.pppl.gov/about|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625034739/https://www.pppl.gov/about|archive-date=June 25, 2021|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=Princeton Plasma Physics Lab|publisher=Princeton University}}

Founded in 1955 and located at Princeton's Forrestal Campus since 1968, the NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) conducts climate research and modeling.{{cite web|title=About GFDL|url=https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210706061055/https://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/about/|archive-date=July 6, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory|language=en-US}}{{cite web|last=Quiñones|first=Eric|date=September 29, 2005|title=Pioneering meteorologist Smagorinsky dies|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2005/09/29/pioneering-meteorologist-smagorinsky-dies|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401094200/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2005/09/29/pioneering-meteorologist-smagorinsky-dies|archive-date=April 1, 2021|access-date=July 7, 2021|publisher=Princeton University}} Princeton faculty, research scientists, and graduate scientists can participate in research with the lab.

{{Infobox U.S. college admissions|year=2022|ref={{cite web

|url=https://registrar.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf136/files/2020-02/CDS_2019-2020_0.pdf

|title=Common Data Set 2019–2020

|publisher=Princeton University

|access-date=May 1, 2021

|archive-date=April 16, 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416110135/https://registrar.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf136/files/2020-02/CDS_2019-2020_0.pdf

|url-status=live

}}|change ref={{cite web

|url=https://registrar.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf136/files/2019-02/common_cds2014.pdf

|title=Common Data Set 2014–2015

|publisher=Princeton University

|access-date=May 1, 2021

|archive-date=May 2, 2021

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210502033509/https://registrar.princeton.edu/sites/g/files/toruqf136/files/2019-02/common_cds2014.pdf

|url-status=live

}}|admit rate=5.6%|admit rate change=-1.6|yield rate=69.1%|yield rate change=-0.7|SAT EBRW=760|SAT Math=790|SAT Math change=+40|ACT=35|ACT change=+2|GPA=3.95|GPA change=+ 0.04|float=right}}Princeton offers several methods to apply: the Common Application, the Coalition Application, and the QuestBridge Application.{{cite web|date=August 9, 2016|title=How to Apply|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717191319/https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{cite web|date=August 31, 2020|title=QuestBridge|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/questbridge|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717082732/https://admission.princeton.edu/how-apply/questbridge|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton's application requires several writing supplements and submitting a graded written paper.

Princeton's undergraduate program is highly selective, admitting 5.8% of undergraduate applicants in the 2019–2020 admissions cycle (for the Class of 2024). The middle 50% range of SAT scores was 1470–1560, the middle 50% range of the ACT composite score was 33–35, and the average high school GPA was a 3.91. For graduate admissions, in the 2021–2022 academic year, Princeton received 12,553 applications for admission and accepted 1,322 applicants, with a yield rate of 51%.

In the 1950s, Princeton used an ABC system to function as a precursory early program, where admission officers would visit feeder schools and assign A, B, or C ratings to students.{{Cite news|last=Fallows|first=James|date=September 2001|title=The Early-Decision Racket|work=The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/09/the-early-decision-racket/302280/|access-date=June 20, 2021|archive-date=June 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622195445/https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/09/the-early-decision-racket/302280/|url-status=live}}{{Efn|Example feeder schools visited included Phillips Exeter Academy, Phillips Academy Andover, and Groton School, among others. Moreover, an A was likely admission, B was possible, and C was unlikely.}} From 1977 to 1995, Princeton employed an early action program, and in 1996, transitioned to an early decision program.{{cite web|date=February 24, 2011|title=Princeton to reinstate early admission program|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/02/24/princeton-reinstate-early-admission-program|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926100647/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/02/24/princeton-reinstate-early-admission-program|archive-date=September 26, 2020|access-date=October 25, 2015|publisher=Princeton University}} In September 2006, the university announced that all applicants for the Class of 2012 would be considered in a single pool, ending the school's early decision program.{{cite web|date=September 18, 2006|title=Princeton to end early admission|url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S15/86/07G08/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318173701/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2006/09/18/princeton-end-early-admission|archive-date=March 18, 2021|access-date=October 25, 2015|publisher=Princeton University}} In February 2011, following decisions by the University of Virginia and Harvard University to reinstate their early admissions programs, Princeton announced it would institute a single-choice early action option for applicants, which it still uses.

Princeton reinstated its transfer students program in 2018 after a three decade moratorium; the program encourages applicants from low-income families, the military, and community colleges.{{cite web|last=Hotchkiss|first=Michael|date=May 9, 2018|title=Princeton offers admission to 13 students in reinstated transfer program|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/05/09/princeton-offers-admission-13-students-reinstated-transfer-program|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525034951/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/05/09/princeton-offers-admission-13-students-reinstated-transfer-program|archive-date=May 25, 2021|access-date=July 22, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Nadworny|first=Elissa|date=December 4, 2018|title=Top Colleges Seeking Diversity From A New Source: Transfer Students|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/667381514/top-colleges-seeking-diversity-from-a-new-source-transfer-students|access-date=July 22, 2021|archive-date=July 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722221514/https://www.npr.org/2018/12/04/667381514/top-colleges-seeking-diversity-from-a-new-source-transfer-students|url-status=live}}

As of the 2021–2022 academic year, the total cost of attendance is $77,690.{{cite web|date=September 19, 2016|title=Fees & Payment Options|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/fees-payment-options|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717084345/https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/fees-payment-options|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} 61% of all undergraduates receive financial aid, with the average financial aid grant being $57,251. Tuition, room, and board is free for families making up to $65,000, and financial aid is offered to families making up to $180,000.{{cite web|date=September 27, 2016|title=Financial Aid by the Numbers|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/financial-aid-numbers|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210603083135/https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/financial-aid-numbers|archive-date=June 3, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Undergrad Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} In 2001, expanding on earlier reforms, Princeton became the first university to eliminate the use of student loans in financial aid, replacing them with grants.{{Cite news|last=Moroz|first=Jennifer|date=February 4, 2001|title=Princeton Promises Undergraduates 'No Loan' Policy|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/02/04/princeton-promises-undergraduates-no-loan-policy/4a479bb4-acdd-4e50-91b9-e5cf5042a487/|access-date=July 13, 2021|issn=0190-8286|archive-date=June 13, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613022407/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/02/04/princeton-promises-undergraduates-no-loan-policy/4a479bb4-acdd-4e50-91b9-e5cf5042a487/|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|p=566|2019}} In addition, all admissions are need-blind, and financial aid meets 100% of demonstrated financial need.{{cite web|date=August 30, 2016|title=Cost & Aid|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601100155/https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=July 6, 2021|website=Princeton University Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} The university does not use academic or athletic merit scholarships.{{cite web|date=September 19, 2016|title=How Princeton's Aid Program Works|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/how-princetons-aid-program-works|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050323/https://admission.princeton.edu/cost-aid/how-princetons-aid-program-works|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} In September 2022, Princeton announced that it would cover all costs for families earning $100,000 a year or less, with reduced costs for higher income families as well.{{Cite news |author-last1=Anderson|author-first1=Nick|date=8 September 2022|title=Princeton to cover all college bills for families making up to $100,000 |language=en-US |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/08/princeton-student-tuition-financial-aid/ |access-date=September 9, 2022 |issn=0190-8286 |archive-date=September 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220908151201/https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/08/princeton-student-tuition-financial-aid/ |url-status=live }}

Kiplinger magazine in 2019 ranked Princeton as the fifth best value school in a combined list comparing private universities, private liberal arts colleges, and public colleges, noting that the average graduating debt was $9,005.{{Cite news|last=Pitsker|first=Kaitlin|date=July 26, 2019|title=20 Best College Values in the U.S., 2019|work=Kiplinger|url=https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/college/t014-s003-20-best-college-values-in-the-u-s-2019/index.html|url-status=dead|access-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210318014454/https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/college/t014-s003-20-best-college-values-in-the-u-s-2019/index.html|archive-date=March 18, 2021}} For its 2021 rankings, the U.S. News & World Report ranked it second in its category for "Best Value Schools".{{Cite news|last=Sheinerman|first=Marie-Rose|date=September 14, 2020|title=U. ranked No. 1 American university by U.S. News for 10th consecutive year|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/09/princeton-top-university-in-america-us-news-report-10-years|access-date=June 21, 2021|archive-date=June 2, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214408/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/09/princeton-top-university-in-america-us-news-report-10-years|url-status=live}}

The university guarantees housing for students for all four years,{{cite web|date=September 27, 2016|title=Housing|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/housing|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628093641/https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/housing|archive-date=June 28, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} with more than 98% of undergraduates living on campus.{{cite web|title=Campus Life|url=https://profile.princeton.edu/campus-life|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515163410/https://profile.princeton.edu/campus-life|archive-date=May 15, 2021|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=A Princeton Profile|publisher=Princeton University}} Freshman and sophomores are required to live on campus, specifically in one of the university's seven residential colleges. Once put into a residential college, students have an upperclassmen residential college adviser to adjust to college life and a faculty academic adviser for academic guidance.{{cite web|title=About Residential Colleges|url=https://hres.princeton.edu/undergraduate-housing/incoming-students/about-residential-colleges|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715015434/https://hres.princeton.edu/undergraduate-housing/incoming-students/about-residential-colleges|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Housing & Real Estate Services|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Upperclassmen are given the option to keep living in the college or decide to move into upperclassmen dorms; upperclassmen still remain affiliated with their college even if they live somewhere else.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=566}}

Each residential college has its own distinct layout and architecture. Additionally, each college has its own faculty head, dean, director of studies, and director of student life. The colleges feature various amenities, such as dining halls, common rooms, laundry rooms, academic spaces, and arts and entertainment resources. Out of the seven undergraduate colleges (excluding the Graduate College) three of the colleges house students from all classes while the other four house only underclassmen.{{cite web|title=Housing & Dining|url=https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/housing-dining|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717084128/https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/housing-dining|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Present-day residential colleges are:

{{columns-list|colwidth=16em|

• 48px Rockefeller College
• 48px Mathey College
• 48px Butler College
• 48px Forbes College
• 48px Whitman College
• 48px Yeh College
• 48px New College West
• 48px Graduate College

}}

Princeton's residential college system dates back to when university president Woodrow Wilson's proposed the creation of quadrangles.{{Sfn|Axtell|2006|p=1}} While the plan was vetoed,{{Sfn|Axtell|2006|p=1}} it eventually made a resurgence with the creation of Wilson Lodge (now known as First College) in 1957 to provide an alternative to the eating clubs.{{cite web|title=History of the Colleges|url=https://odoc.princeton.edu/about/history-colleges|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717024636/https://odoc.princeton.edu/about/history-colleges|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of the College|publisher=Princeton University}} Wilson Lodge was dedicated as Wilson College in 1968 and served as an experiment for the residential college system. In 2020, Princeton University elected to change the name of Wilson College to First College after the recent deaths involving police brutality of black individuals.{{Cite news |date=June 27, 2020 |title=Princeton to drop Woodrow Wilson's name from school |author-first1=Sinéad|author-last1=Carew|language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-princeton-idUSKBN23Y0TU |access-date=November 29, 2022 |archive-date=November 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129222716/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-protests-princeton-idUSKBN23Y0TU |url-status=live }} When enrollment increased in the 1970s, a university report in 1979 recommended the establishment of five residential colleges.{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=236–238}} Funding was raised within a year,{{Sfn|Oberdorfer|1995|p=239}} leading to the development of Rockefeller College (1982), Mathey College (1983), Butler College (1983), and Forbes College (1984). Whitman College was founded and constructed in 2007 at a cost of $100 million.{{Cite news|last=Hu|first=Winnie|date=July 29, 2007|title=More Than a Meal Plan|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/education/edlife/princeton.html|access-date=July 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717024626/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/29/education/edlife/princeton.html|url-status=live}} Butler's dorms were demolished in 2007 and a new complex was built in 2009.{{cite web|title=Butler College|url=https://hres.princeton.edu/undergraduate-housing/explore/butler-college|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201001013924/https://hres.princeton.edu/undergraduate-housing/explore/butler-college|archive-date=October 1, 2020|access-date=March 29, 2020|website=Housing & Real Estate Services|publisher=Princeton University}} Butler and Mathey previously acted as only underclassmen colleges, but transitioned to four-year colleges in fall 2009.{{cite web|last=Quiñones|first=Eric|date=September 20, 2007|title=Residential life remodeled: Princeton moves into new four-year college system|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2007/09/20/residential-life-remodeled-princeton-moves-new-four-year-college-system|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717024626/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2007/09/20/residential-life-remodeled-princeton-moves-new-four-year-college-system|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton completed and opened two new residential colleges—Yeh College and New College West—at the beginning of the academic year in September 2022.{{cite web |last1=Eisgruber |first1=Christopher |title=State of the University 2020 |url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/02/03/president-eisgrubers-annual-state-university-letter-2020 |website=Princeton University |access-date=June 28, 2020 |archive-date=June 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200624102213/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/02/03/president-eisgrubers-annual-state-university-letter-2020 |url-status=live }}{{Efn|College 7 was initially going to be called Perelman College; however, due to lack of on time payments by the Perelman Family Foundation, the name was removed. As a result, there is no official name for either College 7 or College 8.{{Cite news|last=Hess|first=Naomi|date=August 24, 2021|title=Perelman name removed from Residential College 7|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/08/princeton-residential-college-7-perelman-campus-expansion-construction|access-date=August 31, 2021|archive-date=August 31, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831002723/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/08/princeton-residential-college-7-perelman-campus-expansion-construction|url-status=live}}}} The university plans to construct a new residential college named Hobson College where First College currently stands.{{Cite web |title=Hobson College {{!}} Facilities |url=https://facilities.princeton.edu/projects/hobson-college |access-date=February 15, 2023 |website=facilities.princeton.edu |date=October 6, 2021 |archive-date=June 13, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240613022407/https://facilities.princeton.edu/projects/hobson-college |url-status=live }}

Princeton has one graduate residential college, known as the Graduate College, located on a hill about half a mile from the main campus.{{cite web|title=Graduate College History|url=https://gradschool.princeton.edu/about/history/graduate-college-history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717031037/https://gradschool.princeton.edu/about/history/graduate-college-history|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=The Graduate School|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Efn|The "Graduate College" refers to the residential and dining halls while the "Graduate School" refers to the academics.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=223}}}} The location of the Graduate College was the result of a dispute between Woodrow Wilson and then-Graduate School Dean Andrew Fleming West. Wilson preferred a central location for the college; West wanted the graduate students as far as possible from the campus, and ultimately, he prevailed.{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=502–503}} The Graduate College is composed of a large Collegiate Gothic section crowned by Cleveland Tower, a memorial tower for former Princeton trustee Grover Cleveland.{{Cite news|date=October 23, 1913|title=TAFT PAYS TRIBUTE TO PRINCETON'S SAGE; Glowing Appreciation of Grover Cleveland Marks Speech at Dedication Exercises.|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1913/10/23/archives/taft-pays-tribute-to-princetons-sage-glowing-appreciation-of-grover.html|access-date=July 17, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717031027/https://www.nytimes.com/1913/10/23/archives/taft-pays-tribute-to-princetons-sage-glowing-appreciation-of-grover.html|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=131}} The tower also has 67 carillon bells, making it one of the largest carillons in the world.{{Cite news|last=Tanner|first=Pat|date=July 11, 2016|title=Towering Sounds with the Carillon Bells of Princeton|work=New Jersey Monthly|url=https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/towering-sounds-carillon-bells-princeton/|access-date=July 17, 2021|archive-date=July 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717031037/https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/towering-sounds-carillon-bells-princeton/|url-status=live}} The attached New Graduate College provides a modern contrast in architectural style to the gothic Old Graduate College.{{cite web|title=New Graduate College|url=https://hres.princeton.edu/graduate-housing/explore/new-graduate-college|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806151147/https://hres.princeton.edu/graduate-housing/explore/new-graduate-college|archive-date=August 6, 2020|access-date=March 29, 2020|website=Housing & Real Estate Services|publisher=Princeton University}} Graduate students also have the option of living in student apartments.{{cite web|title=General Information|url=https://hres.princeton.edu/graduate-housing/incoming-graduate-students/general-information|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629022311/https://hres.princeton.edu/graduate-housing/incoming-graduate-students/general-information|archive-date=June 29, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Housing and Real Estate|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

File:Forbes College from College Rd West.jpg|alt=A picture of Forbes College|Forbes College (founded 1984)

File:Mathey College, Princeton University.jpg|alt=The exterior of Mathey College, specifically Blair Arch.|Mathey College (founded 1983)

File:Princeton (6035183309).jpg|alt=A picture of Rockefeller College|Rockefeller College (founded 1982)

File:Princeton University Whitman College.JPG|alt=The exterior of Whitman College.|Whitman College (founded 2007)

{{Main|Princeton University eating clubs}}

File:Princeton Ivy Club 2023.jpg is the oldest and wealthiest eating club on campus]]

Each residential college has a dining hall for students in the college, and they vary in their environment and food served.{{cite web|date=September 16, 2016|title=Dining Options|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/dining-options|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717084647/https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/dining-options|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Salas|first=Mia|date=April 16, 2020|title=Your Complete Guide to the Residential College Dining Halls|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/blogs/your-complete-guide-residential-college-dining-halls|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717084105/https://admission.princeton.edu/blogs/your-complete-guide-residential-college-dining-halls|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Undergraduate Admission|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Upperclassmen who no longer live in the college can choose from a variety of options: join an eating club and choose a shared meal plan; join a dining co-op, where groups of students eat, prepare, and cook food together; or organize their own dining. The university offers kosher dining through the Center for Jewish Life and halal dining options for Muslim students in the dining halls.

Social life takes place primarily on campus and is involved heavily with one's residential college or eating club.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=567}} Residential colleges host a variety of social events and activities, ranging from Broadway show outings to regular barbecues. Eating clubs, while not affiliated with the university, are co-ed organizations that serve as social centers, host events, and invite guest speakers.{{cite web|title=Eating Clubs|url=https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/dining-options/eating-clubs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316031115/https://admission.princeton.edu/campus-life/dining-options/eating-clubs|archive-date=March 16, 2021|access-date=March 14, 2020|website=Undergraduate Admission|date=September 16, 2016|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=566}} Additionally, they serve as a place of community for upperclassmen.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=567}} Five of the clubs have first-serve memberships called "sign-ins" and six clubs use a selective process, in which students must "bicker".{{cite web|title=What's an Eating Club?|url=https://princetoneatingclubs.org/whats-an-eating-club/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716163953/https://princetoneatingclubs.org/whats-an-eating-club/|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The Eating Clubs of Princeton University|language=en-US}} This requires prospective members to undergo an interviewing process.{{Cite news|last=Miller|first=Jennifer|date=December 12, 2019|title=Takeover at Princeton's Quadrangle|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/style/FLI-princeton-quadrangle.html|access-date=June 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625022848/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/12/style/FLI-princeton-quadrangle.html|url-status=live}} Each eating club has a fee to join which ranges from around $9,000 to $10,000. As a result, Princeton increases financial aid for upperclassmen, and the eating clubs also offer financial assistance.{{cite web|date=December 15, 2016|title=Junior/Senior Dining Options|url=https://finaid.princeton.edu/policies-procedures/juniorsenior-dining-options|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718152308/https://finaid.princeton.edu/policies-procedures/juniorsenior-dining-options|archive-date=July 18, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princeton University Admission|language=en}}{{cite web|title=Fees & Financial Aid|url=https://princetoneatingclubs.org/club-fees/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716002627/https://princetoneatingclubs.org/club-fees/|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The Eating Clubs of Princeton University|language=en-US}} Cumulatively, there are ten clubs located on Prospect Avenue—Cannon, Cap and Gown, Charter, Cloister, Colonial, Cottage, Ivy, Quadrangle, Tiger, and Tower—and one located on Washington Road—Terrace.{{cite web|title=Explore the Eating Clubs|url=https://princetoneatingclubs.org/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210413203727/https://princetoneatingclubs.org/|archive-date=April 13, 2021|access-date=March 29, 2020|website=Princeton Eating Clubs}} Sixty-eight percent of upperclassmen are members of a club, with each one containing around 150 to 200 students

Princeton hosts around 500 recognized student organizations and several campus centers. The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) serves as Princeton's student government.{{cite web|title=Student Government|url=https://odus.princeton.edu/activities/governance|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050534/https://odus.princeton.edu/activities/governance|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students|publisher=Princeton University}} The USG funds student organization events, sponsors campus events, and represents the undergraduate student body when convening with faculty and administration.

File:Whig Hall Princeton.jpg resides|alt=A picture of Whig Hall]]

Founded in about 1765, the American Whig-Cliosophic Society is the nation's oldest collegiate political, literary, and debate society,{{cite web|last=Salant|first=Jonathan D.|date=March 5, 2021|title=Princeton political and debate society votes to strip Ted Cruz of prestigious honor for trying to overturn presidential election|url=https://www.nj.com/politics/2021/03/princeton-debate-club-votes-to-strip-ted-cruz-of-prestigious-honor-for-trying-to-overturn-presidential-election.html|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=NJ.com|language=en|archive-date=July 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716201507/https://www.nj.com/politics/2021/03/princeton-debate-club-votes-to-strip-ted-cruz-of-prestigious-honor-for-trying-to-overturn-presidential-election.html|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=567}} and is the largest and oldest student organization on campus.{{cite web|date=January 28, 2016|title=About|url=https://whigclio.princeton.edu/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715151126/https://whigclio.princeton.edu/about/|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The American Whig-Cliosophic Society|publisher=Princeton University|language=en-US}} The Whig-Clio Society has several subsidiary organizations, each specialized to different areas of politics: the Princeton Debate Panel, International Relations Council, Princeton Mock Trial, and Princeton Model Congress.{{cite web|date=January 27, 2016|title=Subsidiaries|url=https://whigclio.princeton.edu/subsidiaries/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050527/https://whigclio.princeton.edu/subsidiaries/|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The American Whig-Cliosophic Society|publisher=Princeton University|language=en-US}} The International Relations Council manages two Model United Nations conferences: the Princeton Diplomatic Invitational (PDI) for collegiate competition and the Princeton Model United Nations Conference (PMUNC) for high school competition.{{cite web|title=International Relations Council|url=https://whigclio.princeton.edu/subsidiaries/irc/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050528/https://whigclio.princeton.edu/subsidiaries/irc/|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The American Whig-Cliosophic Society|date=January 27, 2016|language=en-US}}

There are several publications on campus and a radio station. Founded in 1876, The Daily Princetonian, otherwise known as The Prince, is the second oldest college daily student newspaper in the United States.{{cite web|title=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/things-princeton/publications/periodicals/the-daily-princetonian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601185852/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/things-princeton/publications/periodicals/the-daily-princetonian|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}{{Cite news|date=December 17, 1950|title=Atlantan Chosen to Head The Daily Princetonian|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/17/archives/atlantan-chosen-to-head-the-daily-princetonian.html|access-date=July 16, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716201521/https://www.nytimes.com/1950/12/17/archives/atlantan-chosen-to-head-the-daily-princetonian.html|url-status=live}} Other publications include The Nassau Literary Review,{{cite web|title=About|url=https://www.nasslit.com/about|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716025858/https://www.nasslit.com/about|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The Nassau Literary Review|language=en-US}} the Princeton Tory, a campus journal of conservative thought,{{cite web|title=About|url=http://theprincetontory.com/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717112208/http://theprincetontory.com/about/|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princeton Tory|date=September 21, 2009 |language=en-US}} The Princeton Diplomat, the only student-run magazine on global affairs,{{cite web|date=October 28, 2019|title=About|url=https://princetondiplomat.com/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717111836/https://princetondiplomat.com/about/|archive-date=July 17, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The Princeton Diplomat|language=en}} the Princeton Political Review, the only multi-partisan political publication on campus,{{cite web|title=Princeton Political Review|url=https://www.princetonpoliticalreview.org/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050525/https://www.princetonpoliticalreview.org/|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princeton Political Review|language=en-US}} and the recently revived Princeton Progressive, the only left-leaning political publication on campus,{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://theprincetonprogressive.com/about/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715050528/http://theprincetonprogressive.com/about/|archive-date=July 15, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=The Princeton Progressive|language=en-US}}{{Sfn|Durkee|2022|p=458}} among others. Princeton's WPRB (103.3 FM) radio station is the oldest licensed college radio station in the nation.{{Sfn|Fiske|Lecuyer|2019|p=567}}

File:McCarter Theater2.JPG, where the Princeton Triangle Club premiers its Triangle Show{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=294}}|alt=A picture of McCarter Theatre]]

Princeton is home to a variety of performing arts and music groups. Many of the groups are represented by the Performing Arts Council.{{cite web|date=March 20, 2016|title=About Us|url=https://pac.princeton.edu/about_us/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716002613/https://pac.princeton.edu/about_us/|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Performing Arts Council|publisher=Princeton University|language=en-US}} Dating back to 1883, the Princeton Triangle Club is America's oldest touring musical-comedy theater group.{{Cite news|date=January 19, 2021|title=Princeton Triangle Club takes to the rectangular screen with virtual show|work=NJ.com|url=https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2021/01/princeton-triangle-club-takes-to-the-rectangular-screen-with-virtual-show.html|access-date=July 16, 2021|archive-date=July 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716201522/https://www.nj.com/entertainment/2021/01/princeton-triangle-club-takes-to-the-rectangular-screen-with-virtual-show.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=Triangle Club|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/triangle-club|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601222825/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/triangle-club|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} It performs its annual Triangle Show every fall at the 1,000 seat McCarter Theatre,{{cite web|title=The Princeton Triangle Club|url=https://www.triangleshow.com/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716061059/https://www.triangleshow.com/|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=The Princeton Triangle Club|language=en-US}}{{Sfn|Leitch|1978|p=294}} as well as original musical comedies, revues, and other shows throughout campus. Princeton's oldest choir is the Glee Club, which began in 1874.{{cite web|title=Singing Groups|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/singing-groups|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602051306/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/singing-groups|archive-date=June 2, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} The comedic scramble Tiger Band was formed in 1919 and plays at halftime shows and other events.{{cite web|title=Princeton University Band|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/princeton-university-band|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602012058/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/princeton-university-band|archive-date=June 2, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} Other groups include the Princeton University Orchestra, the flagship symphony orchestra group founded in 1896,{{cite web|title=The Princeton University Orchestra – Since 1896|url=https://orchestra.princeton.edu/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718045129/https://orchestra.princeton.edu/|archive-date=July 18, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Princeton University Orchestra|publisher=Princeton University}} and the Princeton Symphony Orchestra,{{cite web|title=Who We Are|url=https://princetonsymphony.org/about/who-we-are|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718045117/https://princetonsymphony.org/about/who-we-are|archive-date=July 18, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Princeton Symphony Orchestra|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} both of which perform at Alexander Hall.{{cite web|title=Richardson Auditorium|url=https://princetonsymphony.org/visit/venue-directions/richardson-auditorium|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718045215/https://princetonsymphony.org/visit/venue-directions/richardson-auditorium|archive-date=July 18, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|website=Princeton Symphony Orchestra|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

A cappella groups are a staple of campus life, with many holding concerts, informal shows, and arch sings.{{cite web|last1=Aronson|first1=Emily|last2=Luk|first2=Matilda|date=June 23, 2011|title=A tradition of voice: A cappella at Princeton|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/06/23/tradition-voice-cappella-princeton|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716041644/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2011/06/23/tradition-voice-cappella-princeton|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princeton University|language=en}} Arch sings are where a cappella performances are held in one of Princeton's many gothic arches. The oldest a cappella ensemble is the Nassoons, which were formed in 1941. All-male groups include the Tigertones (1946) and Footnotes (1959); all-female groups include the Tigerlilies (1971), Tigressions (1981), Wildcats (1987); the oldest coed a cappella group in the Ivy League is the Princeton Katzenjammers (1973), which was followed by the Roaring 20 (1983) and Shere Khan (1994).

Princeton features several campus centers for students that provide resources and information for students with certain identities. These include the Center for Jewish Life, the Davis International Center, the Carl A. Fields Center for Equality and Cultural Understanding, the Women's Center, and the LGBT Center. The Frist Campus Center and the Campus Club are additional facilities for the entire campus community that hold various activities and events.

Princeton features 15 chaplaincies and multiple religious student groups. The following faiths are represented on campus: Baha'i, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Unitarian Universalism.{{cite web|title=Religious Life|url=https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/religious-life|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210716041718/https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/religious-life|archive-date=July 16, 2021|access-date=July 16, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

File:Fitzrandolph_Gate.jpg, which by tradition undergraduates do not exit until graduation.|alt=A picture of FitzRandolph Gates]]

Princeton students partake in a wide variety of campus traditions, both past and present.{{cite web|title=Traditions|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601234434/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=September 7, 2020|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} Current traditions Princeton students celebrate include the ceremonial bonfire, which takes place on the Cannon Green behind Nassau Hall. It is held only if Princeton beats both Harvard University and Yale University at football in the same season.{{cite web|last=Pryor|first=Maddy|date=November 19, 2018|title=Bonfire celebrates Princeton football's wins over Harvard, Yale and perfect season|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/11/19/bonfire-celebrates-princeton-footballs-wins-over-harvard-yale-and-perfect-season|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210406141017/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2018/11/19/bonfire-celebrates-princeton-footballs-wins-over-harvard-yale-and-perfect-season|archive-date=April 6, 2021|access-date=June 19, 2021|publisher=Princeton University}} Another tradition is the use of traditional college cheers at events and reunions, like the "Locomotive", which dates back to before 1894.{{cite web|title=Reunions History|url=https://alumni.princeton.edu/goinback/reunions/reunionshistory|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505064403/https://reunions.princeton.edu/reunions-history/|archive-date=May 5, 2021|access-date=September 7, 2020|website=Princeton Reunions|publisher=Princeton University}}{{cite web|title=Cheers|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/current/cheers|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210506160328/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/current/cheers/|archive-date=May 6, 2021|access-date=September 7, 2020|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} Princeton students abide by the tradition of never exiting the campus through FitzRandolph Gates until one graduates. According to tradition, anyone who exits campus before their graduation will not graduate.{{Cite news|last=Spano|first=Susan|date=October 13, 1996|title=In Princeton, a Brief Ivy Interlude|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/13/travel/in-princeton-a-brief-ivy-interlude.html|access-date=June 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331|quote=Fearing dire consequences (like the flu during finals), undergraduates never walk out of FitzRandolph Gate on Nassau Street at the north side of campus, separating gown from town. Passage is reserved for graduating seniors, for whom it is a rite symbolizing entrance into the real world.|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625003502/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/13/travel/in-princeton-a-brief-ivy-interlude.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=O'Toole|first=Christine H.|date=May 14, 2008|title=Princeton Review; For Those Majoring in Sightseeing, Admission Is a Two-Wheel Breeze|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051302752.html|access-date=July 17, 2021|quote=We leave campus through the FitzRandolph Gates. Superstition keeps undergraduates from walking through to Nassau Street until graduation, but since that's not an issue for us, we cycle carefully across Nassau Street.|archive-date=May 15, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150515021545/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/13/AR2008051302752.html|url-status=live}} A more controversial tradition is Newman's Day, where some students attempt to drink 24 beers in the 24 hours of April 24. According to The New York Times, "the day got its name from an apocryphal quote attributed to Paul Newman: '24 beers in a case, 24 hours in a day. Coincidence? I think not.{{' "}}{{cite news|last=Cheng|first=Jonathan|date=April 22, 2004|title=Film Legend Bothered by Use of Name in Stunt at Princeton|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/22/education/22princeton.html|access-date=June 22, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=October 29, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029175958/http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/22/education/22princeton.html|url-status=live}} Newman has spoken out against the tradition. One of the biggest traditions celebrated annually are Reunions, which are massive annual gatherings of alumni.{{cite web|title=Reunions|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/reunions|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121212327/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/reunions|archive-date=January 21, 2021|access-date=July 15, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} At Reunions, a traditional parade of alumni and their families, known as the "P-rade", process through the campus.{{cite web|title=The P-rade|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/reunions/p-rade|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601203510/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/reunions/p-rade|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}

Princeton also has several traditions that have faded into the past. One of them was clapper theft, the act of climbing to the top of Nassau Hall to steal the bell clapper, which rings to signal the start of classes on the first day of the school year. For safety reasons, the clapper was permanently removed.{{Cite news|date=September 15, 1984|title=Princeton Decrees an End to a Freshman Tradition|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/15/nyregion/princeton-decrees-an-end-to-a-freshman-tradition.html|access-date=July 8, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210710012504/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/15/nyregion/princeton-decrees-an-end-to-a-freshman-tradition.html|url-status=live}} Another was the Nude Olympics, an annual nude and partially nude frolic in Holder Courtyard that used to take place during the first snow of the winter. Started in the early 1970s, the Nude Olympics went co-educational in 1979 and gained much notoriety with the American press. Due to issues of sexual harassment and safety reasons, the administration banned the Olympics in 2000 to the disappointment of students.{{Cite news|last=Demasters|first=Karen|date=April 4, 1999|title=SCHOOLS; Princeton Plans to Stop Streak of 'Nude Olympics'|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/04/nyregion/schools-princeton-plans-to-stop-streak-of-nude-olympics.html|access-date=June 23, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210625000011/https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/04/nyregion/schools-princeton-plans-to-stop-streak-of-nude-olympics.html|url-status=live}}{{Sfn|Axtell|2006|p=370}}

{{listen

| filename = Old Nassau.ogg

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"Old Nassau" has been Princeton University's school song since 1859, when it was written that year by freshman Harlan Page Peck. It was originally published in the Nassau Literary Magazine, where it won the magazine's prize for best college song. After an unsuccessful attempt at singing it to Auld Lang Syne's melody, Karl Langlotz, a Princeton professor, wrote the music for it.{{cite web|title='Old Nassau'|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/songs/old-nassau|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601185451/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/performing-arts/songs/old-nassau|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} In 1987, the university changed the gendered lyrics of "Old Nassau" to reflect the school's co-educational student body.{{Cite news|date=March 1, 1987|title=Princeton Song Goes Coed|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/01/nyregion/princeton-song-goes-coed.html|access-date=June 18, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624230928/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/03/01/nyregion/princeton-song-goes-coed.html|url-status=live}}

Tiger Transit is the bus system of the university, mostly open to the public and linking university campuses and areas around Princeton;{{cite web |title=TigerTransit |url=https://transportation.princeton.edu/options/tigertransit |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517124701/https://transportation.princeton.edu/options/tigertransit |archive-date=May 17, 2021 |access-date=June 19, 2021 |website=Transportation & Parking Services |publisher=Princeton University}} routes are updated upon community feedback. The service sees an average of 3,500 boardings per day on weekdays and 1,100 boardings per day on weekends.{{Cite web |last=Miao |first=Michelle |date=September 12, 2024 |title=TigerTransit changes routes for the new school year |url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2024/09/princeton-news-broadfocus-tigertransit-changes-for-new-school-year |access-date=2024-09-18 |website=The Princetonian |language=en-US}} NJ Transit provides bus service on the {{NJ bus link|600|606|609|prose=y}} lines and rail service on the Dinky, a small commuter train that provides service to the Princeton Junction Station.{{cite web|title=Public Transit|url=https://transportation.princeton.edu/options/public-transit|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028165010/http://transportation.princeton.edu/options/public-transit|archive-date=October 28, 2020|access-date=June 19, 2021|website=Transportation & Parking Services|publisher=Princeton University}} Coach USA, through their subsidiary Suburban Transit, provides bus service to New York City and other destinations in New Jersey.

{| class="wikitable floatright sortable collapsible"; text-align:right; font-size:80%;" style="width: 10%;"

|+ style="font-size:85%" |Student body composition as of May 2, 2022

|-

! Race and ethnicity{{cite web|title=College Scorecard: Princeton University|url=https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?186131-Princeton-University|publisher=United States Department of Education|access-date=May 8, 2022|archive-date=May 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502222802/https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?186131-Princeton-University|url-status=live}}

! colspan="2" data-sort-type=number |Total

|-

| White

|align=right| {{bartable|36|%|2||background:gray}}

|-

| Asian

|align=right| {{bartable|25|%|2||background:purple}}

|-

| Foreign national

|align=right| {{bartable|12|%|2||background:orange}}

|-

| Hispanic

|align=right| {{bartable|11|%|2||background:green}}

|-

| Black

|align=right| {{bartable|9|%|2||background:mediumblue}}

|-

| Other{{efn|Other consists of Multiracial Americans & those who prefer to not say.}}

|align=right| {{bartable|7|%|2||background:brown}}

|-

! colspan="4" data-sort-type=number |Economic diversity

|-

| Low-income{{efn|The percentage of students who received an income-based federal Pell grant intended for low-income students.}}

|align=right| {{bartable|23|%|2||background:red}}

|-

| Affluent{{efn|The percentage of students who are a part of the American middle class at the bare minimum.}}

|align=right| {{bartable|77|%|2||background:black}}

|}

Princeton has made significant progress in expanding the diversity of its student body in recent years. The 2021 admitted freshman class was one of the most diverse in the school's history, with 68% of students identifying as students of color.{{Cite news|last=Jiang|first=Albert|date=April 6, 2021|title=Princeton admits record-low 3.98% of applicants in historic application cycle|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/04/princeton-college-admissions-class-of-2025-ivy-league|access-date=June 21, 2021|archive-date=April 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414033549/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2021/04/princeton-college-admissions-class-of-2025-ivy-league|url-status=live}} The university has worked to increase its enrollment of first-generation and low-income students in recent years.{{Cite news|last=Korn|first=Melissa|date=April 19, 2021|title=Princeton Gets $20 Million From Bloomberg Philanthropies Toward Diversity|language=en-US|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/princeton-gets-20-million-from-bloomberg-philanthropies-toward-diversity-11618824600|access-date=June 21, 2021|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=June 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205357/https://www.wsj.com/articles/princeton-gets-20-million-from-bloomberg-philanthropies-toward-diversity-11618824600|url-status=live}} The median family income of Princeton students is $186,100, with 72% of students coming from the top 20% highest-earning families.{{cite news|last1=Aisch|first1=Gregor|last2=Buchanan|first2=Larry|last3=Cox|first3=Amanda|last4=Quealy|first4=Kevin|date=January 18, 2017|title=Economic diversity and student outcomes at Princeton|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/princeton-university|access-date=August 9, 2020|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728031146/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/college-mobility/princeton-university|url-status=live}} In 2017, 22% of freshman qualified for federal Pell Grants, above the 16% average for the top 150 schools ranked by the U.S. News & World Report; nationwide, the average was 44%.{{Cite news|last=Anderson|first=Nick|date=October 23, 2017|title=How an Ivy got less preppy: Princeton draws surge of students from modest means|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-an-ivy-got-less-preppy-princeton-draws-surge-of-students-from-modest-means/2017/10/23/b66955b6-a770-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html|access-date=June 21, 2021|archive-date=November 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129024039/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/how-an-ivy-got-less-preppy-princeton-draws-surge-of-students-from-modest-means/2017/10/23/b66955b6-a770-11e7-850e-2bdd1236be5d_story.html|url-status=live}} Based on data in a 2019 article in The Daily Princetonian, 10% of students hail from Bloomberg's 2018 list of "100 richest places", and that the top 20% of high schools send as many students to Princeton as the bottom 80%.{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Liam|date=October 9, 2019|title=Geography is destiny at Princeton|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/10/geography-is-destiny-at-princeton|access-date=July 13, 2021|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713065055/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/10/geography-is-destiny-at-princeton|url-status=live}}

In 1999, 10% of the student body was Jewish, a percentage lower than those at other Ivy League schools. 16% of the student body was Jewish in 1985; the number decreased by 40% from 1985 to 1999. This decline prompted The Daily Princetonian to write a series of articles on the decline and its reasons. The New York Observer wrote that Princeton was "long dogged by a reputation for anti-Semitism" and that this history as well as Princeton's elite status caused the university and its community to feel sensitivity towards the decrease of Jewish students. In the Observer, several theories are proposed for the drop, ranging from campus culture to changing admission policies to national patterns.{{cite news|author=Pam, Caroline C.|date=May 31, 1999|title=Enrollment of Jews at Princeton Drops by 40 Percent in 15 Years|newspaper=The New York Observer|url=http://observer.com/1999/05/enrollment-of-jews-at-princeton-drops-by-40-percent-in-15-years/|access-date=August 31, 2018|archive-date=August 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180831071855/http://observer.com/1999/05/enrollment-of-jews-at-princeton-drops-by-40-percent-in-15-years/|url-status=live}} As of 2021, according to the Center for Jewish Life on campus, the university has approximately 700 Jewish students.{{cite web|date=October 19, 2015|title=FAQs|url=https://hillel.princeton.edu/about-us/faqs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719085756/https://hillel.princeton.edu/about-us/faqs|archive-date=July 19, 2021|access-date=July 17, 2021|website=Center for Jewish Life|publisher=Princeton University|language=en|quote=Our community is comprised of 700 Jewish students from various backgrounds...}} As of 2024, according to Hillel International, there are approximately 450 Jewish undergraduates at Princeton, comprising about 8.6% of the undergraduate student body. In addition, about 250 Jewish graduate students are enrolled at Princeton, comprising about 7.9% of the graduate student body.{{cite news|author=Hillel International|date=January 22, 2025|title=Explore Princeton Hillel, Center for Jewish Life|newspaper=Hillel International|url=https://www.hillel.org/college/princeton-university/|access-date=January 22, 2025}} Consequently, as American Jews are accounting for 2.4% of the total US population, there are 358% more Jews among students at Princeton than Jews among the total US population, which makes Jewish students the best represented minority group at Princeton.

Starting in 1967, African American enrollment surged from 1.7% to 10% but has stagnated ever since.{{Cite news|last=O'Connor|first=Liam|date=June 25, 2020|title=A brief history of Princeton admissions|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/06/brief-history-of-admissions-princeton-diversity-representation-gender-race|access-date=July 13, 2021|archive-date=July 13, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713065043/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/06/brief-history-of-admissions-princeton-diversity-representation-gender-race|url-status=live}} Bruce M. Wright was admitted into the university in 1936 as the first African American; however, his admission was a mistake and when he got to campus he was asked to leave. Three years later Wright asked the dean for an explanation on his dismissal and the dean suggested to him that "a member of your race might feel very much alone" at Princeton University.{{Cite book|last=Mundy|first=Liza|url=https://archive.org/details/michellebiograph00mund/page/68|title=Michelle: A Biography|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4165-9943-2|location=New York City|pages=[https://archive.org/details/michellebiograph00mund/page/68 68–69]|url-access=registration}} Princeton would not admit its first Black students until in 1945 when Princeton instituted the V-12 program on campus.{{Sfn|Bradley|2010|p=113}} In 1947, John L. Howard, one of the four naval cadets admitted to the program, would become the first Black student to graduate with a bachelor's degree.{{Sfn|Bradley|2010|p=114}}{{Cite news|last=Dubrovsky|first=Gertrude|date=June 7, 1981|title=Princeton: Thorns Among the Ivy|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/07/nyregion/princeton-thorns-among-the-ivy.html|access-date=July 19, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719045355/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/07/nyregion/princeton-thorns-among-the-ivy.html|url-status=live}}

{{Main|Princeton Tigers}}

File:Princeton University Cleo tiger.jpg

Princeton supports organized athletics at three levels: varsity intercollegiate, club intercollegiate, and intramural. It also provides "a variety of physical education and recreational programs" for members of the Princeton community.{{cite web|date=June 18, 2006|title=Mission Statement|url=http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=295151|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223084238/http://www.goprincetontigers.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10600&ATCLID=295151|archive-date=December 23, 2011|access-date=June 1, 2011|publisher=Princeton Athletic Communications}} Most undergraduates participate in athletics at some level.{{cite web|title=Athletics & Fitness|url=https://www.princeton.edu/main/campuslife/athletics/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629123253/https://www.princeton.edu/main/campuslife/athletics/|archive-date=June 29, 2011|access-date=June 1, 2011|publisher=Princeton University}} Princeton's colors are orange and black. The school's athletes are known as the Tigers, and the mascot is a tiger.{{cite web|title=The Tiger|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/things-princeton/tiger|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121201802/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/things-princeton/tiger|archive-date=January 21, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}} The Princeton administration considered naming the mascot in 2007, but the effort was dropped in the face of alumni and student opposition.{{cite news|last=Breger|first=Esther|date=September 11, 2007|title=Mascot revamped but still 'The Tiger'|newspaper=The Daily Princetonian|url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/09/11/18534/|url-status=dead|access-date=June 1, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516224507/http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2007/09/11/18534/|archive-date=May 16, 2011}}

{{Main|Princeton Tigers}}

File:Princeton Tigers vs Lehigh.jpg football, September 2007|left|alt=A picture showing a football match between Princeton University and Lehigh University in September 2007]]

Princeton hosts 37 men's and women's varsity sports. Princeton is an NCAA Division I school, with its athletic conference being the Ivy League.{{cite web|title=Princeton University|url=https://www.ncaa.com/schools/princeton|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711063209/https://www.ncaa.com/schools/princeton|archive-date=July 11, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=NCAA|language=en}} Its rowing teams compete in the Eastern Association of Rowing Colleges, and its men's volleyball team competes in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association.{{cite web|title=NCAA Directory – Directory – Organization Detail|url=https://web3.ncaa.org/directory/orgDetail?id=554|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711121044/https://web3.ncaa.org/directory/orgDetail?id=554|archive-date=July 11, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=NCAA Directory}} Princeton's sailing team, though a club sport, competes at the varsity level in the MAISA conference of the Inter-Collegiate Sailing Association.{{cite web|title=About Us / Recruits|url=http://princetonsailing.com/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210721063851/https://princetonsailing.com/about-us/|archive-date=July 21, 2021|access-date=July 21, 2021|website=Princeton Sailing|publisher=Princeton University}}

Princeton's football team competes in the Football Championship Subdivision of NCAA Division I with the rest of the Ivy League.{{cite web|last=Pichini|first=Luke|date=October 7, 2020|title=The Evolution of Ivy League Football|url=https://cornellsun.com/2020/10/07/the-evolution-of-ivy-league-football/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Cornell Daily Sun|language=en-US|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182037/https://cornellsun.com/2020/10/07/the-evolution-of-ivy-league-football/|url-status=live}} Princeton played against Rutgers University in the first intercollegiate football game in the U.S. on November 6, 1869; Rutgers won the game.{{cite web|title=The First Game: Nov. 6, 1869|url=https://scarletknights.com/sports/2017/6/11/sports-m-footbl-archive-first-game-html.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526040911/https://scarletknights.com/sports/2017/6/11/sports-m-footbl-archive-first-game-html.aspx|archive-date=May 26, 2021|access-date=June 27, 2021|publisher=Rutgers University Athletics}} From 1877 until at least 1903, Princeton played football using rugby rules.Daily Princetonian, Volume 28, Number 119, November 16, 1903, https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/?a=d&d=Princetonian19031116-01.2.12&srpos=3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-Football+rugby+1903------ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420104008/https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/?a=d&d=Princetonian19031116-01.2.12&srpos=3&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-Football+rugby+1903------ |date=April 20, 2023 }}

As of 2021, Princeton claims 28 national football championships, which would make it the most of any school, although the NCAA only recognizes 15 of the wins.{{cite web|last=Wilco|first=Daniel|date=January 12, 2021|title=College football teams with the most national championships|url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-01-12/college-football-teams-most-national-championships|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419134228/https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2021-01-12/college-football-teams-most-national-championships|archive-date=April 19, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=NCAA|language=en}}{{cite web|last=Pryor|first=Maddy|date=November 6, 2019|title=Princeton Tigers celebrate 150 years of college football|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/11/06/princeton-tigers-celebrate-150-years-college-football|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525093935/https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/11/06/princeton-tigers-celebrate-150-years-college-football|archive-date=May 25, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princeton University|language=en}} With its last win being in 2018, Princeton has won 12 Ivy League championships.{{cite web|last=Sachson|first=Craig|title=Football Ivy League Championships|url=https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/6/27/football-ivy-league-championships.aspx?id=996|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711174220/https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/6/27/football-ivy-league-championships.aspx?id=996|archive-date=July 11, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princeton University Athletics|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} In 1951, Dick Kazmaier won Princeton its only Heisman Trophy, the last to come from the Ivy League.{{cite web|title=Dick Kazmaier|url=https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/dick-kazmaier/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210512211431/https://www.heisman.com/heisman-winners/dick-kazmaier/|archive-date=May 12, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Heisman Trophy|language=en-US}}

The men's basketball program is noted for its success under Pete Carril, the head coach from 1967 to 1996. During this time, Princeton won 13 Ivy League titles and made 11 NCAA tournament appearances. Carril introduced the Princeton offense, an offensive strategy that has since been adopted by a number of college and professional basketball teams.{{cite news|last=Branch|first=John|date=March 30, 2007|title=Carril Is Yoda to Notion of Perpetual Motion|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30carril.html|access-date=June 1, 2011|archive-date=March 22, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110322220855/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/30/sports/ncaabasketball/30carril.html?|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|last=Cohen|first=Ben|date=March 7, 2017|title=Pete Carril Saw the Future of Basketball|work=The Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/pete-carril-saw-the-future-of-basketball-1488903876|access-date=July 1, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181821/https://www.wsj.com/articles/pete-carril-saw-the-future-of-basketball-1488903876|url-status=live}} Carril's final victory at Princeton came when the Tigers beat UCLA, the defending national champion, in the opening round of the 1996 NCAA tournament. On December 14, 2005, Princeton tied the record for the fewest points in a Division I game since the institution of the three-point line in 1986–87, when the Tigers scored 21 points in a loss against Monmouth University.{{Cite news|date=December 15, 2005|title=Princeton Falls in an N.C.A.A. Low|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/sports/ncaabasketball/princeton-falls-in-an-ncaa-low.html|access-date=July 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183422/https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/15/sports/ncaabasketball/princeton-falls-in-an-ncaa-low.html|url-status=live}}

Princeton women's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship semi-finals in 2004, becoming the first Ivy League team to do so in a 64 team setting.{{cite web|date=July 1, 2020|title=Program of the Postseason: Looking Back at Princeton Women's Soccer's Longest NCAA Tournament Runs|url=https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2020/7/1/womens-soccer-program-of-the-postseason-looking-back-at-princetons-longest-ncaa-tournament-runs.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711042948/https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2020/7/1/womens-soccer-program-of-the-postseason-looking-back-at-princetons-longest-ncaa-tournament-runs.aspx|archive-date=July 11, 2021|access-date=July 1, 2021|website=Princeton University Athletics|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}{{cite news|date=December 2, 2004|title=For Princeton and Ivy League, Final Four at Last|work=The New York Times|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9905EFD71E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63.html|access-date=June 17, 2015|archive-date=June 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615083523/https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-9905EFD71E3EF931A35751C1A9629C8B63.html|url-status=live}} The men's soccer team was coached from 1984 to 1995 by Princeton alumnus and future United States men's national team manager Bob Bradley, who lead the Tigers to win two Ivy League titles and make an appearance at the NCAA Final Four in 1993.{{cite web|date=December 8, 2006|title=Bob Bradley '80 Named Interim Head Coach of U.S. Men's Soccer National Team|url=https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2006/12/8/717501|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182832/https://goprincetontigers.com/news/2006/12/8/717501|archive-date=July 9, 2021|access-date=July 1, 2021|website=Princeton University Athletics|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Princeton's men's lacrosse program undertook a period of notable success from 1992 to 2001, during which time it won six national championships.{{cite web|title=DI Men's Lacrosse Championship History|url=https://www.ncaa.com/history/lacrosse-men/d1|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182135/https://www.ncaa.com/history/lacrosse-men/d1|archive-date=July 9, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=NCAA|language=en}} In 2012, its field hockey team became the first in the Ivy League to win a national championship.{{Cite news|last=Selover|first=Alissa|date=February 9, 2020|title=The first to 500: After wrestling victory, Princeton first to secure 500 Ivy League championships|work=The Daily Princetonian|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/02/the-first-to-500-princeton-first-ivy-league-to-secure-500th-ivy-league-championship|access-date=July 7, 2021|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709185425/https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/02/the-first-to-500-princeton-first-ivy-league-to-secure-500th-ivy-league-championship|url-status=live}}

Princeton has won at least one Ivy League title every year since 1957, and it became the first university in its conference to win over 500 Ivy League athletic championships. From 1896 to 2018, 113 athletes from Princeton have competed in the Olympics, winning 19 gold medals, 24 silver medals, and 23 bronze medals.{{cite web|title=Princeton All-Time Olympians|url=https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/7/13/princeton-all-time-olympians.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526163358/https://goprincetontigers.com/sports/2016/7/13/princeton-all-time-olympians.aspx|archive-date=May 26, 2021|access-date=July 8, 2021|website=Princeton University Athletics|publisher=Princeton University}}

File:1877 Cane Spree, Scribner's Magazine.png depicted in 1877]]

In addition to varsity sports, Princeton hosts 37 club sports teams, which are open to all Princeton students of any skill level.{{cite web|title=Princeton Sport Clubs|url=https://campusrec.princeton.edu/sport-clubs|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629032502/https://campusrec.princeton.edu/sport-clubs|archive-date=June 29, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Campus Recreation|publisher=Princeton University}} Teams compete against other collegiate teams both in the Northeast and nationally. The intramural sports program is also available on campus, which schedules competitions between residential colleges, eating clubs, independent groups, students, and faculty and staff.{{cite web|title=Activities & Organizations|url=https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/activities-organizations|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210601100409/https://www.princeton.edu/one-community/activities-organizations|archive-date=June 1, 2021|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Several leagues with differing levels of competitiveness are available.{{cite web|title=Frequently Asked Question's|url=https://campusrec.princeton.edu/intramural-sports/faqs|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Campus Recreation|publisher=Princeton University|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709181843/https://campusrec.princeton.edu/intramural-sports/faqs|url-status=live}}

In the fall, freshman and sophomores participate in the intramural athletic competition called Cane Spree. Although the event centers on cane wrestling, freshman and sophomores compete in other sports and competitions. This commemorates a time in the 1870s when sophomores, angry with the freshmen who strutted around with fancy canes, stole all of the canes from the freshmen, hitting them with their own canes in the process.{{cite web|title=Cane Spree|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/current/cane-spree|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121213955/https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/current/cane-spree|archive-date=January 21, 2021|access-date=June 22, 2021|website=Princetoniana|publisher=Princeton University}}

{{Main list|List of Princeton University people|List of Nobel laureates affiliated with Princeton University as alumni or faculty}}

{{Main category|Princeton University alumni}}

File:Princeton University Class of 1879.jpg, Mahlon Pitney, Daniel Barringer, and Charles Talcott|alt=A picture of the Princeton University Class of 1879, posing on the steps of the John C. Green School of Science]]

U.S. Presidents James Madison and Woodrow Wilson and vice presidents Aaron Burr, George M. Dallas, and John Breckinridge graduated from Princeton,{{cite web|last=Napoliello|first=Alex|date=November 13, 2013|title=Princeton University 4th largest producer of U.S. presidents, vice presidents|url=https://www.nj.com/politics/2013/11/post_43.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=NJ.com|language=en}} as did Michelle Obama, the former First Lady of the United States.{{cite web|last=Whitford|first=Emma|date=November 14, 2018|title=Michelle Obama talks about her experience at Princeton for the first time in new book|url=https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/14/michelle-obama-talks-about-her-experience-princeton-first-time-new-book|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Inside Higher Ed|language=en}} Former Chief Justice of the United States Oliver Ellsworth was an alumnus, as are current U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justices Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, and Sonia Sotomayor.{{cite web|last=Cliatt|first=Cass|date=August 5, 2010|title=Princeton alumna confirmed to U.S. Supreme Court|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2010/08/05/princeton-alumna-confirmed-us-supreme-court|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princeton University|language=en}} Alumnus Jerome Powell was appointed as Chair of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board in 2018.{{cite web|last=Shen|first=Allan|date=November 1, 2020|title=Jerome 'Jay' Powell '75: Chair of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve|url=https://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2020/10/2020-alumni-politics-influence-jerome-powell-federal-reserve-system|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Daily Princetonian}} Pete Hegseth, 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense, is a 2003 graduate of Princeton.{{cite web|title=Secretary of Defense HON Pete Hegseth|url=https://www.defense.gov/About/Secretary-of-Defense/|access-date=February 4, 2025|website=U.S. Department of Defense|language=en}}

Princeton graduates played a major role in the American Revolution, including the first and last Colonels to die on the Patriot side Philip Johnston{{cite web|last=Lange|first=Gregg|date=December 1, 2016|title=Rally 'Round the Cannon: Lessons of Motivation and Desperation|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/rally-round-cannon-lessons-motivation-and-desperation|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princeton Alumni Weekly|language=en}} and Nathaniel Scudder,{{Cite journal|last=Stryker|first=William S.|date=1879|title=Nathaniel Scudder|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20084400|journal=The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography|volume=3|issue=2|pages=189–191|jstor=20084400}} as well as the highest ranking civilian leader on the British side David Mathews.{{Cite book|last=Collins|first=Varnum Lansing|title=Princeton|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1914|location=New York|page=185|oclc=963489180}}

Notable graduates of Princeton's School of Engineering and Applied Science include Apollo astronaut and commander of Apollo 12 Pete Conrad,{{Cite news|last=Wren|first=Christopher S.|date=July 10, 1999|title=Pete Conrad, 69, the Third Man to Walk on the Moon, Dies After a Motorcycle Crash|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/07/10/us/pete-conrad-69-the-third-man-to-walk-on-the-moon-dies-after-a-motorcycle-crash.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Amazon CEO and founder Jeff Bezos,{{cite web|last=Locke|first=Taylor|date=February 8, 2020|title=The 'aha' moment that changed Jeff Bezos' life|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/07/amazon-ceo-jeff-bezos-aha-moment-that-changed-his-life.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}} former chairman of Alphabet Inc. Eric Schmidt,{{cite web|date=December 3, 2020|title=Eric and Wendy Schmidt endow new professorship of Indigenous studies at Princeton|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2020/12/03/eric-and-wendy-schmidt-endow-new-professorship-indigenous-studies-princeton|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} and Lisa P. Jackson, former Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.{{cite web|last=Dienst|first=Karin|date=December 8, 2014|title=Lisa P. Jackson, environmental leader, named Baccalaureate speaker|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2014/12/08/lisa-p-jackson-environmental-leader-named-baccalaureate-speaker|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

Actors Jimmy Stewart,{{Cite news|last=Pristin|first=Terry|date=May 31, 1997|title=Jimmy Stewart Honored|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/31/nyregion/jimmy-stewart-honored.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190751/https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/31/nyregion/jimmy-stewart-honored.html |archive-date= Jul 9, 2021 }} Wentworth Miller,{{Cite news|last=Crook|first=John|date=March 12, 2006|title=Wentworth Miller|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-03-12-0603120398-story.html|access-date=July 2, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808200046/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2006-03-12-0603120398-story.html |archive-date= Aug 8, 2022 }} José Ferrer,{{Cite news|last=Weil|first=Martin|date=January 27, 1992|title=Oscar-winner Jose Ferrer Dies |url-access=subscription |newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/01/27/oscar-winner-jose-ferrer-dies/9fdf12d8-c596-4423-951c-3f95e70a8ff2/|access-date=July 2, 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240520003918/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/01/27/oscar-winner-jose-ferrer-dies/9fdf12d8-c596-4423-951c-3f95e70a8ff2/ |archive-date= 20 May 2024 }} David Duchovny,{{Cite news|last=Netburn|first=Deborah|date=September 27, 2007|title=10 things you didn't know about David Duchovny|work=Chicago Tribune|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/la-et-duchovny27sep27-story.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=July 2, 2021|quote=...he went to Princeton... |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182418/https://www.chicagotribune.com/la-et-duchovny27sep27-story.html |archive-date= Jul 9, 2021 }} and Brooke Shields{{Cite news|last=Peterson|first=Iver|date=June 9, 1987|title=Brooke Shields, '87: a Princeton Farewell |url-access=subscription |language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/09/nyregion/brooke-shields-87-a-princeton-farewell.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708160921/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/09/nyregion/brooke-shields-87-a-princeton-farewell.html |archive-date= Jul 8, 2021 }} graduated from Princeton, as did composers Edward T. Cone and Milton Babbitt.{{cite web|title=Arts, Culture and Entertainment|url=https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/people/alumni/arts-culture-entertainment|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princetoniana}} Soccer-player alumna, Diana Matheson, scored the game-winning goal that earned Canada their Olympic bronze medal in 2012.{{Cite news|date=August 9, 2012|title=London Olympics: Princeton alum Diana Matheson clinches soccer bronze for Canada|work=NJ.com|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.nj.com/olympics/2012/08/london_olympics_princeton_alum.html|access-date=July 2, 2021}}

File:Alan Turing (1912-1954) at Princeton University in 1936.jpg's academic journey]]

Writers Booth Tarkington,{{Cite magazine|last=Gottlieb|first=Robert|date=November 4, 2019|title=The Rise and Fall of Booth Tarkington|magazine=The New Yorker|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/11/11/the-rise-and-fall-of-booth-tarkington|access-date=July 2, 2021}} F. Scott Fitzgerald,{{Cite news|last=Margaret|first=Anne|date=November 19, 2016|title=F. Scott Fitzgerald, A Princeton Graduate With His Diploma At Last|work=Huffington Post|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/f-scott-fitzgerald-a-princeton-graduate-at-last_b_582fdb44e4b0eaa5f14d450f|access-date=July 2, 2021}} and Eugene O'Neill{{cite web|title=Eugene O'Neill – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/literature/1936/oneill/biographical/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Nobel Prize}} attended but did not graduate. Writer Selden Edwards{{Cite news|date=September 24, 2008|title=A novel is born|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/novel-born|access-date=July 2, 2021}} and poet W. S. Merwin{{Cite news|last=Hale|first=Constance|date=February 12, 2020|title=Lives: W.S. Merwin '48|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/lives-ws-merwin-48|access-date=July 2, 2021}} graduated from Princeton. American novelist Jodi Picoult{{Cite news|date=May 13, 2015|title=Ask The Author: Jodi Picoult '87|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/ask-author-jodi-picoult-%E2%80%9987|access-date=July 2, 2021}} and author David Remnick{{cite web|last=Mbugua|first=Martin|date=April 4, 2013|title=David Remnick selected as Class Day speaker|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2013/04/04/david-remnick-selected-class-day-speaker|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=Princeton University}} graduated. Pulitzer prize-winning journalists Barton Gellman{{cite web|title=Barton Gellman|url=https://tcf.org/experts/barton-gellman/?agreed=1|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Century Foundation| date=October 31, 2017 }} and Lorraine Adams,{{Cite news|date=June 2, 2010|title=From journalism to fiction|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/journalism-fiction|access-date=July 2, 2021}} as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa,{{Cite news|date=October 8, 2021|title=Princeton alumna Maria Ressa wins Nobel Peace Prize|work=Princeton Office of Communications|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2021/10/08/princeton-alumna-maria-ressa-wins-nobel-peace-prize|access-date=December 10, 2021}} are Princeton alumni. William P. Ross, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation and founding editor of the Cherokee Advocate, graduated in 1844.{{cite web|last=Mack|first=Jessica R.|title=William Potter Ross|url=https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/william-potter-ross|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Princeton & Slavery|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}}

Notable graduate alumni include Allen Shenstone,{{Cite journal |last=Garton |first=W. R. S. |date=1981 |title=Allen Goodrich Shenstone. 27 July 1893-16 February 1980 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/769882 |journal=Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society |volume=27 |pages=505–523 |jstor=769882 |issn=0080-4606}} Pedro Pablo Kuczynski,{{cite web|last=Aronson|first=Emily|date=February 25, 2017|title=Alumni Day honorees Kuczynski, Schmidt stress solutions for global challenges|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2017/02/25/alumni-day-honorees-kuczynski-schmidt-stress-solutions-global-challenges|access-date=July 2, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Thornton Wilder,{{Cite news|last=Whitman|first=Alden|date=December 8, 1975|title=Thornton Wilder Is. Dead at 78; Won 3 Pulitzers for His Work|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/08/archives/thornton-wilder-is-dead-at-78-won-3-pulitzers-for-his-work-thornton.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Richard Feynman,{{Cite news|last=Gleick|first=James|date=February 17, 1988|title=Richard Feynman Dead at 69; Leading Theoretical Physicist|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/17/obituaries/richard-feynman-dead-at-69-leading-theoretical-physicist.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Lee Iacocca,{{Cite news|date=January 8, 2020|title=Lee A. Iacocca *46|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/memorial/lee-iacocca-46|access-date=July 2, 2021}} John Nash,{{Cite news|last=Goode|first=Erica|date=May 24, 2015|title=John F. Nash Jr., Math Genius Defined by a 'Beautiful Mind,' Dies at 86|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/25/science/john-nash-a-beautiful-mind-subject-and-nobel-winner-dies-at-86.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Alonzo Church,{{Cite news|last=Wade|first=Nicholas|date=September 5, 1995|title=Alonzo Church, 92, Theorist Of the Limits of Mathematics|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/05/obituaries/alonzo-church-92-theorist-of-the-limits-of-mathematics.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Alan Turing,{{Cite news|last=Cowell|first=Alan|date=June 5, 2019|title=Overlooked No More: Alan Turing, Condemned Code Breaker and Computer Visionary|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/05/obituaries/alan-turing-overlooked.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Terence Tao,{{Cite news|last=Bernstein|first=Mark F.|date=November 13, 2019|title=Mind of a Mathematician|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/mind-mathematician|access-date=July 2, 2021}} Edward Witten,{{cite web|date=December 9, 2019|title=Edward Witten – Scholars|url=https://www.ias.edu/scholars/witten|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Institute for Advanced Study|language=en}} John Milnor,{{cite web|date=December 9, 2019|title=John Willard Milnor – Scholars|url=https://www.ias.edu/scholars/john-willard-milnor|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=Institute for Advanced Study|language=en}} John Bardeen,{{cite web|title=John Bardeen – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1956/bardeen/biographical/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Nobel Prize|language=en-US}} Steven Weinberg,{{cite web|title=Steven Weinberg – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1979/weinberg/biographical/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=The Nobel Prize|language=en-US}} John Tate,{{Cite news|last=Chang|first=Kenneth|date=October 28, 2019|title=John T. Tate, Familiar Name in the World of Numbers, Dies at 94|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/science/john-t-tate-dead.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} and David Petraeus.{{Cite news|last=Shane|first=Scott|date=September 27, 2012|title=Petraeus Eyes Presidency of Princeton, Article Says|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/us/politics/petraeus-is-eyeing-princetons-top-job-paper-says.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Royals such as Prince Moulay Hicham of Morocco,{{Cite news|last=Alami|first=Aida|date=May 9, 2014|title=Rebel Prince Shines a Harsh Light on Morocco|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/10/world/africa/moroccos-rebel-prince.html|access-date=July 2, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud,{{cite web|title=H.R.H. Prince Turki Al Faisal Al Saud|url=https://www.weforum.org/people/turki-al-faisal-al-saud/|access-date=July 2, 2021|website=World Economic Forum|language=en}} and Queen Noor of Jordan{{Cite news|last=Corzine|first=Douglas|date=June 15, 2018|title=Becoming Queen|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/paw-archives-becoming-queen|access-date=July 2, 2021}} attended Princeton.

{{Main category|Princeton University faculty}}

As of 2021, notable current faculty members include Angus Deaton,{{cite web|title=Professor Sir Angus Deaton|url=https://scholar.princeton.edu/deaton/home|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=scholar.princeton.edu|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Robert Keohane,{{cite web|title=Robert O. Keohane|url=https://scholar.princeton.edu/rkeohane/home|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=scholar.princeton.edu|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Edward W. Felten,{{cite web|title=Edward Felten|url=https://www.cs.princeton.edu/people/profile/felten|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Department of Computer Science|publisher=Princeton University}} Anthony Grafton,{{cite web|title=Anthony Grafton|url=https://history.princeton.edu/people/anthony-grafton|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Department of History|publisher=Princeton University}} Peter Singer,{{cite web|title=Peter Singer|url=https://uchv.princeton.edu/people/peter-singer|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=University Center for Human Values|publisher=Princeton University}} Jim Peebles,{{cite web|title=P. James Peebles|url=https://phy.princeton.edu/people/p-james-peebles|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Princeton Physics|publisher=Princeton University}} Manjul Bhargava,{{cite web|title=Manjul Bhargava|url=https://www.math.princeton.edu/people/manjul-bhargava|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Department of Mathematics|publisher=Princeton University}} Brian Kernighan,{{cite web|title=Brian Kernighan|url=https://www.cs.princeton.edu/people/profile/bwk|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Department of Computer Science|publisher=Princeton University}} Betsy Levy Paluck{{cite web |title=Betsy Levy Paluck |url=https://www.macfound.org/fellows/class-of-2017/betsy-levy-paluck |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=www.macfound.org |language=en}} and Robert P. George.{{cite web|title=Robert P. George|url=https://lapa.princeton.edu/people/robert-p-george|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Program in Law and Public Affairs|publisher=Princeton University|archive-date=September 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210922213436/https://lapa.princeton.edu/people/robert-p-george|url-status=dead}} Notable former faculty members include John Witherspoon,{{cite web|last=Redmond|first=Lesa|title=John Witherspoon|url=https://slavery.princeton.edu/stories/john-witherspoon|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Princeton & Slavery|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Walter Kaufmann,{{cite web|title=Walter A. Kaufmann|url=https://philosophy.princeton.edu/about/great-and-good/walter-kaufmann|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Department of Philosophy|publisher=Princeton University}} John von Neumann,{{cite web|title=John von Neumann|url=https://lemelson.mit.edu/resources/john-von-neumann|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Lemelson-MIT|publisher=MIT}} Ben Bernanke,{{cite web|date=July 4, 2016|title=Ben S. Bernanke|url=https://www.brookings.edu/experts/ben-s-bernanke/|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Brookings|language=en-US}} Paul Krugman,{{cite web|title=Paul R. Krugman|url=https://dof.princeton.edu/about/clerk-faculty/emeritus/paul-r-krugman|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of the Faculty|publisher=Princeton University|archive-date=July 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183619/https://dof.princeton.edu/about/clerk-faculty/emeritus/paul-r-krugman|url-status=dead}} Joseph Henry,{{cite web|title=Joseph Henry, 1797–1878|url=https://phy.princeton.edu/department/history/faculty-history/joseph-henry|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Princeton Physics|publisher=Princeton University}} Toni Morrison,{{cite web|date=August 6, 2019|title=Toni Morrison, Nobel-winning author and emeritus Princeton faculty member, dies at 88|url=https://www.princeton.edu/news/2019/08/06/toni-morrison-nobel-winning-author-and-emeritus-princeton-faculty-member-dies-88|access-date=July 3, 2021|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} Joyce Carol Oates,{{cite news|title=Joyce Carol Oates|url=https://dof.princeton.edu/about/clerk-faculty/emeritus/joyce-carol-oates|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of the Faculty|publisher=Princeton University}} Michael Mullen,{{cite web|date=October 29, 2019|title=Admiral Michael G. Mullen Elected as New Caltech Trustee|url=https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/admiral-michael-g-mullen-elected-new-caltech-trustee|access-date=July 3, 2021|publisher=California Institute of Technology|language=en}} Andrew Wiles,{{cite web|title=Andrew John Wiles|url=https://dof.princeton.edu/about/clerk-faculty/emeritus/andrew-john-wiles|url-status=dead|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=Office of the Dean of the Faculty|publisher=Princeton University|archive-date=November 5, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211105042955/https://dof.princeton.edu/about/clerk-faculty/emeritus/andrew-john-wiles}} Jhumpa Lahiri,{{cite web |date=August 27, 2019 |title=Jhumpa Lahiri Named Director of Princeton University's Program in Creative Writing |url=https://arts.princeton.edu/news/2019/08/jhumpa-lahiri-named-director-of-princeton-universitys-program-in-creative-writing/ |access-date=July 3, 2021 |website=Lewis Center for the Arts |publisher=Princeton University |language=en-US}} Cornel West,{{cite web |date=August 25, 2016 |title=Cornel West |url=https://religion.princeton.edu/people/faculty/emeriti-faculty/cornel-west/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709182628/https://religion.princeton.edu/people/faculty/emeriti-faculty/cornel-west/ |archive-date=July 9, 2021 |access-date=July 3, 2021 |website=Department of Religion at Princeton |publisher=Princeton University |language=en}} Daniel Kahneman,{{cite web|title=Daniel Kahneman|url=https://scholar.princeton.edu/kahneman/home|access-date=July 3, 2021|website=scholar.princeton.edu|publisher=Princeton University|language=en}} and alumnus Woodrow Wilson.

Albert Einstein, though on the faculty at the Institute for Advanced Study rather than at Princeton, came to be associated with the university through frequent lectures and visits on the campus.{{Cite news|last=Achenbach|first=Joel|date=May 2021|title=Einstein at Princeton|work=Princeton Alumni Weekly|url=https://paw.princeton.edu/article/einstein-princeton|access-date=July 3, 2021}}

Princeton University is widely considered to be an institution that affiliates with and produces some of the most elite members of society. The university's reputation has made it a frequent reference in media.

• This Side of Paradise (1920): In F. Scott Fitzgerald's debut novel, the narrator, Amory Blaine details his life at Princeton, dabbling in literature and unfulfilled romances.
• A Beautiful Mind (2001): A biographical film centered around the award-winning mathematician, John Nash, featuring him studying for his PhD at Princeton in the first part of the film.
• A Cinderella Story (2004): The main love interest, Austin Ames dreams of becoming a writer and gets accepted into Princeton.
• The Rule of Four (2004): A thriller novel by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason about four Princeton seniors: Tom, Paul, Charlie and Gil try to solve the mystery of a coded manuscript.
• Never Have I Ever (2020): The protagonist, Devi Vishwakumar gets accepted into Princeton.
• Oppenheimer (2023): The biographical film tells the story of J. Robert Oppenheimer, the theoretical physicist who led the Manhattan Project during World War II. It featured Princeton as Oppenheimer was the director of Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study (IAS).
• Across the Spider-Verse (2023): Princeton is mentioned as the dream school of Miles Morales, the protagonist.

• Big Three (colleges)
• Higher education in New Jersey
• Ivy League
• Princeton University Department of Physics
• The Princeton University Summer Journalism Program

{{Notelist}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last=Axtell|first=James|title=The Making of Princeton University: From Woodrow Wilson to the Present|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2006|isbn=978-0-691-12686-9|location=Princeton|author-link=James Axtell}}
• {{cite journal|last=Bradley|first=Stefan M.|date=2010|title=The Southern-Most Ivy: Princeton University from Jim Crow Admissions to Anti-Apartheid Protests, 1794-1969|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41472298|journal=American Studies|publisher=Mid-America American Studies Association|volume=51|issue=3/4|pages=109–130|doi=10.1353/ams.2010.0129|jstor=41472298|s2cid=144474494}}
• {{cite book |last=Durkee |first=Robert K. |title=The New Princeton Companion |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=2022 |isbn=978-0-691-21044-5 |location=Princeton}}
• {{cite book|last1=Fiske|first1=Edward B.|last2=Lecuyer|first2=Michelle|title=Fiske Guide to Colleges 2020|publisher=Sourcebooks|year=2019|isbn=978-1-4926-6494-9|location=Naperville}}
• {{cite journal|last=Gunning|first=Wanda S.|date=2005|title=The Town of Princeton and the University, 1756–1946|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.66.3.0439|journal=The Princeton University Library Chronicle|volume=66|issue=3|pages=439–492|doi=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.66.3.0439|jstor=10.25290/prinunivlibrchro.66.3.0439}}
• {{cite book|last=Leitch|first=Alexander|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt13x0zx2|title=A Princeton Companion|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1978|isbn=978-0-691-04654-9|location=Princeton|jstor=j.ctt13x0zx2}}
• {{cite book|last=Morrison|first=Jeffry H.|title=John Witherspoon and the Founding of the American Republic|publisher=University of Notre Dame Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-268-03485-6|location=Notre Dame|doi=10.2307/j.ctvpg86g6.7}}
• {{cite book|last=Noll|first=Mark A.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7VvBqTUJjiIC|title=Princeton and the Republic, 1768-1822: The Search for a Christian Enlightenment in the Era of Samuel Stanhope Smith|publisher=Regent College Publishing|year=2004|isbn=978-1-57383-315-8|location=Vancouver|orig-year=1989}}
• {{cite book|last=Oberdorfer|first=Don|url=https://archive.org/details/princetonunivers0000ober/mode/2up|title=Princeton University: The First 250 Years|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0-691-01122-6|edition=First|location=Princeton|author-link=Don Oberdorfer}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Cite book|last=Bragdon|first=Henry W.|title=Woodrow Wilson: The Academic Years|publisher=Belknap Press-Harvard University Press|year=1967|isbn=978-0-674-73395-4|location=Cambridge, Mass.}}
• {{Cite book|last=Borsch|first=Frederick H.|title=Keeping Faith at Princeton: A Brief History of Religious Pluralism at Princeton and Other Universities|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-691-14573-0|location=Princeton}}
• {{Cite book|last=Kemeny|first=Paul Charles|title=Princeton in the Nation's Service: Religious Ideals and Educational Practice, 1868–1928|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1998|isbn=978-0-19-512071-4|location=New York}}
• {{cite book|last=Malkiel|first=Nancy Weiss|title="Keep the Damned Women Out": The Struggle for Coeducation|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2016|isbn=978-0-691-17299-6|location=Princeton}}
• {{Cite book|last=Maynard|first=William Barksdale|title=Princeton : America's Campus|publisher=Pennsylvania State University Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0-271-05085-0|location=University Park, PA}}
• {{Cite book|last=Synnott|first=Marcia Graham|title=The Half-Opened Door: Discrimination and Admissions at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, 1900–1970|publisher=Transaction Publishers|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4128-1334-1|location=New Brunswick, N.J.|orig-year=1979}}
• {{Cite book|last=Wertenbaker|first=Thomas Jefferson|title=Princeton, 1746–1896|publisher=Princeton University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-1-4008-5743-2|location=Princeton|orig-year=1946}}

{{refend}}

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