Princeton University
Academics
Undergraduates fulfill general education requirements, choose among a wide variety of elective courses, and pursue departmental concentrations and interdisciplinary certificate programs. Required independent work is a hallmark of undergraduate education at Princeton. Students graduate with either the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or the Bachelor of Science in engineering (B.S.E.).
The graduate school offers advanced degrees spanning the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. Doctoral education is available in all disciplines.[74] It emphasizes original and independent scholarship whereas master's degree programs in architecture, engineering, finance, and public affairs and public policy prepare candidates for careers in public life and professional practice.
[edit]Undergraduate
Undergraduate courses in the humanities are traditionally either seminars or lectures held 2 or 3 times a week with an additional discussion seminar that is called a "precept." To graduate, all A.B. candidates must complete a senior thesis and, in most departments, one or two extensive pieces of independent research that are known as "junior papers." Juniors in some departments, including architecture and the creative arts, complete independent projects that differ from written research papers. A.B. candidates must also fulfill a three or four semester foreign language requirement and distribution requirements with a total of 31 classes. B.S.E. candidates follow a parallel track with an emphasis on a rigorous science and math curriculum, a computer science requirement, and at least two semesters of independent research including an optional senior thesis. All B.S.E. students must complete at least 36 classes. A.B. candidates typically have more freedom in course selection than B.S.E. candidates because of the fewer number of required classes. Nonetheless, in the spirit of a liberal arts education, both enjoy a comparatively high degree of latitude in creating a self-structured curriculum.
Undergraduates agree to adhere to an academic integrity policy called the Honor Code, established in 1893. 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. 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.[75] The signed pledge required by the Honor Code is so integral to students' academic experience that the Princeton Triangle Club performs a song about it each fall.[76][77] Out-of-class exercises fall under the jurisdiction of the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline.[78]Undergraduates are expected to sign a pledge on their written work affirming that they have not plagiarized the work.[79]
[edit]Admissions and financial aid
Princeton's undergraduate program is highly selective, admitting 7.86% of undergraduate applicants in the 2011–12 admissions cycle (for the Class of 2016).[80] In September 2006, the university announced that all applicants for the Class of 2012 would be considered in a single pool. In this way, the early decision program was effectively ended.[81] In February 2011, following decisions by the University of Virginiaand Harvard University to reinstate their early admissions programs, Princeton announced it would institute an early action program, starting with applicants for the Class of 2016.[82] In 2011, the Business Journal rated Princeton as the most selective college in the Eastern United States in terms of admission selectivity.[83]
In 2001, expanding on earlier reforms, Princeton became the first university to eliminate loans for all students who qualify for financial aid.[84] All demonstrated need is met with combinations of grants and campus jobs. In addition, all admissions are need-blind.[85] U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review both cite Princeton as the university that has the fewest of graduates with debt even though 60% of incoming students are on some type of financial aid.[86] Kiplinger magazine ranks Princeton as the best value among private universities, noting that the average graduating debt is US$4,957, "about one fifth the average debt of students who borrow at all private schools."[87]
[edit]Grade deflation policy
In 2004, Nancy Weiss Malkiel, the Dean of the College, implemented a grade deflation policy to curb the number of A-range grades undergraduates received.[88] Malkiel's argument was that an A was beginning to lose its meaning as a larger percentage of the student body received them.[88] While the number of A's has indeed decreased under the policy, many argue that this is hurting Princeton students when they apply to jobs or graduate school.[88] Malkiel has said that she sent pamphlets to inform institutions about the policy so that they consider Princeton students equally,[88] but students argue that Princeton graduates can apply to other institutions that know nothing about it. They argue further that as other schools purposefully inflate their grades,[89] Princeton students' GPAs will look low by comparison. Further, studies have shown that employers prefer high grades even when they are inflated.[90] The policy remained in place even after Malkiel stepped down at the end of the 2010–2011 school year. The policy deflates grades only relative to their previous levels; indeed, as of 2009, or five years after the policy was instituted, the average graduating GPA saw a marginal decrease, from 3.46 to 3.39.[91]
[edit]Graduate
LibrariesPrinceton offers postgraduate research degrees in many fields in the social sciences, engineering, natural sciences, and humanities. Although Princeton offers professional graduate degrees in engineering, architecture, and finance, it has no medical school, law school, or business school like other research universities.[92] The university's most famous professional school is the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, founded in 1930 as the School of Public and International Affairs and renamed in 1948 after university president (and US President) Woodrow Wilson.
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The university's library system houses over eleven million holdings[93] including six million bound volumes.[94] The main university library, Firestone Library, which houses almost four million volumes, is one of the largest university libraries in the world[95] and among the largest "open stack" libraries in existence. Its collections include the Blickling homilies. In addition to Firestone library, many individual disciplines have their own libraries, including architecture, art history, East Asian studies, engineering, geology, international affairs and public policy, Near Eastern studies, and psychology. Seniors in some departments can register for enclosed carrels in the main library for workspace and the private storage of books and research materials. In February 2007, Princeton became the 12th major library system to join Google's ambitious project to scan the world's great literary works and make them searchable over the Web.[96]
[edit]Rankings
| University rankings | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| ARWU[97] | 6 |
| Forbes[98] | 1 |
| U.S. News & World Report[99] | 1 |
| Washington Monthly[100] | 20 |
| Global | |
| ARWU[101] | 7 |
| QS[102] | 9 |
| Times[103] | 6 |
From 2001 to 2012, Princeton University was ranked either first or second among national universities by U.S. News & World Report (USNWR), holding the No. 1 spot for 10 of those 12 years.[104] After being at second place in 2008-9, Princeton returned to the number one spot in 2010, tying with Harvard University.[105] It has been ranked sixth among world universities by Shanghai Jiao Tong University,[106] In the 2012 Times Higher Education World University Rankings[107]Princeton was ranked 6th in the world. In the 2012 QS World University Rankings[108] it was ranked 9th overall in the world, making it 5th among US universities. Its three highest subject rankings were: 7th in Arts & Humanities, 8th in Natural Sciences, and 12th in Social Sciences.[109]In THE's 2012-2013 World University Ranking of Universities, Princeton placed 2nd above MIT and behind Caltech in Engineering and Technology.[110] Princeton was ranked 7th among 300 Best World Universities in 2011 compiled by Human Resources & Labor Review (HRLR) on Measurements of World's Top 300 Universities Graduates' Performance .[111]
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In the "America's Best Colleges" rankings by Forbes in 2012, Princeton University was ranked first among all national colleges and universities.[112] The Forbesranking also takes into consideration national awards won by students and faculty, as well as number of alumni in the 2008 "Who's Who in America" register.[113]
Princeton Graduate School programs are also highly ranked among universities in the United States.[114] In the 2009 U.S. News & World Report "Graduate School Rankings", all fourteen of Princeton's doctoral programs evaluated were ranked in their respective top 20, 7 of them in the top 5, and 4 of them in the top spot (Mathematics, Economics, History, Political Science).[115]
In Princeton Review's rankings of "softer" aspects of students' college experience, Princeton University was ranked first in "Students Happy with Financial Aid" and third in "Happiest Students", behind Clemson and Brown Universities.[116]
The university's individual academic departments have been highly ranked in their respective fields. The Department of Psychology has been ranked fifth in the nation[117] and its individual graduate programs have received high national rankings as well. The behavioral neuroscience program[118] has been ranked sixth and the social psychology program[119] has been ranked seventh. The Department of History is currently ranked first in the world.[120]
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