Princeton University (Princeton University): history, features of admission and education, faculties. Courtney Alice Jones

A member of the prestigious Ivy League, Princeton is famous for its programs in both the humanities and the exact sciences. Princeton is the alma mater of many well-known politicians, businessmen and scientists, including mathematician and Nobel Prize winner in economics John Nash, who is known to non-scientists as the hero of the film A Beautiful Mind.

Story

The university was founded in 1736 and became the fourth college of the British colonies in North America after Harvard, Yale and the University of Pennsylvania. Princeton was then called the College of New Jersey. In its early years, the university resembled English colleges, emphasizing a classical education.

Everything changed in 1768 when John Witherspoon became president of the university. The new head of the university completely changed the principles of the college: in his opinion, the university was supposed to train new leaders of the new American nation. Education standards were revised towards tightening, and in parallel, the president of the university attracted investments in the educational institution. Princeton began to prosper. Many of its alumni were participants in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, which discussed the creation of the US constitution. Another important document in the history of the United States - the Declaration of Independence - is signed by John Witherspoon himself.

The College of New Jersey acquired the status of a university only in 1896 due to the expansion of the programs offered. At the same time, the university was officially renamed Princeton University after the name of the city in which its campus was located. Four years later, a school of graduate education was founded at Princeton, where they began to award master's and doctoral degrees.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the president of Princeton was his alumnus Woodrow Wilson, who later became president of the United States. He did a lot for the development of his alma mater, in particular, he introduced a system of seminars and colliquia, which made the traditional educational process based on lectures more individual in relation to each student. It is believed that it is to Wilson that Princeton owes the authority that he has today.

Programs

At Princeton, you can study the humanities, social sciences, engineering and natural sciences. In these areas, you can get a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, or a doctoral degree (PhD). Unlike its competitors, Harvard and Yale, Princeton does not have a school-faculty of medicine, law, business, and divinity. However, this does not affect the prestige of the university.

The MSc at Princeton offers degrees in Architecture, Bioengineering, Chemistry, Computer Science, Structural Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Finance, Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Nearby Languages ​​and Cultures. East”, “International Relations”.

You can get a PhD degree in one of 42 specializations, including, in particular, architecture, anthropology, applied mathematics, physics, chemistry, molecular biology, computer science, ecology, economics, philology (including Slavic studies), geology, archeology, history, philosophy, psychology, sociology and international relations.

Number of students

Compared to many other famous and prestigious universities, Princeton is a small university with only 8,000 students. Slightly more than five thousand of them study in the bachelor's degree. There are 12 Nobel Prize winners among Princeton faculty today. Well-known and respected academic universities usually consider it their main task to prepare graduate students who will determine the future of science. At Princeton, by contrast, undergraduate education is a priority. At the same time, Princeton has one of the lowest undergraduate student-faculty ratios in the country: 6 to 1.

Famous Alumni

US Presidents Woodrow Wilson and James Madison, US Secretary of State under George W. Bush James Baker, politician, Pentagon Chief Donald Rumsfeld, Forbes Editor-in-Chief Steve Forbes, US First Lady Michelle Obama, Google Chairman Eric Schmidt, Hewlett CEO- Packard Meg Whitman, Pulitzer Prize-winning writer and editor-in-chief of The New Yorker David Remnick, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Princeton is the alma mater of writer Nina Berberova, archaeologist Peter Bogutsky, astronaut Charles Conrad, British mathematician who proved Fermat's Theorem, Andrew Wiles, actor Jimmy Stewart, actress Brooke Shields, Oscar-winning screenwriter Ethan Cohen, and actor David Duchovny. He studied at Princeton, but the writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald did not finish his studies.

UNIVERSITY STRUCTURE

Princeton is made up of college(Undergraduate College), that is, an undergraduate degree in which you can get a Bachelor of Arts (BA) or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (BSE) diploma.

Princeton College has six dormitory colleges that house undergraduate students, especially the first two years. In this sense, the Princeton bachelor's program copies the classical collegiate type - Cambridge and Oxford.

Princeton also has graduate School(Graduate School), focused primarily on postgraduate programs that lead to the degree of Doctor of Science (PhD), but there are also master's programs. In total, the university offers more than forty programs in four main areas - "Humanities", "Natural Sciences", "Social Sciences" and "Applied Sciences".

In a separate division within Princeton are allocated:

Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs(Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs). It offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs for those who are interested in politics and want to make a career in the public or diplomatic service.

School of Engineering and Applied Sciences(School of Engineering & Applied Science) combines the academic approach of a research institute with the flexibility of a liberal arts college. The programs offered by the school are based on the acquisition of fundamental knowledge and interdisciplinary education.

School of Architecture(School of Architecture) teaches undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate students in the areas of "Architecture", "Design" and "Urban Studies". Students study the history and theory of architecture, as well as explore the latest developments in urban planning and design.

The structure of Princeton also includes research centers, laboratories, research institutes, a theater, museums and one of the world's largest libraries.

ADMISSION CONDITIONS

Undergraduate

The competition at Princeton is very large: only 10% of applicants become undergraduate students. In addition to the excellent performance of candidates, the university also takes into account the personal qualities and non-academic talents and abilities of potential students.

Applicants must provide a high school diploma and grade transcripts, teacher references, write two essays, take SAT and TOEFL tests, and any information (for example, portfolio, publications, diplomas for winning olympiads) that can improve your chances of admission. Princeton has the right to invite candidates for an interview to make a final decision.

Information for undergraduate applicants: www.princeton.edu/admission

Master's and Postgraduate Studies

There are a lot of people who want to continue their education at Princeton and study at a master's or graduate school: every year the university receives about 10 thousand applications, but a little more than a thousand are accepted.

Mandatory requirements are a bachelor's degree (preferably with a high GPA), transcripts of grades, a resume, a motivation letter explaining why you chose this particular program and exactly at Princeton, recommendations, GMAT or GRE test results, as well as TOEFL or IELTS, if previous education was not in English.

It is important for applicants to graduate school to demonstrate academic achievement and scientific potential, since PhD programs at Princeton involve serious research work.

Information for graduate and graduate applicants: www.gradschool.princeton.edu/admission

COST OF TRAINING (per year):

  • Undergraduate: 42 thousand dollars
  • Master's and postgraduate studies: 43 thousand dollars

Scholarships

Princeton selects students based on their achievements and potential, not their ability to pay for their studies. So the university strives to create equal opportunities for applicants from families with different incomes and from different countries. Instead of educational loans, the university provides scholarships and grants, as well as work on campus for which students receive a salary. 60% of undergraduate students receive financial aid to pay for tuition. The average scholarship is $44,000 per year. Thanks to this policy, Princeton students graduate without tuition debt.

Financial Aid for Undergraduate Applicants: www.princeton.edu/admission/financialaid/

All graduate students, as well as most graduate students, receive financial assistance while studying at Princeton. As a rule, financial assistance consists of scholarships provided by the university itself, salaries for work as a teaching assistant or for participation in scientific research. In addition, financial assistance to graduate students in the form of grants is offered by external organizations, for example, various foundations.

Funding sources for undergraduate and graduate studies at Princeton: www.gradschool.princeton.edu/costs-funding

Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Yale, MIT are universities that, in the mind of an ordinary student, are in a different reality: with green lawns, wise professors, ancient libraries and tidy campuses. T&P tell how much tuition costs, what the admission procedure looks like and what requirements the world's top universities impose on applicants. In this issue, Princeton University.

Princeton University is the fourth oldest university in the United States, it was founded in 1746 and is part of the prestigious Ivy League. More than 30 Nobel Prize winners have studied and taught here, including Professor John Nash, a mathematician and the hero of the film A Beautiful Mind. In the best universities in the world according to the Times, Princeton is ranked seventh.

There are a total of 36 chapters in Princeton, and 50 programs are run jointly by the chapters. The most famous schools are the liberal arts Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs and the technical School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Princeton is known for having an equally high level of teaching in both the exact sciences and the liberal arts. It was at Princeton, for example, that another Nobel laureate, the American playwright Eugene O'Neill, studied at one time, who, however, was expelled. Lewis Center For the Arts is a structural subdivision of the university, which allows students to master writing and acting skills, choreography, and take practical courses on the basics of musical theater and cinematography in parallel with the main specialty. The approach to the formation of these programs is no less serious than in the main academic courses: the modules are aimed at providing participants with the necessary theoretical base and practical skills. The certificate of the center is issued only upon successful attendance of a certain number of theoretical and practical modules, as well as active participation in extracurricular activities and master classes.

Courtney Alice Jones

Princeton graduate

“I studied philosophy and theater for four years at Princeton. At the end of my first year, I entered the Lewis Center to complete a theater program, and at the end of my second year, I decided on my main specialty - philosophy. Lewis Center really offers a very good additional education in the field of theater, dance, cinema, painting. The courses include ongoing practice, and in addition, each student is required to submit a major paper at the end of the course. This gives chances to get into the media - journalists are invited to evaluate the work. Many graduates then become professional artists and artists or continue their education in this area.”

Deadline for submission of documents

The university has two application schemes: Single Choice Early Action Option and Regular Decision. The first option was created for those who do not plan to apply to other universities: they have an earlier deadline (November 1), but they will also know the decision of the university faster (until mid-December). Those who enter several universities at once apply according to the second scheme. In this case, the deadline is January 1, the decision of the university is until March 31.

Admission procedure

Princeton University uses the common university form Common Application. In addition to the main document, Princeton applicants must complete the Princeton University Supplement. Foreigners additionally fill out the International Supplement. You will also need a translated certificate from the school with grades, results for the last six months, testimonials from two teachers in different subjects and the results of the SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) or ACT (American College Testing) exams. In exceptional cases where an interview with a candidate is required, it is conducted by the Princeton Alumni Committee outside the university.

Entry Requirements

In terms of formal selection principles, Princeton is one of the most liberal universities: there are no minimum requirements for academic performance and exam results. They categorically do not consider the documents of those candidates who have already entered or are studying at another university. Foreigners whose first language is not English and who have not attended an English-language school will be required to submit TOEFL results.

It is assumed that applicants at school studied English, mathematics, a foreign language (for those who have English as their native language), physics, chemistry and history. The university's admissions committee also draws attention to the fact that most of the successful candidates were engaged in some kind of art - for example, dancing or acting. The purpose of the selection committee is to evaluate the candidate's abilities based on his individual achievements. Therefore, applicants are recommended to actively try their hand at all areas before admission: academic initiatives, volunteering, office work and any other interesting experience are taken into account.

Courtney Alice Jones:

“The application process was very difficult because it is quite lengthy and involves passing several standardized tests. This is important for selection, and it is desirable to score the maximum number of points in addition to good grades from school. The admission procedure turned out to be more difficult than I expected, but the university helped a lot, and at every stage.

Most Princeton students already lived in the States, but we had quite a few international students: the university has several international communities and special groups that provide support to foreigners. In addition, foreign and American students mixed up very quickly, and there were almost no problems.”

Entrance tests

SAT or ACT (with a written part if possible), SAT exam in two subjects, TOEFL and two essays. If the SAT and ACT are not held in the applicant's country of residence, the university is ready to consider documents without them, but candidates are warned that in this case it will be difficult to fully assess their abilities. The topics of two essays (for example, comment on a quote, talk about a person or event that had a special impact on the applicant) may overlap or even coincide, so applicants are advised to carefully ensure that there is no repetition when choosing a second topic for an essay.

Cost of education

In 2016-2017, tuition costs average $63,420 per year, including course fees ($45,150) and accommodation ($8,285).

Available grants

Scholarships at the university are distributed solely on the basis of financial need - the university has a Financial Aid Program, in which all students and applicants can participate, regardless of citizenship. To find out the results simultaneously with the decision of the selection committee, you need to apply for financial support along with the main set of documents. If the financial situation has changed unexpectedly, you can apply for support during the learning process. There is a calculator on the university website that can roughly calculate whether you qualify for the program, but the questions in it are mainly designed for citizens of the United States and Canada.

Campus

Like any old university, Princeton starts on campus. Now on campus, in addition to classrooms, a library and a museum, there is a church, a park, several theaters and exhibition halls, as well as a cinema, restaurants, cafes and bars for extracurricular activities. Students live on campus in dormitories, which in Princeton are called colleges.

The university library is located in eleven buildings on campus and is divided into the main, Harvey S. Firestone Memorial Library, and ten specialized libraries. The general library collection contains a wide variety of sources: from 8 million books to manuscripts, the total length of which is 49,000 feet, and Aztec maps can be found in the cartographic department. The University Museum of Art has Byzantine, African, Asian, American and European collections, as well as collections dedicated to contemporary art, prints and photography. You can get access to the exhibits both during exhibitions and for educational purposes - by agreement with the curators.

Courtney Alice Jones:

“The campus is very self-sufficient and many spend 75 to 80 percent of their time here or near campus. Dormitories range from huge to small. Depending on who you want to live with and when you have a draw line (the distribution of places on certain dates - like in a lottery), you can get a room that corresponds to an expensive apartment in terms of level. We have a longstanding rivalry with Harvard, and only then with Yale. First of all, our American football team strives to beat these two teams in the annual competition, and the student and alumni attendance at these tournaments is enormous.”

Myths and legends

Numerous local legends are carefully passed down from generation to generation: for first-year students, special excursions are held at the beginning of their studies, on which guides not only introduce them to the surroundings, but also elaborate on university myths associated with a particular building. Quite often, students and guides themselves are engaged in myth-making, which leads to curiosities. So, once a Princeton graduate, who visited the university with her granddaughter, exposed the guides who claimed that Einstein taught in one of the university auditoriums. The vigilant grandmother immediately wrote a letter to the campus newspaper, noting that the great physicist was unlikely to appear there more than once.

Although the university is very proud of its rich history and especially its involvement in the American Revolution (Nassau Hall held a meeting of members of the Congress of the Confederation in 1783), amateur myth-making gives the administration a lot of anxiety. After the release of the book "Rule of Four" in the late 90s, the plot of which unfolded on campus, students came to believe in the presence of a complex system of tunnels under the campus. In 2008, the leadership specifically appealed to the students, urging them to stop searching, since the tunnels do not exist. However, the students did not calm down and were right - the tunnel system was still found. Alas, according to eyewitnesses, there was nothing interesting in them.

Other university-wide myths include the claim that 60% of Princeton graduates go on to marry or remarry university acquaintances. In this regard, a serious study was even carried out, which, however, showed that the percentage of "intra-university" weddings is only about 17% of the total number of graduates. Some students also say that if you leave the territory through FitzRandolph Gate before graduation, you may never graduate at all. Of the less pleasant stories for Princeton, the bulldog in the ornament of the university church is indicative - a symbol of Yale, according to one version, he was left to the university as a souvenir by a vengeful architect.

Clubs and secret societies

Undergraduates at Princeton can choose between dining at college cafeterias, cafes and restaurants, and one of ten university dining clubs. Both freshmen and senior students can join them. Each club functions simultaneously as a dining room and a platform for communication and, most importantly, intellectual debate. Five clubs accept newcomers solely on the basis of availability, but in the rest there is a special selection procedure known as bickering - current members of the club meet and discuss each candidate separately. The cost of attending a club exceeds the standard cost of meals, so the university has the foresight to include the average cost of meals in dining clubs in student financial assistance.

Club traditions do not lose their relevance - exclusion from the dining club for many is still a serious blow, and the conflict over the closure of the Cannon Club, transformed into a writers center in 1973, continues to this day. Another university legend has it that when the members of the club learned of its imminent closure, they threw a farewell party during which they spent $10,000 on Oreo cookies.

Princeton is notorious for its secretive student societies. This is attributed to the fact that the 28th President of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, a Princeton graduate who served as rector of the university in 1902-1910, threatened to expel anyone who was seen participating in such organizations. However, the societies did not break up, but only finally went underground, having developed multi-stage precautionary measures. For example, in the Phi society, which arose in 1929 on the basis of two discussion clubs and still exists, no more than ten people can simultaneously consist. The society usually invites third-year students, and invitations to candidates are sent anonymously. Beginners and their predecessors almost do not intersect - the new composition meets graduates only once, on the first of June, shortly before they leave the university.

In addition, Princeton, like most other Western universities, has a free iPrinceton app available from iTunesU. The site also allows you to subscribe to individual podcasts and watch videos of the latest student projects, from a new production by a modern dance troupe and the construction of a library in Ghana, to discussions about school life and science plays written by students.

Icons: 1) iconoci, 2) Vignesh Nandha Kumar, 3) Catalina Cuevas, 4) James Kocsis, 5) Roy Milton, 6) NAMI A, 7), 10) parkjisun, 8) Kate Kobielsky, 9) Nick Novell, 11 ) Alfredo Hernandez - from the Noun Project.

The oldest and most famous university in the United States is Princeton University, a research private educational institution and the most prestigious in the world. According to the 2016 rankings, it ranks seventh among world universities. Princeton University is located in New Jersey, in the city of Princeton.

General information

This university belongs to the Ivy League, being one of its eight members along with Harvard, Yale, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth and Pennsylvania universities. "League" is a standard of prestige of education in the United States of America. Only nine universities in the country were founded before the revolution, and Princeton University is one of them.

It provides master's and bachelor's degrees in technical, social, humanitarian and natural sciences. Princeton University does not have schools of medicine, divinity, business or law. However, you can get a professional degree within the walls of the School of International Relations, the School of Applied and Engineering Sciences, the School of Architecture. Princeton University has the largest endowment in the world, per student.

Story

The history of Princeton University dates back to 1746. It was then that an educational institution was founded as the College of New Jersey, it became the fourth in the British colonies of North America. At first, classes were held in a house owned by the founder of Princeton University, the priest Jonathan Dickinson in New Brunswick. Then the university moved to Princeton, and therefore subsequently began to be called differently. It was located on a place named after the house of King William - Nassau Hall, where Princeton University is located now.

In 1768, John Witherspoon became president of the university, who managed it until 1794. It was then that the training and education of leaders for the newest American nation was chosen as a priority in the specialization of students. Academic standards have become tougher, even investments have been received for this area of ​​the university's work.

War

There was a long and fruitful period of stability, interrupted only briefly by the American Revolution and the North-South Civil War. In particular, it was near the city of Princeton that the famous battle took place when Nissau Hall was occupied by British soldiers.

It should be noted that the US Princeton University has rendered a great service already in these turbulent years. In the War of Independence, he was not initially on the winning side. John Witherspoon personally signed the Declaration of Independence, and a sixth of the Constitutional Convention was made up of Princeton alumni.

Construction

Only in 1803 did the construction of Stanhope Hall begin, since Nissau Hall had already become cramped for the university fifty years ago, although the cornerstone that began the laying of the new building was laid in September 1754. During this time, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge, even more events have happened. For example, in the summer of 1783, the Continental Congress (Confederation) met at Nassau Hall, and Princeton was the capital of the country for four whole months.

In half a century, Princeton University has undergone two phases of renovation and two fires. The only building constantly changed its purpose. At first, literally everything was located there: the administration, bedrooms, and classrooms, then the room became exclusively educational. Now it is an administrative building. Shortly after the war, the legendary James McCosh assumed the presidency, radically changing the curriculum, expanding the study of the sciences, and constructing a number of neo-Gothic buildings. At the same time, the library of Princeton University grew significantly. McCosh Hall is named after him.

Authority

The year 1879 became a new milestone on the way to worldwide recognition - the first dissertation was defended by the graduate of 1877, D. F. Williamson. At the same time, the graduation course (among his students was Woodrow Wilson, who later became US President) gave his alma mater sculptures of lions that framed the entrance to Nassau Hall until 1911. That year, lions were replaced by tigers, the symbol of Princeton University. And this gift was made by the same graduating class. In 1896, the university ceased to be the College of New Jersey, receiving its current name, as it was significantly expanded.

In 1900, a magistracy appeared there. Thus, Princeton University gradually grew in public opinion, the faculties of which multiplied in number from year to year. Wilson, who became the rector of this university, especially influenced the growth of authority. He founded a system of seminars, or colloquia, supplementing the standard methods in the form of lectures, introducing an individual approach, when small groups of students began to communicate more closely with teachers, delving deeper into the field of the subject being studied.

Significant events

In 1906, the university territory was decorated with a reservoir, which received the name of the person who financed this project. And now Lake Carnegie and the history of its creation are of interest to many. There is a huge collection of photographs from the time of construction. All historical documents are located on campus, in the library. In 1914, Palmer University Stadium was built, and in 1919, the School of Architecture was established at the university.

The Institute for Advanced Study, since 1933, included Albert Einstein in its membership for life, at first only with his office, and then with his house in Princeton on Mercer Street. Before 1969, women were not admitted to Princeton University. Then for the first time the doors were opened for them. Then about a hundred students were admitted to the first year, and another seventy came from other universities.

Structure and learning process

Today, the whole complex consists of the university itself and numerous research centers and graduate schools. There is a McCarter Theatre, museums of art and natural history, as well as one of the largest libraries in the world.

More than two and a half thousand students study here at the same time only in the magistracy and doctoral studies, but the priority is still the bachelor's degree, which is the most unique among other educational institutions of higher education.

Undergraduate

Future bachelors study at 34 faculties. They are awarded either a Bachelor of Arts or a Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree. There are almost 5.5 thousand undergraduate students in total. All their training is focused on future research. Each faculty has developed and adheres to its own requirements.

Firstly, all students are required to attend a precisely defined number of course lectures that go quite far beyond the specialization, thus making the skills and knowledge much more universal. Absolutely all students attend courses in literature and art, history, sociology, ethics and morality, epistemology and cognition, natural science, science and technology.

More

Without fail, for all three or four semesters, foreign languages ​​are studied and seminars on writing are held. Humanitarian courses and seminars are also held weekly, several additional laboratory classes per week.

To successfully complete an undergraduate degree, a student is required to write two research term papers in the third year and a diploma in the fourth year. Diploma defense is a scientific research, and students at the faculties of arts can write novels, stage performances, design layouts.

Master's and doctoral studies

In the magistracy, students receive scientific degrees in the fields of mechanical engineering, natural sciences, social science, and the humanities. From Princeton University, respectively, masters in a particular field: architecture, humanities, as well as technical, masters of finance, public relations, chemistry, public policy.

Doctoral studies exist in all subjects taught at the university. The future doctor of sciences is required to be original and independent in scientific and research activities (in contrast to the master's program, where graduates are set up to build a career purely within the profession they have received).

Student Admission Policy

One of the most selective is Princeton University. The cost of education here means not only not everything, but rather a minimum. Only about 9% of applicants will start classes as students. However, loans to students who need financial assistance are not available at this university, but it is quite possible to receive an appropriate grant.

About 60% of first-year students receive such assistance. The average grant is 35.5 thousand dollars, and it is issued for a year. In general, a year of study at Princeton University costs 37,000, plus more than 12,000 - board and board fees.

"Code of honor"

Back in 1893, the Honor Code was created, to which today's students swear. It is an oath that expresses a policy that is binding on all students - academic integrity, and this does not depend on any faculty or specialization. An oath of honor is signed on every examination and written work, and this is a very important, indeed, one of the most important moments of training.

The student swears that he does not cheat in the process of passing the test or exam, that plagiarism will not penetrate into his written research. After 1980, the student, taking such an oath, is not only responsible for himself. He is obliged to convey information to the teacher if his comrade violates the oath. That is why there is no need for the presence of a teacher or an assistant in exam preparation.

Scientific activity

Research at Princeton University is a priority. Activities can be divided into four areas: humanities, engineering, social and natural.

1,100 teachers work with students at 75 institutes and centers, 34 academic departments, and two national laboratories. The official website of the university constantly informs the public about the discoveries made there, including the most recent ones. To highlight scientific achievements there is a specialized subsection.

student life

Here, all students, without exception, are provided with housing for all four years of study. Almost all of them live on campus. Freshmen are separated from seniors, they have their own dining halls in college dormitories, where anyone is eligible for a food plan. Undergraduates have the opportunity to live off campus, but most of them save money by staying within the walls of a college dormitory.

Public student life is in full swing mainly on the territory of dining clubs (eating clubs), of which there are many, and there is plenty to choose from. But this can only be done from the second year. Freshmen do not have this privilege. This is a very characteristic, even unique phenomenon of student life. These clubs are in no way dependent on the administration of the university. Students love them for the opportunity to hold parties.

The history of Princeton University began on October 22, 1746, when the Legislative Council of the British colony of New Jersey, on behalf of King George II, granted the request of a group of Presbyterian pastors and granted them permission to form a college for the education of youth in languages, liberal arts and sciences. The College of New Jersey became the fourth educational institution in British North America after Harvard, William and Mary College and Yale. Although the new college was founded by Presbyterian priests, it was written in the charter that adherents of any religious movements could study in it, since students here are prepared for the service of the church and the state. For the then educational institutions of the British colonies in North America, such religious tolerance was phenomenal. However, the religious orientation of education still dominated. The motto of the university still bears traces of this phenomenon - "Prospers under God's power."

Initially, the college, which had only ten students, was located in the house of Dickenson in the city of Elizabeth. However, in 1747, the patron died, so the entire community moved to Newark, where he was sheltered by the local Presbyterian pastor Aaron Burr, who became the new president of the educational institution. Here, three years later, the first three bachelors graduated from the college walls. In 1756, Burr achieved the transfer of the educational institution to Princeton, where a special building was built for students and teachers with donations collected in Great Britain. It was named Nassau Hall and is now a listed building.

Princeton played a prominent role in the events of the American Revolution: its rector, John Witherspoon, signed the Declaration of Independence, and a sixth of the participants in the Constitutional Convention were Princeton alumni.

Princeton University is part of the so-called. The Ivy League is an association of the eight oldest universities in the United States. Initially, it was founded as a sports association, but then it grew into something more. The ancient origins and high level of prestige of these universities allow them to be somewhat condescending towards their less eminent counterparts.

Sports, which play a huge role in the life of American universities, have been actively developed in Princeton since 1859, when the first gym was built there. Since the early 60s of the XIX century, students began to wear orange sports uniforms. Students printed the numbers on T-shirts with black ink, and as a result, orange and black became Princeton's signature colors. This tradition is still observed: university students strive for these shades to be present not only on sports uniforms, but also in everyday clothes.

Another university tradition dates back to the same time: the combination of orange and black gave rise to an association with a tiger skin. This is where the traditional nickname for the university's sports teams, the "Tigers", came from. Princeton fans began to greet their teams with the exclamation of "Tiger!" Since 1882, undergraduates began to publish the comic magazine The Princeton Tiger, and in 1893 the university cafeteria was renamed the Tiger Inn.

By the 1870s, Princeton's multifaceted successes had put Princeton on a par with established institutions such as Harvard and Yale. In 1877, the college founded a magistracy, and in 1896 it received the status of a university, which, in gratitude and appreciation to the city community, was named Princeton University. In the same year, orange and black were officially recognized as the colors of the university.

In 1902, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, the future president of America, became rector of Princeton. He led a sharply secularizing policy under the slogan "Princeton - in the service of the state, not the church!". He improved the curricula, dividing them into general education (during the first two years) and specialized (in the next two years). During his reign (1902–1910), they completed the creation of a separate college for the preparation of masters, and doubled the number of faculties.

More than 4,500 students and 1,500 graduate students study at Princeton University. Teaching and learning is carried out according to individual plans, and is closely related to research work.

The number of teachers is more than a thousand, of which more than 400 are professors, 7 Nobel laureates. The rector of the university is Shirley Tilgman. In 1969, the university began to admit women for the first time.

The University provides training at the following faculties: School of Technical and Applied Sciences, Architecture and Urban Planning, Public and International Relations; departments of astrophysical sciences, physics, mathematics, geological and geophysical sciences, biological, chemical, economic, philosophy, politics, sociology, psychology, religion, Romance languages ​​and literatures, Germanic languages ​​and literatures, physical culture and education and others, as well as Scientific and research center. J. Forrestal (departments of aeronautics, space research, technical sciences, laboratory of plasma physics, etc.).

Famous graduates and professors of Princeton - Woodrow Wilson and James Madison, US presidents, John Nash, Nobel Prize winner in economics, mathematician Andrew Wiles, who proved Fermat's theorem and many others.


History in facts:


2007 Representatives from Princeton University said they have reached an agreement with the Italian government to return 8 pieces of ancient art. Negotiations about this lasted about a year and a half. According to the agreement, four exhibits from the university museum will be sent to Italy immediately, and four more will be rented by Princeton University for four years.

The governments of Greece and Italy have been fighting since 2005 to return some of the antiquities from the US to Europe, because they believe that the exhibits were exported to America illegally.


2007 Princeton University has joined Google's book digitization program. The university has over six million printed works, five million manuscripts and about two million other materials in its vaults. Google plans to digitize about a million books whose copyright has expired.

The scandalous Google project was opened in 2003, and many American publishers blamed the search engine for putting entire texts of books on the net, preventing them from making a profit. In addition to Princeton, California, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford Universities, and the New York Public Library are also participating in the project. So far, only Michigan and Texas universities have agreed to transfer books for digitization, for which the copyright has not yet expired.

Princeton University - one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the United States, is a member of the Ivy League and is distinguished by an exceptionally high quality of education.

Founded in 1746 in New Jersey, today Princeton University regularly ranks at the top of national and world rankings. Just over 8,000 students study at the university. The best specialties of Princeton University according to the results of the national ranking of US News Best Colleges are economics, history, mathematics and sociology - 1st place; political science and physics - 2nd place.

The main campus of Princeton University is located in downtown Princeton, New Jersey. The city is connected by a convenient transport network with major cities - Philadelphia and Trenton in the south and New York in the north.

The Princeton University campus covers 200 hectares, includes many historic buildings and is considered one of the most beautiful in the United States according to Travel + Leisure magazine. On campus there are 10 libraries, an art museum, a theater, a large fitness center with a swimming pool and a tennis court. About 10 events are held daily on the Princeton University campus that cover a wide range of academic and extracurricular interests: educational film screenings, performances by student musical groups, Hackprinceton hacker competitions, bodybuilding competitions and much more.

Princeton University alumni include US Presidents James Madison and Woodrow Wilson, former US First Lady Michelle Obama, Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Google CEO Eric Schmidt, actor David Duchovny, as well as a well-known American scientist, one of the creators of quantum electrodynamics and developers of atomic bomb Richard Phillips Feynman. In total, Princeton University is associated with the names of 41 Nobel Prize winners, 21 US National Science Medal winners, 14 Fields Medal winners and 8 Abel Prize winners.

Princeton University prepares professional athletes to compete as part of the Princeton Tigers in the first division of the US National Collegiate Athletic Association in one of 31 disciplines. Princeton University athletes have won 12 national championships in golf, 6 in lacrosse, and 14 in rowing.

Why go to Princeton University?

  • 1st in the US News Best Colleges 2017 US University Rankings
  • 7th in The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2017.
  • 98% - the level of student satisfaction.
  • Princeton University has 10 libraries with over 14 million titles.
  • 3 Princeton University professors became Nobel Prize winners in 2015: Thomas Lindahl (Chemistry), Angus Deaton (Economics), Arthur McDonald (Physics).

The best faculties of Princeton University:

  • story;
  • mathematics;
  • Social sciencies;
  • physics;
  • economy.

Accommodation

Princeton University offers accommodation in 6 student residences. In each, in addition to rooms, there are canteens and cafes, rooms for rest and study, gyms. The residences host their own sports and creative events. The cost of living is from $8300 per year.