Prestigious Ivy League Academics at Princeton
Princeton University appears in our ranking of 60 Great Value Colleges for Music Majors (Undergraduate).
Named the U.S. News & World Report’s #1 best institution in 2019, Princeton University is a supremely selective AAU member in New Jersey that confers 37 bachelor’s, 53 certificate, 15 master’s, and 43 doctoral programs plus 23 MOOCs online at a 5:1 student-faculty ratio. For example, the Architecture A.B. constructs a 31-unit, NAAB-accredited curriculum with hands-on Digital Fabrication Lab projects, the Light Fixture Design Competition, and internships like Payette. Chaired by Dr. Emily Carter, an Irving Langmuir Prize recipient, the 36-unit Electrical Engineering B.S.E. offers 10 concentration areas, such as Optics & Photonics or Circuits & Systems, plus Keller Center for Innovation practice and IEEE Student Chapter membership.
At Julis Romo Rabinowitz Hall, Princeton’s Bendheim Center grants a Finance M.Fin. ranked #1 by QuantNet for a 16-unit, two-year sequence of 500-level classes from Asset Pricing to Asian Capital Markets with 100 percent job placement at Citadel, Goldman Sachs, Volant Trading, Barclays, and more. The Public Affairs Ph.D. has a five-year, NASPAA-accredited Woodrow Wilson School sequence directed by Dr. Cecilia Elena Rouse with six-hour teaching practica, dissertation work in the Center for Study of Democratic Politics, and Washington DC forums.
Other Princeton options include the Classics A.B., Computer Science B.S.E., Music A.B., Slavic Languages A.B., Operations Research M.S.E., Biological Engineering M.Eng., Anthropology Ph.D., Plasma Physics Ph.D., and Applied Math Ph.D.
About Princeton University
Princeton University originated on September 17, 1754, when New Light Presbyterians started building Nassau Hall to house the College of New Jersey for all-male colonial ministry training. In 1777, it survived American Revolution occupation during the Battle of Princeton. In 1783, the Continental Congress fled to Princeton as its brief Capitol. Formally chartered in 1799, it admitted the first African-American student in 1792. In 1812, Ashbel Green founded its adjacent Princeton Theological Seminary. In 1826, President James Madison started heading its Alumni Association. By 1896, the Princeton University name was adopted along with its Honor System. In 1900, the Graduate School was established for Ph.D. degrees. In 1933, Albert Einstein became a member of Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study. In Fall 1969, Princeton finally accepted female undergrads for coed teaching.
Endowed for $25.9 billion, Princeton University now employs 1,261 faculty, including 11 Nobel Laureates, to teach 8,139 Tigers from 63 countries at its 204-building Mercer County campus with 300+ clubs like Model United Nations. In 2019, Princeton had 10 professors receive the prized Sloan Research Fellowship. In 2017, Princeton won the International District Energy Association’s Innovation Award. Princeton’s Frick Chemistry Lab accepted the 2012 AIA-CAE Merit Excellence Award too. Forbes positioned Princeton University fifth overall with the second best value education. On Niche, Princeton boasts America’s fourth-best philosophy, fifth best history, sixth top English, and seventh top engineering degrees. The Center for World University Rankings ranked Princeton’s faculty fourth worldwide. The New York Times deemed Princeton the 18th top college for low-income students. WalletHub also honored Princeton University for the second best educational outcomes.
Princeton University Accreditation Details
On June 26, 2014, Princeton University received formal notification from the Mid-Atlantic States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Board of Trustees that its Level VI accreditation status was reaffirmed satisfactorily through 2023-24 under its 20th president, Dr. Christopher L. Eisgruber, a Rhodes Scholar and Oxford Honorary Fellow. Located 45 miles down Interstate 95 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this superb six-state Northeast Region accreditor is recognized by the U.S. Education Department and New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education. The Office of Institutional Research also lists the following degree-specific accreditations:
- Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
- Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration
- Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation
- Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care
- National Architectural Accrediting Board
Princeton University Application Requirements
Admission to Princeton University is classified “most difficult” by Peterson’s because only 1,940 of the 35,370 Fall 2017 applicants were welcomed for competitive 5 percent acceptance. First-year Tigers must finish the prerequisite four years of English, math, and foreign language during high school. Challenging AP and IB courses graded at least “4” are favored. Freshmen typically earn mostly As for a 3.91 median GPA. The middle 50th percentile earned between 730-790 on SAT Math and 700-770 on SAT Reading exams. Mid-range ACT composite scores were 32-35. Sophomore and junior transfers with minimum 3.0 GPAs are considered with 1-2 years of eligible course units. The Graduate School requires culminating a four-year bachelor’s degree or its foreign equivalent. Average GRE scores are currently 163 Quantitative and 161 Verbal. GPAs of 3.5 or better in the last two years are generally preferred. The Bendheim Center for Finance accepts a mean 720 GMAT mark.
Princeton University set freshman deadlines of November 1st for single-choice Early Action or January 1st for Regular Decision. Prospective A.B./B.S.E. transfers must apply before March 1st. The Graduate School has varying deadlines by department though. For instance, the Neuroscience Ph.D. closes on November 26th each year. Chemistry M.S. cohorts must file before December 1st while Near Eastern Studies M.A. entrants have until December 31st. Accordingly, check program specifics for submitting the $65 ($90 if graduate) Princeton, Common, or Universal College Application online. Forward official transcripts to PO Box 430 in Princeton, NJ 08542. Electronic test results require ACT code 2588 or SAT/GRE code 2672. Supplemental documents include the graded written paper, school report, guidance counselor letter, two teacher/supervisor recommendations, statement of purpose, and résumé or vitae. Learn more by contacting (609) 258-3060 or [email protected].
Tuition and Financial Aid
For 2019-20, Princeton University is billing full-time bachelor’s tuition of $25,935 per term or $51,870 annually. Undergrads pay the $930 residential college fee each year. Student health plan coverage costs $1,800 yearly. Living at the New Jersey campus’ dorms like Rockefeller College adds the $10,090 room charge. Standard all-access meal plans for Chancellor Green Café are $7,060 extra. Princeton budgets $3,500 for miscellaneous expenses, including books. Annual undergrad attendance equals about $73,450 on-site and $56,300 at home. The Graduate School has flat-rate tuition of $49,450 each year. Master’s and Ph.D. students cover a $1,800 SHP fee for $51,250 total. Note the DCE price for In Absentia students is $5,530.
According to the NCES College Navigator, the Financial Aid Office at Morrison Hall Room 220 connects 58 percent of full-time Princeton Tigers to median tuition assistance of $47,413 for $149.30 million combined. Endowed funds include the Julius Ochs Adler Scholarship, Ida Boffey Bacon Scholarship, Janet Morrison Clarke Scholarship, Charles Denby Memorial Scholarship, Nathaniel Ewing Memorial Scholarship, Philip Lee Gill Scholarship, Douglas Horton Scholarship, Joanna Fowler Jonsson Scholarship, Vaden Lackey Family Scholarship, George Williamson Mann Scholarship, Stephen Oxman Scholarship, and Stokley Towles Scholarship. The Princeton Grant covers full tuition plus room and board for families earning under $65,000 per year. Ten-month Assistantships in Research waive Ph.D. tuition and gift $28,150 stipends. Federal resources, such as the Federal Pell Grant, Opportunity Grant, Iraq & Afghanistan Service Grant, Work-Study, or Direct Loan, require FAFSA applications coded 002627. The $12,938 Tuition Aid Grant also has an April 15th deadline for New Jersey residents taking 12+ credits.
Explore the 140+ top-tier, value-added degrees placed seventh globally by The Wall Street Journal at the Princeton University website.