Princeton University
Princeton University Featured Rankings
- #1 Best Grad Schools in New Jersey
- #1 Best Private Colleges in New Jersey 2022
- #1 Most Influential US Universities by State
- #1 Best Colleges in New Jersey 2022
- #1 Best Research Universities in New Jersey 2022
- #3 Physics Research Universities
- #4 America's 15 Most Technologically Advanced Colleges
- #4 Economics Colleges and Universities
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- #5 English Research Universities
- #5 History Research Universities
- #5 Political Science Colleges and Universities
- #6 Engineering Research Universities
- #6 Best Undergrad Private Colleges
- #6 Best Private Grad Schools 2022
- #7 Earth Sciences Research Universities
- #7 Political Science Research Universities
- #7 Best Research Universities for Psychology Majors
- #7 Philosophy Research Universities
- #7 Best Undergrad Colleges 2025
- #7 Sociology Research Universities
- #7 Computer Science Research Universities
- #7 Math Research Universities
- #7 Economics Research Universities
- #7 Best US Universities 2025
- #7 Religious Studies Research Universities
- #7 Best Grad Schools 2025
- #7 Best Undergrad Research Universities 2022
- #7 The Fastest Traditional MBA Degree Programs
- #9 Best Universities World 2025
- #10 Anthropology Research Universities
- #10 Chemistry Research Universities
- #12 15 Colleges with the Happiest Freshmen
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About Princeton University
Although only the ninth-oldest university in the country, Princeton is one of the most historic. Originally founded as the College of New Jersey, the school’s sixth presidents, the Scottish theologian and educator John Witherspoon, signed the Declaration of Independence—the only college leader to do so. The next year, George Washington’s colonials dealt a small but significant blow to Lord Cornwallis’s superior forces at the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777. The victories at the earlier Battle of Trenton and at Princeton had an important positive effect on American morale, leading to increased enlistments in Washington’s army.
Princeton has pursued a different strategy over the years from its Ivy League confrères. For example, it has no law school, medical school, or business school. It has only loose academic connections to the nearby Princeton Theological Seminary and Institute for Advanced Study. In spite of its seemingly narrow focus on the arts and sciences to the detriment of professional training, Princeton nevertheless maintains a towering reputation for the cutting-edge academic research of its faculty, as well as for their teaching prowess (all professors are expected to teach undergraduates). Perhaps due to this focus, Princeton has also developed a reputation for academic “toughness,” resisting the grade inflation trend rampant elsewhere in American academia and insuring a challenging intellectual experience to even its very best incoming students.
On the roster of preeminent, Princeton-connected names in the sciences, Nobelists in physics have been the most prominent, including:
- Arthur Compton
- Wolfgang Pauli
- Eugene Wigner
- Richard Feynman
- John Bardeen
- Philip Anderson
- Steven Weinberg
- Frank Wilczek
- Kip Thorne
- James Peebles
Princeton has special strength in mathematics, being connected to many Fields Medalists, including:
- John Milnor
- Edward Witten
- William Thurston
- Terence Tao
- Manjul Bhargava
- Akshay Venkatesh
In addition, the great mathematician, logician, and father of the theory of computation, Alan Turing, received his doctorate from Princeton.
Among other eminent philosophers and logicians who have been associated with university, we may mention:
- Alonzo Church
- John Rawls
- Robert Nozick
- Donald Davidson
- Saul Kripke
- Jerry Fodor
- David K. Lewis
- Cornel West
- Peter Singer
Four Princeton-connected individuals have won the Nobel Prize in Economics, namely,
- Gary Becker
- John Nash
- Michael Spence
- Angus Deaton
Another special strength of Princeton has lain in the fields of law and politics. The school has contributed three Presidents to the United States, namely,
- James Madison
- Woodrow Wilson
- John F. Kennedy
as well as a host of other prominent statesmen, including:
- John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower
- Influential diplomat, George F. Kennan
- James A. Baker, US Secretary of State under President George W. Bush
- Supreme Court Justices, Samuel Alito, Elena Kagan, & Sonia Sotomayor
Finally, some other distinguished individuals linked to Princeton include:
- Anthropologist Mary Douglas
- Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Playwright Eugene O’Neill
- Literary critic, Edmund Wilson
- Attorney and consumer advocate, Ralph Nader
- Financial journalist, Michael Lewis
- Automobile company chief executive, Lee Iacocca
- Amazon founder, Jeff Bezos
- Army General and public servant, David Petraeus
- Actor James (“Jimmy”) Stewart
According to Wikipedia, Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The institution moved to Newark in 1747, and then to the current site nine years later. It officially became a university in 1896 and was subsequently renamed Princeton University.
Princeton University's Online Degrees
Princeton University Admissions, Retention, and Graduation Information
Annual Applications | Acceptance | Graduation Rate | Median SAT Score | Median ACT Score |
---|---|---|---|---|
38,019 | 6% | 97% | 1535 | 34 |
How Much Does Princeton University Cost To Attend?
Tuition (in-state) |
---|
$57,410 |
Income | Average Net Cost |
---|---|
0 - 30K | $2,841 |
30K - 48K | $2,370 |
48K - 75K | $6,943 |
75K - 110K | $13,557 |
110K+ | $36,082 |
How Much Do Princeton University Graduates Make?
If you graduate from Princeton University, then you can expect to earn an average of $116,300 per year. You also have a 88% chance of being employed after 10 years.
Princeton University's Demographics
Demographic data is for full-time, on-campus students.
Student Body | Under-Grads | Graduates |
---|---|---|
8,631 | 5,444 | 3,187 |
Where is Princeton University?
Princeton University is located at 1 Nassau Hall, Princeton NJ 08544-0070
How Safe is Princeton University?
Princeton University has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%. Princeton has a violent crime rate of less than .01% and a property crime rate of less than .01%.
What Is Princeton University Known For?
Princeton University is known for it's academic work in the following disciplines:
- Mathematics
- Philosophy
- Physics
- Religious Studies
- Computer Science
- Political Science
- Economics
- History
- Literature
- Education
- Earth Sciences
- Engineering
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Chemistry
- Anthropology
Princeton University's Top Areas of Influence With Degrees Offered
Who Are Princeton University's Most Influential Alumni?
Princeton University's most influential alumni include professors and professionals in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science. Here are some of Princeton University's most famous alumni:
- Richard Feynman
- An American theoretical physicist .
- Marvin Minsky
- An American cognitive scientist .
- John Rawls
- An American political philosopher.
- Alonzo Church
- An American mathematician .
- Robert Mueller
- A Sixth director of the FBI. Robert Mueller is American attorney.
- Allen Newell
- An American cognitive scientist.
- Edward Witten
- An American theoretical physicist.
- John McCarthy
- An American computer scientist and cognitive scientist.
- Robert Nozick
- An American political philosopher.
- John Bardeen
- An American physicist and engineer.
- Edward Said
- A Palestinian-American professor .
- Gary Becker
- An American economist .
Who Are Princeton University's Most Influential Faculty?
Princeton University's most influential faculty include professors in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science. Here are some of Princeton University's most famous alumni:
- Robert M. Gagné
- An American psychologist .
- Manjul Bhargava
- An Indo-Canadian mathematician.
- Philip N. Howard
- A Canadian sociologist.
- Maryam Mirzakhani
- An Iranian mathematician, (1977 - ), Tehran, Iran.
- Dean Karlan
- An American economist.
- Elon Lindenstrauss
- A Mathematician.
- David Blei
- An American artificial intelligence researcher.
- Jordan Ellenberg
- An American mathematician .
- Matthew Desmond
- An American sociologist.
- Nima Arkani-Hamed
- An American-Canadian physicist.
- Nets Katz
- A Mathematics professor.
- June Huh
- A Korean-American mathematician.