Admission: Overview
Princeton University’s campus, academic home to more than 2,000 graduate students, 4,700 undergraduates, and 700 faculty members, is located midway between New York City and Philadelphia in the town of Princeton, a community of approximately 30,000.
Princeton University offers a unique combination of resources in a community that provides unusual cultural and intellectual opportunities. We encourage scholars from all disciplines, backgrounds and interests to apply. We hope that you explore our departments and meet with the faculty to discover which program of study is best suited for your interests. By doing so, you will get a feel of what it is like to thrive in our community, collaborate with our distinguished faculty and work in our state-of-the-art facilities.
The college and the town share a history that predates and encompasses the American Revolution. Nassau Hall, which houses administrative offices, was the site of meetings of the Continental Congress in the spring and fall of 1783. History is preserved and reflected from past to present in the architecture and geography of the town’s streets as well as the campus. Nassau Street, once a part of the Assunpink Trail, is the commercial center of Princeton, and defines the upper boundary of the University.
Part of Princeton’s history as a community is its tradition of serving as a congenial, stimulating haven for study and research for scholars from all parts of the world. Neighbor institutions include the Princeton Theological Seminary and the renowned Institute for Advanced Study. Walking paths and bicycle trails thread through their grounds and by Lake Carnegie, through Herrontown Woods, Marquand Park, and along the Delaware and Raritan Canal.
In addition to opportunities for recreation afforded by the natural setting, graduate students use the University’s extensive and well-equipped athletic facilities free of charge. These include tennis and squash courts, a skating rink, indoor pools, and weight and exercise rooms.
The community offers a resident repertory theater, three orchestras, ballet, chamber music, several choral groups, shops, restaurants, and cinemas. Princeton is ideally situated to host traveling art shows, dance and musical groups, and solo performers, in addition to visiting academicians and dignitaries from the world of public affairs.
While maintaining its identity as a university town, Princeton’s location has attracted a number of major corporations that have located primary research or corporate offices in the area: AT&T Research Laboratory, Siemens, Sarnoff, Bristol-Myers Squibb, NEC, the Gallup Organization, and Educational Testing Service, to mention a few. The proximity of scholars, writers, artists, scientists, and business professionals promotes a diverse intellectual climate.
An excellent transportation network of bus, rail, and highways puts Princeton within easy reach (an hour or less) of major urban centers: Philadelphia and Trenton to the south, Newark and New York to the north. International airports are located in Philadelphia, Newark, and New York; bus and train stations to these cities are adjacent to campus. Air service is available to some destinations from the Mercer County Airport near Trenton.
Day trips from Princeton offer a surprising variety of attractions. Farmlands, the Pine Barrens, the Jersey shore, the Appalachian Trail, and even ski slopes can be visited without leaving New Jersey.
Explore our website to learn more about our departmental offerings, admission procedures and application deadlines. If you have further questions, please feel free to contact us.