PRINCETON UNIVERSITY.doc

Princeton University is a located in, ,.Founded in 1746 in as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is one of the nine established before the as well as the chartered institution of higher education in the American colonies. The university moved to in 1747, then to Princeton in 1756 and was renamed Princeton University in 1896. The present-day in nearby, New Jersey, is an unrelated institution. Princeton had close ties to the, but has never been affiliated with any denomination and today imposes no religious requirements on its students. Princeton now provides undergraduate and graduate instruction in the, , , and engineering. It does not have schools of medicine, law, , nor business, but it does offer professional degrees through the, the, and the School of Architecture. The institute has ties with the, , and the of. Princeton has been associated with 35, 17 winners, and three National Humanities Medal winners. On a per-student basis, Princeton has the largest university endowment in the world. Historyfounded the College of New Jersey, later Princeton University, in 1746 in order to train ministers. The college was the educational and religious capital of Scots-Irish America. In 1756, the college moved to Princeton, New Jersey. Its home in Princeton was, named for the royal of.Following the untimely deaths of Princetons first five, became president in 1768 and remained in that office until his death in 1794. During his presidency, Witherspoon shifted the colleges focus from training ministers to preparing a new generation for leadership in the new American nation. To this end, he tightened academic standards and solicited investment in the college. Witherspoons presidency constituted a long period of stability for the college, interrupted by the and particularly the, during which British soldiers briefly occupied Nassau Hall; American forces, led by, fired on the building to rout them from it.Before the construction of Stanhope Hall in 1803, Nassau Hall was the colleges sole building. The cornerstone of the building was laid on September 17, 1754. During the summer of 1783, the met in Nassau Hall, making Princeton the countrys capital for four months. Over the centuries and through two redesigns following major fires, (1802 and 1855) Nassau Halls role shifted from an all-purpose building, comprising office, dormitory, library, and classroom space; to classroom space exclusively; to its present role as the administrative center of the University. The class of 1879 donated twin lion sculptures that flanked the entrance until 1911, when that same class replaced them with tigers. Nassau Halls iconic bell rang after the halls construction however the fire of 1802 melted the bell. The bell was then recast and melted again in the fire of 1855.took office as the colleges president in 1868 and lifted the institution out of a low period that had been brought about by the. During his two decades of service, he overhauled the curriculum, oversaw an expansion of inquiry into the sciences, and supervised the addition of a number of buildings in the style to the campus. McCosh Hall is named in his honor. In 1879, the first thesis for a Ph.D. was submitted by James F. Williamson, Class of 1877.In 1896, the college officially changed its name from the College of New Jersey to Princeton University to honor the town in which it resides. During this year, the college also underwent large expansion and officially became a university.In 1900, the Graduate School was established. In 1902, , graduate of the Class of 1879, is elected the 13th president of the university. Under Wilson, Princeton introduced the preceptorial system in 1905, a then-unique concept that augmented the standard lecture method of teaching with a more personal form in which small groups of students, or precepts, could interact with a single instructor, or preceptor, in their field of interest.In 1906, the reservoir was created by. A collection of Historical photographs of the building of the lake is housed at the on Princetons campus. In 1919 the School of Architecture was established. In 1933, became a lifetime member of the with an office on the Princeton campus. (While always independent of the university, the Institute for Advanced Study occupied offices in Jones Hall for 6 years, from its opening in 1933, until their own campus was finished and opened in 1939. This helped start an incorrect impression that it was part of the university, one that has never been completely eradicated.)UndergraduateUndergraduate 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 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 students suspension or expulsion. The signed pledge required by the Honor Code is so integral to students academic experience that the performs a song about it each fall. Out-of-class exercises fall under the jurisdiction of the Faculty-Student Committee on Discipline. Undergraduates are expected to sign a pledge on their written work affirming that they have not the work. RankingsFrom 2001 to 2013, Princeton University was ranked either first or second among national universities by (USNWR), holding the top spot (sole or tied) for 11 of those 13 years, and was ranked #1 again for 2014, as per U.S. News. In the 2012, Princeton was ranked 6th in the world. In the 2012, 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, and 12th in. In THEs 2012-2013 World University Ranking of Universities, Princeton placed 2nd above MIT and behind Caltech in Engineering and Technology. Princeton was ranked 7th among 300 Best World Universities in 2011 compiled by (HRLR) on Measurements of Worlds Top 300 Universities Graduates Performance . In the Americas Top Colleges rankings by in 2013, Princeton University was ranked third among all national colleges and universities. Princeton Graduate School programs are also highly ranked among universities in the United States. In the 2009 U.S. News & World Report Graduate School Rankings, all fourteen of Princetons 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). In Princeton Reviews 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. The universitys individual academic departments have been highly ranked in their respective fields. The has been ranked fifth in the nation and its individual graduate programs have received high national rankings as well. The program has been ranked sixth and the program has been ranked seventh. The Department of History is currently ranked first in the world. Princeton University also participates in the ()s.Princeton University has an IBM supercomputer, called Orangena, which was ranked as the 89th fastest computer in the world in 2005 (performance of 4713 compared to 12250 for other U.S. universities and 280600 for the top-ranked supercomputer, belonging to the).Student life and cultureUniversity housing is guaranteed to all undergraduates for all four years. More than 98 percent of students live on campus in dormitories. Freshmen and sophomores must live in, while juniors and seniors typically live in designated upperclassman dormitories. The actual dormitories are comparable, but only residential colleges have dining halls. Nonetheless, any undergraduate may purchase a meal plan and eat in a residential college dining hall. Recently, upperclassmen have been given the option of remaining in their college for all four years. Juniors and seniors also have the option of living off-campus, but high rent in the Princeton area encourages almost all students to live in university housing. Undergraduate social life revolves around the residential colleges and a number of coeducational, which students may choose to join in the spring of their sophomore year. Eating clubs, which are not officially affiliated with the university, serve as dining halls and communal spaces for their members and also host social events throughout the academic year.Princetons six residential colleges host a variety of social events and activities, guest speakers, and trips. The residential colleges also sponsor trips to New York for undergraduates to see ballets, operas, Broadway shows, sports events, and other activities. The eating clubs, located on Prospect Avenue, are co-ed organizations for upperclassmen. Most upperclassmen eat their meals at one of the eleven eating clubs. Additionally, the clubs serve as evening and weekend social venues for members and guests.Princeton hosts two conferences, PMUNC in the fall for high school students and PICSim in the spring for college students. It also hosts the Princeton Invitational Speech and Debate tournament each year at the end of November. Princeton also runs Princeton Model Congress, an event that is held once a year in mid-November. The 4-day conference has high school students from around the country as participants.Although the schools admissions policy is, Princeton, based on the proportion of students who receive Pell Grants, was ranked as a school with little economic diversity among all national universities ranked by U.S. News & World Report. While Pell figures are widely used as a gauge of the number of low-income undergraduates on a given campus, the rankings article cautions the proportion of students on Pell Grants isnt a perfect measure of an institutions efforts to achieve economic diversity, but goes on to say that still, many experts say that Pell figures are the best available gauge of how many low-income undergrads there are on a given campus.Traditions Arch Sings Late-night concerts that feature one or several of Princetons thirteen undergraduate groups. The free concerts take place in one of the larger arches on campus. Most are held in Blair Arch or Class of 1879 Arch. Bonfire Ceremonial bonfire that takes place in Cannon Green behind Nassau Hall. It is held only if Princeton beats both and at in the same season. The most recent bonfire was lit on November 17, 2012, ending a five-year drought. Selection process for new-members that is employed by selective eating clubs. Prospective members, or bickerees, are required to perform a variety of activities at the request of current members. Cane Spree An athletic competition between freshmen and sophomores that is held in the fall. The event centers on cane wrestling, where a freshman and a sophomore will grapple for control of a cane. This commemorates a time in the 1870s when sophomores, angry at the freshmen who strutted around with fancy canes, stole all of the canes from the freshmen, hitting them with their own canes in the process. The Clapper or Clapper Theft The act of climbing to the top of Nassau Hall to steal the bell clapper, which rings to signal the start of classes on the first day of the school year. For safety reasons, the clapper has now been removed permanently. Class Jackets (Beer Jackets) Each graduating class designs a Class Jacket that features its class year. The artwork is almost invariably dominated by the school colors and tiger motifs. An annual street fair with performances, arts and crafts, and other activities that attempts to foster interaction between the university community and residents of the Princeton. Deans Date The Tuesday at the end of each semester when all written work is due. This day signals the end of reading period and the beginning of final examinations. Traditionally, undergraduates gather outside McCosh Hall before the 5:00pm deadline to cheer on fellow students who have left their work to the very last minute. FitzRandolph Gates At the end of Princetons graduation ceremony, the new graduates process out through the main gate of the university as a symbol of the fact that they are leaving college. According to tradition, anyone who exits campus through the FitzRandolph Gates before his or her own graduation date will not graduate. Gilding the Lily Promotion ceremony at the 25th reunion of a class. Alumnae of the University (aka Tiger Lilies) enjoy the courting of male classmates, amid song and much drink (see Newmans Day). Traditional chants include: In Princeton Town the Youth abound, and do young Tigers make. Women return as Gilded Lilies, the men as Frosted Flakes. Holder Howl The midnight before Deans Date, students from Holder Hall and elsewhere gather in the Holder courtyard and take part in a minute-long, communal primal scream to vent frustration from studying with impromptu, late night noise making. Houseparties Formal parties that are held simultaneously by all of the eating clubs at the end of