McCosh Hall (Princeton University's Orange Key Tour)

Media Gallery

Undergraduate Research with Emilio '23

Liberal Arts Curriculum with Shruti '23

Types of Courses

Undergraduate Focus

✒️ Types of Courses

Princeton has three main class styles: lectures and precepts, classroom-style courses, and seminars.

Classroom-Style Courses

Classroom-style courses are often for introductory math and language courses, meet multiple times per week, have about 15-30 students, and are most similar to what students might have experienced in high school.

Lectures and Precepts

Lecture classes are usually for large introductory courses such as Introduction to Microeconomics or Introduction to Computer Science. Once or twice per week, they are broken into smaller discussion sections, called “precepts.”

A precept brings together a faculty member or an advanced graduate student and a small group of undergraduates, usually 10-15, to discuss course material, weekly readings, and writing assignments. Precepts are often a place where students ask questions and get clarification on material presented in lecture.

Science and engineering courses often have a laboratory section in addition to or in place of a precept.

Seminars

Seminars usually meet once a week for three hours, are capped at 12-15 students, and are always led by a faculty member. They often do deep dives into subjects. Although they are often advanced courses, there are specific seminars reserved for first-years.

Freshman Seminars

Each year, approximately 75 freshman seminars are offered to new students on a wide range of topics. The students’ main responsibility is to think deeply about the material and bring their ideas to the table.

Each freshman seminar is limited to 15 students and is developed and taught by a member of Princeton’s renowned faculty, whose main role is to serve as a facilitator of ideas. Each freshman seminar is hosted by a residential college, which means that discussions started in the classroom can continue over meals or in other informal settings.

Class discussions dictate their own direction and students are encouraged to argue, get inspired and be passionate. Both students and professors consistently cite freshman seminars as among their finest academic experiences at Princeton.

✒️ Undergraduate Focus

One of the best parts of the Princeton educational experience is that our world-renowned faculty members have come to the University in order to teach and interact with a largely undergraduate student body; this is uncommon among large research universities. With 75% of our classes having fewer than 20 students and a 5:1 student-faculty ratio, students receive individual attention from faculty.

Princeton is focused on undergraduate study. We have approximately 5,700 undergraduates and about 3,200 graduate students. This ratio of undergraduates to graduate students is unique and supports the liberal arts mission of the University. All professors must teach undergraduates, and fewer graduate students and professional schools than our peer institutions ensures that undergraduates have access to a variety of resources and research opportunities that they might not have at other schools.

McCosh Hall