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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
Princeton University, mellowed by the traditions of two centuries of student life, is the product of a continued liberalization of the educational concept upon which it was founded. It was a wave of practical frontier students that first jolted the college from its narrow position as a Presbyterian school; it was a group of forward-looking educators who attracted other men of international distinction to Princeton's service ; and it was the liberal spirit generated by both these forces that has directed the continued growth and widening influence of the Nation's fourth oldest university.
The 800-acre campus, separated only by Nassau Street from the town, slopes gradually to Lake Carnegie. With Nassau Hall as a nucleus, the campus reflects the varying architectural tastes and styles of the 180 years during which the buildings were erected. But the lawns, the trees and the spreading ivy give a feeling of harmony. Nassau Hall and the older dormitories nearby sound a frank note of the determined righteousness of the Presbyterian founders. Farther from Nassau Hall, the buildings are usually collegiate Gothic, a pleasing, refreshing and refined style based upon the collegiate architecture of Tudor England. Short flights of steps lead from one building level to another, following the contour of the land. The neatly trimmed, crisscrossing paths do not follow a formal plan; they were laid after students had marked out a trail by constant usage. Many students use bicycles in going to and from classes, but there is no feeling of crowding until the machines are stacked in piles in the entries of classrooms.
Princeton offers varied liberal arts and science subjects from which the student must elect 36 semester courses in his four years of study for the Bachelor of Arts degree. He completes his required credits with a comprehensive examination and a thesis in the field of his major. The program of humanities is designed to give a broad survey of contemporary life with a specialized course in a particular field. The School of Public and International Affairs, conducted principally for juniors and seniors preparing for a public career, comprises the departments of history, politics, economics and social institutions. Each student in the division is required to take "the conference on public affairs," an undergraduate seminar-type course concerned with contemporary problems. The two professional schools, engineering and architecture, and the School of Public and International Affairs have both undergraduate and graduate departments. The Graduate School offers courses leading to Master of Arts, Master of Fine Arts and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Fellowships and scholarships are available to exceptional students.
In the sophomore, junior and senior years, class instruction in the reading departments (philosophy, languages, history, etc.) is augmented by informal conferences on the extra-class reading. This arrangement, known as the Preceptorial System, is "meant not only to stimulate interest in the subject-matter of the course, but also to bring students into more intimate contact with their teachers than is possible in the more formal exercises of the classroom." Six or seven men meet with the preceptor in informal conferences, aimed at discovering and correcting misconceptions or confusion in the student's mind and stimulating and enlightening him with regard to the study in hand.
The university has a faculty of 365. Undergraduate students (for the school year ending in 1938) numbered 2,388, and advanced students totaled 277. A Negro has never been admitted.
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