Four universities: Princeton University

MAR 01, 1968

Two major programs are offered, one of which is a preparation for graduate school. Emphasis is on independent undergraduate work which has led in some cases to published research results.

DOI: 10.1063/1.3034824

Thomas R. Carver

A SENIOR ONCE said to us, “Getting an education in physics at Princeton is like trying to get a drink from a firehose.” The faculty, wryly amused at that time, is aware of the situation to which he referred. The quantity and intensity of the material that is offered certainly might overwhelm the student who was unprepared to meet the challenge. Neither of the two major programs we offer for undergraduates—the one for graduate‐school‐bound students and the one for those less likely to become full‐time professional physicists—is intended to be easy. Each of them offers a core of undergraduate courses in which the student learns his fundamentals. But our emphasis is on independent work, undergraduate research, senior theses and comprehensive examinations for both juniors and seniors. We do not claim that the curriculum is easy; we do feel that it does its job well.

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Thomas R. Carver, Princeton University.