So, what’s your major?
Princeton’s School of Engineering and Applied Science has six basic concentrations (majors), and the University offers a whole host of certificate programs (minors). At Princeton, you’re only allowed to declare one concentration, but many of the engineering majors have tracks that let you focus on, for example, Biomedical Engineering inside ECE, or Engineering and the Liberal Arts inside CEE. And, for even more variety, there’s certificate programs, most of which you take prerequisites for your first two years and enroll in officially junior year. While the ones listed here are the ones relating to engineering, Princeton engineers have been enrolled in such diverse certificate programs as Urban Studies and Dance.
Concentrations
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE)
MAE includes interests in all manners of problems across space exploration, satellite technology, pollution and alternative fuels, energy usage, battery technology, novel optical systems, propulsion systems, mechanics of fluids and solids, stability and control of vehicles, aircraft performance, and instrumentation. Check it out if you want to learn to use engineering to tackle the technical challenges of today’s society.
Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE)
Welcome to the world of pollution control, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors, adhesives, biopolymers, artificial kidneys, oil refineries, solar panels and ceramics. CBE deals with the chemical and physical processes used to develop and make these and many products. Check it out if you want to learn about the technological infrastructure of modern industries such as petroleum processing, pharmaceuticals, food processing, and plastics manufacturing.
Computer Science (COS) Computing is everywhere in modern life, whether it be as mundane as checking friends on a social network or as sophisticated as weather forecasting. More fundamentally, computational thinking has contributed to a broad spectrum of problems, from music composition to drug design. Computer Scientists work at startups, tech companies, consulting firms, and their computational thinking contributes to their learning experiences in a variety of environments.
Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
Electrical and computer engineers are well positioned to address a variety of the crucial engineering issues facing societies today such as energy, information, and health. Think, for example, about efficient lighting, communications, devices and circuits, power grids, medical imaging, networks, etc. ECE engages in learning about many topics related to these challenges.
Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Under a common departmental structure, CEE allows students to branch out into subareas such as architecture, environmental engineering, geological engineering, structural engineering, etc. CEE places emphasis on the static and dynamic behaviors of structures, construction materials, and geotechnical materials; the workings of the natural environment, how human activities affect the environment, and technologies to monitor, protect and restore the environment; and elements of design and its philosophy.
Operations Research and Financial Engineering (ORF)
The ORFE program emphasizes quantitative theories/models and methods/algorithms needed to face the data challenges of modern society. Different courses specialize in applications such as regulation of financial institutions, energy and the environment (specifically the financialization of commodities, climate change, and emissions control), the transportation systems of the future, and health care. Students in ORFE develop a unique set of skills that builds upon a solid foundation in probability and stochastic processes, numerical optimization, statistics, and computational mathematics.
Minors and Certificate Programs
Applied and Computational Mathematics:
Students learn to use computational resources to describe changing trends with the help of mathematical models and simulation techniques.
Architecture and Engineering: Students engage in a combination of studies that involve structural engineering and architectural studies to gain a wider understanding of building structures that appear in our everyday lives.
Bioengineering: Students gain an understanding of the biotechnology field by engaging in a multidisciplinary study of engineering and the life sciences.
Computer Science: Students learn core areas of computing and practical software design skills to apply computational methods and problem-solving across diverse disciplines.
Engineering Physics: Students learn how to combine engineering and a deeper knowledge of physics in areas such as energy, environment, materials, microelectronics and photonics.
Entrepreneurship: Students learn how to create value through innovative, real-world ventures by gaining foundational skills in leadership, opportunity recognition, business planning, and social impact while engaging with the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem and completing an experiential practicum.
Environmental Studies: Students learn to address complex environmental challenges by integrating scientific, humanistic, and policy perspectives, gaining multidisciplinary training through core and elective courses, independent work, and collaborative capstone experiences.
Finance: Students gain a foundation in modern financial theory and practice by studying asset pricing, risk evaluation, portfolio management, financial intermediaries, and corporate finance, while exploring how finance connects to economics, policy, and emerging areas such as fintech.
Geological Engineering: Students learn to apply science to problems and projects involving the Earth, its physical environment, earth materials, and natural resources.
Materials Science and Engineering: Students gain both the theoretical foundation and practical knowledge needed to appreciate the rapidly developing field of modern materials through engineering.
Optimization and Quantitative Decision Science: Students learn to model complex decisions using mathematical optimization and uncertainty analysis, gaining quantitative skills for evaluating risk, structuring choices, and applying data-driven, algorithmic tools to make informed decisions in uncertain environments.
Robotics: Students seek to understand the work going into the creation of systems for learning, adaptation, decision-making, identification, estimation, and control using concepts drawn from cognitive and biological sciences in addition to developing systems employing automated control.
Statistics and Machine Learning: Students learn about machine learning computer science and the use of statistics in data analysis in a variety of settings.
Sustainable Energy: Students acquire the ability to quantitatively analyze, design, and develop innovative energy systems and technologies that support sustainable economic growth and energy security.
Technology and Society: Students learn about the intersection between technology and societal issues via two different tracks: The Energy track focused on the use of energy and natural resources in modern society, and the Information Technology (IT) track that broadly covers computation and communication technologies.