Princeton simultaneously strives to be one of the leading research universities and the most outstanding undergraduate college in the world. As a research university, it seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding, and in the education of graduate students. At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching.
The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources—in a residential community committed to diversity in its student body, faculty and staff—that help them achieve at the highest scholarly levels and prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.
Through the scholarship and teaching of its faculty, and the many contributions to society of its alumni, Princeton seeks to fulfill its informal motto: “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations.”
普林斯顿大学私立大学。成立于1746年。共设有六十三个系及各种系际合作的学习课程；研究所则设有五十多个系及三所专业研究学院。研究所自1900年规模初定以来，即着重人文、科学及工程等博士人才的培养。
1919年成立建筑学院 (the School of Architecture) 强调硬件规画及建筑环境的设计，并受政治、经济、社会、行为等学科的熏陶，使设计理念能与当地居民及环境相结合。1921年另设立工程和应用科学学院 (the School of Engineeringand Applied Science) ，其下共设有五个系，分别是化工系 (Chemical Engineering) 、电机系 (Electrical Engineering) ，土木工程和作业研究系 (Civil Engineering & Operation Research) ，计算机科学系 (Computer Science) 以及机械航空工程系 (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) ；最后成立的专业学院则是威尔逊公共和国际事务学院 (the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) ，成立于1930年。系为一政治经济和历史科际整合的培训计划，目的在培养具通才知识的公共行政和国际事务专业分析人才。
普林斯顿大学向以理论研究见长，设有三专业学院，商学院、法学院、医学院。普林斯顿大学排除了三大扩充学校经费来源的招生机会，为其学术风格依然保持理论倾向，并且使纯朴校风得以维持，这一特色是其它常春藤盟校或新近崛起的名校所无法向及的。
