A department entered after arrival
Princeton says students apply to the University, not to departments, and engineers choose one of six engineering departments at the end of their first year.
Undergraduate · Princeton
Princeton Electrical and Computer Engineering: devices, computing and communications
Princeton admits students to the University, not to a department, and Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is one of the six engineering departments that award the B.S.E. Princeton's electrical engineering programme started in 1889, and the department page describes research from semiconductor physics to networks and security. This guide makes no claim of a separate application to the department.
Official information · read 1 November 2026, no entry-year label
What Princeton says about Princeton Electrical and Computer Engineering
Taken from Princeton Engineering's Electrical and Computer Engineering department page, Princeton Admission's Academics, Standardized Testing and International Students pages, read on 1 November 2026. The pages carry no entry-year label, so for a 2028-entry application every statement below is evidence for the previous cycle and may change; check Princeton's pages for the 2028-entry details.
An old programme
The department says its electrical engineering programme started in 1889 as one of the first in the United States.
Research from devices to networks
Named areas include semiconductors, optical devices, computers and networks, nanotechnologies and information algorithms.
A senior thesis or independent project
Princeton says every senior writes a thesis or, in some engineering departments, undertakes a substantial independent project.
The SAT or ACT is required
Princeton says fall 2028 first-year applicants need to submit either SAT or ACT scores.
Official sources
- Princeton Admission: Academicsadmission.princeton.edu
- Princeton Engineering: Electrical and Computer Engineeringengineering.princeton.edu
- Princeton Admission: Standardized Testingadmission.princeton.edu
Read on 1 November 2026 on Princeton Engineering's Electrical and Computer Engineering department page, Princeton Admission's Academics, Standardized Testing and International Students pages, which describes 2027 entry. The pages carry no entry-year label. Princeton's Undergraduate Announcement, the course lists, deadlines and financial aid were not read, and the page read is a department research overview and does not set out the undergraduate curriculum and are not stated.
The department
What Princeton says ECE works on
Princeton Engineering's department page says the electrical engineering programme, started in 1889 as one of the first in the United States, remains at the forefront with research aimed at human health, energy and environmental systems, computing and communications, and security. Named areas include the physics of semiconductors, electronic and optical devices, the design of computers and networks, nanotechnologies, algorithms and structures for information, and biological technologies. The page read is a research overview. It does not set out the undergraduate curriculum, and this guide does not describe courses.
Is it the right department?
ECE beside Computer Science and the other engineering departments
Princeton describes these separately, so the choice is made after admission. Avandy's comparison is general.
ECE fits if
you want hardware, devices and communications alongside computing.
Computer Science fits if
you want computing as the main subject. Avandy's Princeton Computer Science guide covers it.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering fits if
you want mechanics and energy. Avandy's Princeton MAE guide covers it.
Admission and testing
A Princeton application and the SAT or ACT
Princeton asks for an academic record that includes internal grades and marks from external exams such as A levels or the IB, with predicted or achieved results sent as they become available. It says first-year applicants for fall 2028 will need to submit either SAT or ACT scores. The department is chosen after enrolment, not applied for separately. This guide states no score.
A decision framework
Three questions before you commit
This is Avandy's own framework, not Princeton's.
Does the link between physics and computing interest you?
The department's research spans both.
Are mathematics, physics, chemistry and computer science comfortable first-two-year foundations?
Princeton lists them as engineering requirements.
Can you plan the SAT or ACT with your A levels or IB?
Princeton says fall 2028 first-year applicants need to submit one of them.
Planning for 2028 entry
Planning for 2028 entry: what carries over and what is awaiting publication
Princeton's pages carry no entry-year label, so nothing on them is confirmed for 2028 entry. Use them to understand the structure of the application, then check Princeton's own pages for the 2028-entry details.
The requirements and descriptions on the pages read on 1 November 2026, which carry no entry-year label
These are the best guide to what to prepare. Princeton has not confirmed them for 2028 entry.
Deadlines, fees, financial aid and any department prerequisites not quoted here: not stated
This guide has not read them. Check Princeton for the values that apply to your application year.
What to do now
Read the department page and the Undergraduate Announcement entry, and plan the SAT or ACT alongside your A levels or IB.
Support
Independent support with planning your own application
Avandy provides independent academic and admissions support. It is not affiliated with Princeton University or any of its colleges or departments. Preparation sits within the Avandy Trinity Advisory Model: a Strategic Admissions Consultant, a PhD-level Academic Mentor and a Subject-specific Tutor, working to the actual requirements of each course. Support here is limited to understanding the requirements and planning the applicant's own work; Avandy does not write or edit essays, does not submit any materials and has no partnership with Princeton University. No outcome is promised.
Questions
Questions applicants ask
Can I apply directly to Princeton Electrical and Computer Engineering?
No. Princeton says students apply to the University, not to individual departments, programs or schools.
Can I apply directly to ECE?
No. Princeton says students apply to the University and engineers choose a department at the end of the first year.
Is there a senior thesis?
Princeton says every senior writes a thesis or, in some engineering departments, undertakes a substantial independent project.
Do I need the SAT or ACT?
Princeton says first-year applicants seeking to enrol in fall 2028 will need to submit either SAT or ACT scores.
Do A levels and the IB count?
Princeton asks for marks from external exams such as British A levels or the International Baccalaureate, with predicted or achieved results as they become available.
Are these the rules for 2028 entry?
No. They are Princeton's wording with no entry-year label. Check Princeton's pages again when Princeton publishes its 2028-entry requirements.
Students and families
Talk to us about Princeton Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tell us about the student's curriculum, their mathematics and physics, their interest in electronics and computing and their SAT or ACT plan, the universities on the list, and the intended year of entry. A senior adviser will review the academic profile before recommending how to prepare.