15 Unique Courses at Princeton

Princeton University has General Education Requirements designed to encourage students to explore other fields and develop an interdisciplinary approach to problem-solving within their own disciplines. In this article, we’ve listed 15 unique courses at Princeton that you can consider to fulfill those requirements or take as electives.

• Unique Arts and Humanities Courses at Princeton
• Unique Science and Technology Courses at Princeton
• Unique Social Sciences Courses at Princeton
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Takeaways

Unique Arts and Humanities Courses at Princeton

Princeton’s arts and humanities offerings include creative, interdisciplinary classes that allow you to dig into culture, history, and meaning from uncommon angles.

1. ART 233 Renaissance Art and Architecture

When talking about the history of art, the Renaissance should definitely be part of the discussion. But why?

In ART 233, you’ll look into the world of the Renaissance era, studying what it was and why it holds such a special place in art history. This unique course at Princeton spans Europe’s 14th to 16th centuries, which was a time of religious devotion, rising nation-states, global trade, and conflict.

You’ll explore how these forces shaped the art of the period while also discussing major themes like encounters with foreign cultures, the status of women, and the revival of classical antiquity in Renaissance works.

You’ll also visit campus collections of paintings, prints, and maps to see Renaissance masterpieces by Michelangelo, da Vinci, and other possibly less familiar artists.

2. CLA 203 What is a Classic?

Ever wonder why some books are called “classics” and studied for centuries? You’ll attempt to answer this question here in CLA 203.

In this unique course at Princeton, you’ll be looking at four legendary poems (Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses) to explore how a literary work becomes part of the global canon.

You can expect to discuss the processes that elevate certain works—such as transmission through history, critical commentary, translation into new languages. You’ll also talk about the darker side of canon formation: how recognition of some texts comes with the exclusion of others.

Related to that, you’ll think about how classics intersect with issues of religion, race, colonization, empire, and world literature.

3. COM 466 Refugees, Migrants and the Making of Contemporary Europe

Migration has become such a huge topic in recent years. In COM 466, you’ll attempt to explain why borders are so central to modern political and moral life, especially in Europe. You can expect to analyze novels, poetry, and movies about 20th-century migrations alongside legal theory and even forensic reports of recent border crossings.

In this unique course at Princeton, you’ll trace how “mobile subjects” like stowaways, pirates, anti-colonial rebels, and other migrants have historically driven new ethics and political geographies. In effect, you’ll view migrants as active shapers of societies rather than passive victims.

You’ll also discuss how Europe’s nation-states policed borders from the colonial era to the present, and why attitudes shifted from viewing migrants as political agents to treating them as humanitarian beneficiaries.

4. DAN 224 Experiential Anatomy

DAN 224 offers a completely different take on studying the human body. Instead of simply memorizing body parts from a textbook, you’ll learn anatomy using movement, drawing, and dance practices.

Class time will be split between traditional anatomy/kinesiology lessons and creative, hands-on activities that get you moving, making it a true fusion of art and biology. You’ll also discuss real-world problems like posture issues or sports injuries and explore how an interdisciplinary understanding of anatomy can suggest solutions.

By the end of this unique course at Princeton, you’ll have a deeper appreciation of human physiology and a better personal awareness of your own body.

5. REL 257 Religion and Film

In REL 257, you’ll look at how religious themes and questions are portrayed in feature films. Each week, you’ll watch influential movies and then analyze how they handle spiritual content.

It’s important to note that these aren’t necessarily “religious movies” in the traditional sense. Instead, they say something (even just implicitly) about faith, doubt, morality, or the human search for meaning.

Early in the semester, you’ll focus on how specific religions like Christianity, Islam, or Buddhism are presented through characters and stories. Later, you’ll zoom out to how cinema handles broader concepts like love and sacrifice, good and evil, fate and free will, and justice and mercy.

This unique Princeton course will prompt you to look closer at what’s on screen and why it resonates with timeless religious questions.

Unique Science and Technology Courses at Princeton

Princeton’s science and technology classes connect scientific inquiry with big-picture issues that’s great for science majors or just science-curious students.

6. AST 255 Life in the Universe

Is there intelligent life outside of Earth? AST 255 will introduce you to astrobiology, a field that combines biology, chemistry, astrophysics, and geology to investigate life’s origins and the possibility of life beyond Earth.

This unique course at Princeton starts by examining how life began on Earth. Then, it will survey potential habitats for life in our solar system—like Mars, the icy moons Europa, and planets orbiting distant stars.

You can expect to discuss the latest research on whether these environments could support microbes (or more) and what signs of life scientists are looking for. The class also covers how the universe’s history and laws set the stage for life-friendly worlds.

You’ll also touch on the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) and debate the possibility of making contact with alien civilizations.

7. CBE 225 Plastics, Profit, and People: How Science & Society Can Strive for Sustainability

Contrary to what the Barbie Girl song says, life in plastic is not fantastic. Plastic is everywhere in modern life, from water bottles and food packaging to medical devices and toys. In CBE 225, you’ll look at the benefits and costs of plastic, as well as how we might create a more sustainable future.

This unique course at Princeton begins with the history and development of plastic materials, showing how we came to live in a “plastic world” in the first place. You’ll discuss the dark side of plastic, specifically how only a small percentage of plastic gets recycled, leading to huge environmental challenges.

Then, you’ll also study emerging ideas like bio-based plastics, improvements in recycling technology, and even how changes in consumer behavior or economic policy could reduce plastic waste.

8. CHV 401 Media Literacy: What to Read and Believe in the Age of AI

In an era of fake news, deepfakes, and AI-generated content, knowing how to critically consume media has become more important than ever. In CHV 401, you’ll take a closer look at how personal values and public life are shaped by what we see, hear, and read in the media.

You can expect to discuss the challenges and opportunities of today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, including threats to freedom of the press and the health of our democracy.

A big part of this unique course at Princeton is investigating where facts come from and how to verify them in a flood of information. You’ll learn to assess the credibility of news reports, identify biases or misinformation, and understand the role of journalists and algorithms in what information reaches the public.

9. EEB 329 Sensory Ecology

Humans experience the world with our five senses, but many animals live in sensory worlds that are almost unimaginable to us. In EEB 329, you’ll study how animals collect and use information from their environment, and how those abilities evolved. For example, you might cover bats and their echolocation or spiders’ “tasting” chemicals through the air.

You’ll learn how different sense organs and brain systems work and how these sensory abilities help animals survive and reproduce. You can do that by examining case studies of how creatures use sensory information for crucial behaviors like finding food, choosing mates, cooperating with allies, avoiding predators, and even mimicking other species.

This unique course at Princeton is an interesting combination of biology, neuroscience, and evolution to study animal behavior and the impressive adaptations life has developed.

10. GEO 102A Climate: Past, Present, and Future

Climate change is a defining issue of our time, and GEO 102A will give you a solid foundation to understand it. In this class, you’ll try to answer the question: Which human activities are altering Earth’s climate, and how serious is this change?

You’ll first be introduced to how Earth’s climate system works, covering atmospheric processes, the role of oceans, the carbon cycle, and natural climate patterns. Then you’ll trace Earth’s climate history, from the distant past of ice ages and warm periods millions of years ago to today’s warming trends.

From there, you’ll be identifying and evaluating possible solutions. Drawing on the latest climate science, you can consider options like renewable energy, carbon capture, adaptation strategies, and policy measures to mitigate climate change.

Unique Social Sciences Courses at Princeton

Princeton’s social science courses usually combine history, culture, politics, and economics. This encourages you to think critically about society and human behavior, sometimes through unexpected topics like sports or disasters.

11. ANT 219 Catastrophes across Cultures: The Anthropology of Disaster

What do hurricanes, pandemics, nuclear accidents, and famines have in common aside from being crises? They’re also windows into how societies work (or don’t work). In ANT 219, you’ll use anthropology as the main lens to look at natural and human-made disasters and look at how different communities perceive and respond to them.

One of the questions you’ll try to answer in this unique course at Princeton is: What counts as a “catastrophe,” and who gets to define it? Then you’ll look into case studies of often-forgotten historical calamities across continents to see how factors like religion, economy, and social structure influence the impact of disasters.

You’ll also study how catastrophes change cultures and social norms. You can expect to see how major disasters have led to political reforms, new religious movements, or shifts in community values.

12. ECO 316 Economic Lessons from the World of Sports

There’s actually so much you can learn about economics from the world of sports. In ECO 316, you’ll treat professional and collegiate sports as a living laboratory for economic theory since they provide tons of data and clear outcomes (wins, losses, player stats, salaries)—making them perfect for testing ideas about markets and behavior.

In this unique course at Princeton, you’ll apply both microeconomic models and real-world empirical analysis to topics drawn from the sports industry. It also covers game theory and strategic behavior in games and tournaments.

You’ll also touch on the efficiency of betting markets. The course examines the business side of sports, like the industrial organization of leagues (monopolies, antitrust exemptions) and public policy issues such as stadium financing and tax breaks for teams.

13. GSS 240 Bad Girls: Gender, Sexuality, Deviance

Despite the name, this course isn’t only about women. Instead, it’s about anyone who performs gender or sexuality in ways outside the norm. In GSS 240, you’ll study how society draws the line between acceptable and “deviant” behavior, especially regarding gender and sexuality.

You’ll unpack what words like normal or abnormal, good or bad mean in a cultural context. Why is an assertive woman labeled a “bad” while an assertive man might be praised? How do concepts of deviance change over time and across different cultures? You can expect readings in gender studies, sociology, and history to examine case studies of people who defied gender expectations.

You’ll also be linking theory to current events and pop culture. So, you might analyze a controversial celebrity’s behavior under the lens of societal double standards, or discuss how a TV show portrays LGBTQ+ characters as “deviant” or “normal.”

14. HIS 205 The Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire survived for over a millennium after the fall of Rome. It also had an interesting blend of being Roman in its laws and government, Greek in language and culture, and Christian in religion.

You’ll learn how Byzantium carried on the legacy of Rome and sometimes even outshone the West, with a powerful economy and a gold coin currency so stable it’s been called the “dollar of the Middle Ages.”

Some interesting events you can expect to cover in this unique course at Princeton include the rise of Islam and the Arab conquests, the era of Iconoclasm, and encounters with Western Europe during the Crusades. You’ll study how Byzantines thought about identity (including race, ethnicity, and gender) and why later Europeans belittled this empire and even tried to erase its history.

15. SPI 364 Making Post-Pandemic Worlds: Epidemic History and the Future

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to ask: what happens now, and how can we prevent this from happening again? SPI 364 will look at major pandemics in history—from the Black Death in the 14th century and 1918 flu, to the polio outbreaks and AIDS crisis, and up through COVID-19 itself.

By studying these events in this unique Princeton course, you’ll learn the short-term and long-term impacts that epidemics have on societies, specifically how they:

• Affect government and state power
• Challenge or restrict civil liberties
• Influence public trust (or mistrust) in experts and science
• Can worsen ethnic and racial tensions or other social inequalities

You’ll also take insights from past pandemics to have policy discussions about what a post-pandemic world could or should look like.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What does Princeton specialize in?

Princeton is a broad liberal arts and research university, so it doesn’t specialize in just one field. It’s renowned for excellence across disciplines, including social sciences, engineering, and computer sciences.

2. What programs is Princeton best known for?

Some programs that Princeton is best known for are history, computer science, political science, public and international affairs, and English.

3. What are the best courses at Princeton?

There’s no single list of “best” courses since those would depend on factors like your interests, strengths, and alignment with your goals.

Takeaways

• Princeton’s General Education Requirements help students receive a well-rounded education that helps them understand how humans have different ways of thinking. This also teaches them to look at events and problems from various perspectives.
• Princeton’s course catalog offers so many courses you can choose from. Among all these, the best ones will be those that excite and challenge you.
• Interested in any of the classes above? Consult a private admissions expert to help you build a strong college application that can increase your chances of getting accepted to Princeton or other top-tier schools.