Princeton University Graduate College, residential college at Princeton University
Princeton University Graduate College is a residential college at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey, where graduate students live during their studies. The complex is made of limestone buildings in a Gothic Revival style, grouped around open courtyards, with Cleveland Tower at its center and Procter Hall serving as the main dining room.
The college opened in 1913 to give graduate students a place to live away from the main undergraduate campus. Architect Ralph Adams Cram modeled the Gothic Revival design on medieval European universities, and new buildings were added over the following decades.
The college was designed as a dedicated space for graduate students to live as a community apart from undergraduates. Students gather in dining halls and courtyards, creating a shared daily life that centers on both individual study and collective traditions.
The Graduate College sits at the edge of the main Princeton University campus and is easy to reach on foot from the surrounding streets. The courtyards are open and straightforward to walk through, making it simple to explore the grounds without getting lost.
Cleveland Tower holds a carillon that was donated by the class of 1892 in 1927 and still plays at set times each day, sending music across the whole grounds. A carillon of this size on a university campus is unusual in the United States, making it one of the more unexpected features of the site.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
