TSI offers a full-time, for-credit academic curriculum alongside transfer success programming designed to help students identify and apply successfully to their target four-year colleges. Because life shouldn’t be all about school, Transfer Scholars also participate in a range of community-building programs on Princeton’s campus, and have numerous opportunities to engage with students and faculty in other Princeton programs.
Princeton-Accredited Courses
Every Transfer Scholar will take two Princeton courses for credit: a qualitative writing course, WRI 100, and one quantitative “Quant Lab” course. Transfer Scholars will all take WRI 100 together, whereas their Quant Lab class will be determined by the scholarly interests, and will be taken alongside incoming Princeton first-years participating in the Freshman Scholars Institute.
Qualitative Course:
WRI 100: Research and Argument in the Humanities and Social Sciences
Modeled on the undergraduate writing seminar taken by Princeton’s own transfer students, WRI 100 prepares Transfer Scholars for the rigors of independent research, and facilitates their transition from a consumer to producer of scholarship. Emphasizing evidence-driven argument in response to Transfer Scholars’ own intellectual curiosities, WRI 100 provides analytical tools for working with humanities and social science theory.
Quantitative Course:
Transfer Scholars will be placed in one of the following Quant Lab courses depending on their academic interests and previous coursework, though we cannot guarantee placement in a specific course. Their classmates will be a mix of other Transfer Scholars as well as newly admitted Princeton undergraduates participating in the Freshman Scholars Institute. The following list of classes is subject to change based on availability and yearly course offerings from faculty and staff.
COS 125: The Art and Science of Computer Programming
This course is an introduction to computer programming for students with little to no previous experience. Students will learn to write, read, and reason about computer programs. Topics include conditionals, loops, sound, animation, arrays, and functions. This course offers an alternative arts-inspired presentation of the first half of the material covered in COS 126.
EGR 150: Foundations of Engineering
This course provides a hands-on introduction to the foundational principles of engineering. The purpose of this course is two-fold. First, it provides a project-based introduction to engineering that mixes electronics, mechanical construction, and computational data analysis. Second, it provides a firm theoretical foundation for the project in both math and physics. In lab, students will have the opportunity to build, test, and iterate the design of a drone. Complementing the lab experience, students will engage in lectures and precepts to enhance their physics and mathematics content knowledge.
MAT 152: Mathematical Communication in the Quantitative Disciplines
This course showcases how techniques in pure mathematics can be applied to solve problems in a variety of quantitative disciplines, including Economics, Chemistry, Ecology, Probability and Statistics, and Computer Science. The course has two main goals. First, we aim to show that mathematics is not an isolated subject, but rather a web with connections and contributions to all of science. Second, we will put great emphasis on developing students' oral and written communication skills when it comes to describing their thoughts, arguments, and solutions. Indeed, solving a math problem is not just a matter of arriving at the correct final answer, but also communicating delicate, technical arguments in such a way that others can understand precisely what we mean.
MOL 152: Laboratory Research in the Life Sciences
This course will introduce students to laboratory research through a 6-week original research investigation. Although lecture and discussion will be incorporated as needed, by far the largest part of the course will consist of authentic hands-on research. Students will learn how to perform essential laboratory techniques, to design experiments, and to analyze and interpret experimental data. Students will gain experience in both written and oral presentation of scientific results. Students will use synthetic biology tools to conduct original promoter analysis research.
NEU 100: Thinking Quantitatively about Brains and Behavior
In this introductory, laboratory-based neuroscience course, you will learn about how the brain performs computations, conduct neuroscience experiments exploring invertebrate and human physiology and behavior, and develop skills in quantitatively analyzing the data you collect. The course will culminate in a research project based on one of the three experimental systems we explore.
SOC/POL 245: Visualizing Data
Equal parts art, programming, and statistical reasoning, data visualization is critical for anyone who seeks to analyze data. Data analysis skills have become essential for those pursuing careers in policy evaluation, business consulting, and research in fields like public health, social science, or education. This course introduces students to the powerful R programming language, the basics of creating data analysis graphics in R, and reasoning about what data visualizations can tell us. We will learn these topics through the lens of a single social scientific subject: intergenerational mobility, the relationship between social and economic origins and destinations over the life course.
ANT XXX: Monkeying Around: What Social Scientists Can Learn from Non-Human Primates
Non-human primates are often studied in social sciences like Anthropology, Psychology, and Sociology as a means to understand human evolution and behavior. They are our closest evolutionary relatives and they can be taught to communicate with humans, but are also imperiled by human expansion, tourism, and the pet-trade. This course will employ quantitative and qualitative methods and theory from Anthropology and other social and physical sciences to explore the human relationship with nonhuman primates including: our evolution and primate anatomy, primate behavior and wildlife field data collection, primate conservation and the pet trade.
Co-Curricular Experience
Transfer Success Programming
Beyond the two for-credit courses, TSI offers a transfer success curriculum that carries through the summer and into the fall. Through a suite of workshops – on such topics as researching four-year schools, considerations of fit, the financial aid landscape, curating materials and recommendation letters, and drafting your personal statement – Transfer Scholars will have a realistic plan of attack for the upcoming transfer application process.
After Transfer Scholars return to their community colleges in the fall, they keep in touch with TSI staff via regular check-ins as they make progress on their applications. As transfer deadlines approach, Transfer Scholars benefit from individual feedback on their personal statements and other materials.
Transfer Application Bootcamp
As a continuation of the Transfer Success Programming, TSI students are invited back onto campus in October to kick off “National Transfer Student Week”. Students will spend the weekend on campus with the TSI Team to delve deeper into their applications, personal statements, and any additional required materials (i.e., resume, letters of recommendation). Students will receive personalized feedback from the TSI Team, as well as their peers to build a strong and comprehensive application.
Community Programming
TSI will also create opportunities for its Scholars to engage with the growing number of academic and research-oriented summer programs on campus, and to meet and network with their student and faculty participants.
We will also host regular community programming on and near campus, helping students get to know each other outside of the rigors of the classroom. While we hope these events will be attractive to Transfer Scholars and lead to connections that last well beyond the program, they will typically not be required in a realistic nod to the many hands on students’ time.
Academic Programming
TSI offers weekly academic programming workshops meant to build students’ skills and broaden their academic horizons. Scholars have opportunities to learn new reading strategies, attend workshops on time management, connect with Princeton faculty and staff, meet with college admissions representatives, and more.
Academic Support
TSI is designed to ensure students succeed in what can sometimes be challenging courses. Our faculty have a genuine commitment to working with diverse student populations, and the courses have been built to meet students where they are, not assuming strong background knowledge in the course material. Furthermore, each class has at least one embedded Course Fellow – a Princeton undergraduate with expertise in the subject matter, who serves as a near-peer mentor for the class. Finally, Transfer Scholars benefit from academic advising from Emma Bloomberg Center for Access & Opportunity's staff and other academic support resources on campus.
Campus Access
Transfer Scholars are a welcome part of the Princeton community, and so have nearly the same access to campus spaces and resources as any Princeton undergraduate. TSI participants can look forward to making use of:
- Princeton library resources
- Dillon Gym
- The dining hall (Transfer Scholars will receive, for free, a limited meal plan)
- Study spaces
- Academic support resources
- Free campus parking
Zee Group
TSI students will meet weekly with their “zee” group (short for advisee) and build connections through fun activities and study breaks. Experienced student advisors lead the zee groups, providing further support and guidance to TSI students. Zee groups quickly become close-knit communities with friendships that can last even after TSI ends.
