In September 2020-2021, Dean Andrea Goldsmith led strategic planning to drive the school’s growth over the next decade and to maximize its positive impact for humanity. This page summarizes the principal goals and objectives of the plan as well as initial progress.

The school has exceptional strength in the disciplines of its six departments as well as highly effective interdisciplinary research and teaching in its four centers and institutes.

The “secret sauce” of Princeton Engineering is that the school is an integral part of one of the world’s greatest liberal arts universities, with a highly collaborative environment that leverages world-class expertise across many areas to address complex societal problems. Building on this strength we will:

Our priorities for growth will focus on “human-centered” engineering that maximizes the benefit of our new knowledge and technologies for people, societies, the country, and the world. This will include interdisciplinary initiatives cutting across engineering, as well as science and the humanities. Our focus will be on high-impact research areas where Princeton can lead, including

At the same time, we will support and leverage our current interdisciplinary centers and institutes:

We also will ensure our six departments have the size and culture to maximize impact in their disciplines and to contribute to interdisciplinary research areas.

Our strategic plan requires significant growth of the faculty and graduate students in order to have the disciplinary and interdisciplinary expertise to maximize the impact of SEAS. This includes the following growth plan:

The new neighborhood for engineering will be transformative, not only providing our faculty with state-of-the-art facilities , but also in creating spaces and catalysts for collaboration across SEAS and across Princeton. The infrastructure priorities include:

In order to educate and inspire tomorrow’s engineers, technologists, and leaders, we plan the following initiatives:

In order for Princeton to serve as a catalyst for a diverse and inclusive high-tech hub throughout the tri-state region, we plan the following initiatives:

Our school and the engineering profession cannot thrive in solving the greatest challenges facing humanity without embracing the diverse ideas and experiences of people with different backgrounds. To reach our full potential collectively, all talented contributors must be welcomed to a supportive community that allows each to reach their full potential. Our plan to enhance diversity, inclusion, and equity in the school include the following initiatives:

As we implement this plan, some measures of our success include:

A decade that opened with an onslaught of challenges for humanity and the planet must close with renewed health, security, equity, and opportunity for all. Princeton Engineering will be a driver of that progress. The innovation, technology, and leaders that flourish here will uplift and enable. We will target our growth for the school to better fulfill Princeton’s informal motto of service to humanity in the broadest sense.