Skip To Main Content

Academics

two students smiling at each other in class

Learning That Ignites

Vividness and variety characterize intellectual inquiry at Princeton Day School.

PDS has long been known for academic excellence and intellectual rigor, but the classroom experience here is so much richer and deeper than that. Our faculty create vivid, dynamic opportunities for experiential learning that ignite enthusiasm and foster inquiry. Risk-taking and exploration are emphasized, and a strong focus on character development is woven throughout every aspect of the learning experience.

As a student at PDS, you'll be part of a vibrant, collaborative and innovative community that champions exploration and critical thinking. Here, you will discover the answer to, "What's your why?"

 

"Being a REx student and an Energy and Climate Scholar furthered my interest in sustainability and sustainable farming. Learning about aquaponics led me to study at one of the top plant science programs in the country." 

Jacob Roitburg ’22, Cornell University

Discover Our Distinctions

Lower school student with faculty member on the first day of school
The PDS Faculty

1 / 4

Academic excellence starts with the faculty. At PDS, the vast majority of our teachers hold advanced degrees — and all are experts in their fields. Small class size makes learning highly interactive and with a low student-faculty ratio of 8:1, teachers recognize the talents, strengths and growth opportunities within each student. Because our teachers are scholars themselves, they bring creativity and innovation to all they do. They create courses you won’t find anywhere else.

Upper school student with the architecture teacher discussing a project
The PDS Student
2 / 4
 
PDS students are independent thinkers who have the freedom to pursue academic paths shaped around personal interests and passions. Strong faculty advising enables them to push outside of their comfort zone and beyond the limit of what they thought possible. With enthusiasm and collaboration, students take advantage of opportunities and seek out challenges. And, while they may have arrived unsure of future goals, they will depart the Great Road as confident, civic-minded scholars and creators of their own destinies.
Lower school students placing vegetables into a jar in the Cook Teaching Kitchen
Experiential Learning
3 / 4
 
With the firm belief that engagement across disciplines leads to fresh thinking and deep, hands-on collaboration, we encourage students to move past limitations and become fearless in the exploration of themselves and the world around them. This means pursuing what truly excites them. Whether it’s the Science Research Experience Program (REx), the Jacobson Music Scholar Program, the Energy and Climate Scholars Program or something else completely, no two courses of study are the same — nor would we want them to be.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
4 / 4
 
Each member of our community fully understands the institutional investment in creating and sustaining safe spaces for all regardless of how they self-identify. Our continual emphasis on utilizing both all-school faculty and staff meetings as well as smaller, more intimate, divisional meetings for professional development serves as one of the many examples of how we normalize a culture of practice that’s conducive to long-term change.

Explore Our Programs

Two lower school students raising their hands

Lower School

Learn about our Lower School program where curiosity grows.

Lower School

Middle school student working on an assignment in the STEAM classroom

Middle School

Learn about our Middle School program where students learn to be all in.

Middle School

Upper school students receiving instruction during a chemistry lab

Upper School

Learn about our Upper School program where students shine brilliantly.

Upper School