A couple days after my admission to Princeton, I opened my mailbox to find a thick orange envelope. Inside were a series of pamphlets and flyers that would prepare me for my time at Princeton, discussing everything from student life to the Novogratz Bridge Year Program. After poring through those materials, and the University’s corresponding online resources, I came away with two key impressions. The first was that Princetonians really love the color orange (it’s true!). The second was that students really care about research. 

Even after looking online, I couldn’t truly picture what “research” might mean for a student like me. I knew I was interested in social sciences and the humanities, and I’d always imagined “researchers” wearing white coats and goggles at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  It wasn’t until my writing seminar at Princeton — a mandatory class for first-year students that introduces a variety of research methods and principles — that I got a grasp of what academic research outside of the scientific disciplines might look like. Even then, as I was reading through and analyzing academic articles at a new, rigorous level, I wasn’t sure how I was ever going to come up with a topic to research myself. How was I, a public school kid from the suburbs, going to come up with an original research topic with academic merit?

I’ll let you in on a secret: it’s not as hard as you think. Every student at Princeton is required to produce a senior thesis as well as independent work during their junior year. What all that work has in common is that it represents an exploration of something each student is passionate about. As you declare your concentration (our word for major) as a sophomore and delve into your chosen field, you’ll discover with your professors that there are myriad questions left unanswered in your discipline’s literature. There is so much we don’t know! And there’s no way you won’t be curious about it. Many incoming students are under the misguided belief that their independent work has to be revolutionary somehow — that their findings have to be game-changers if they want to get an A or the respect of their professors. What they inevitably find, however, is that academic progress is oftentimes made up of minute contributions to larger questions. It’s bit by bit that many of society’s biggest questions are answered. It’s your job as a researcher to add another piece to the puzzle. 

Princeton is a community of student researchers. That really does include every student — no student has ever graduated without turning in a research project. And don’t worry, there’s no chance you’ll be the first. Research can seem daunting, especially to students in disciplines not typically associated with “research.” But it’s nowhere near as nerve-wracking as you think, and the curiosity you’ll develop as a Princeton student will leave you with many more leads than you could ever research. 

Independent work is a defining feature of Princeton’s undergraduate education. Juniors get the opportunity to conduct their own research under the guidance of a faculty adviser, serving as a precursor to the senior thesis. While some conduct archival research, others participate in field-based research, even traveling abroad to collect data. 

As a history concentrator, I write one research paper per semester, known as the Junior Paper. My seminar, “Slave Emancipation in Latin America,” introduced me to the tools, methods and techniques of historical research in preparation for the Junior Paper. I received guidance from my professor through every step of the process, all the way from topic selection to draft submissions. 

Although the writing process was daunting at first, I enjoyed getting to read primary sources and draw my own interpretations based on the work of other historians. It was the first time I truly felt like a historian, perusing scores of books in the Firestone Library basement. Out of all of the skills I acquired, working independently on a long-term project proved to be indispensable. In order to turn in the paper before the deadline, I set a daily goal of how many pages I would write or the number of sources I needed to annotate. 

Independent research at Princeton gave me the opportunity to bond with a faculty adviser, discover an interest in the historiography of slavery and learn how to incorporate evidence to strengthen my argument. All in all, the experience of writing my first Junior Paper was extremely rewarding.

The senior thesis. What is it? Where did it come from? Why do I have to do it?

You might be asking yourself these questions. Maybe you’re waiting to hear back from the Office of Admission and you just read about the thesis online. Maybe you’ve already been admitted, and the thesis is making you question whether or not you want to matriculate. If you only remember one thing from this post, I hope it is this: don’t let the thought of a thesis scare you!

Almost every student at Princeton has to write a senior thesis in order to graduate. It’s basically just a long(er) research paper on a topic of your choice. Since most students have to write one, pretty much everyone will be familiar with the process at some point during their Princeton career. This means that you are never struggling through it alone.

When I was a prospective student, I remember being a little intimidated by the senior thesis. I had never written something so long in my life! I had no idea where to even begin. However, as the semesters started flying by, my interests began solidifying themselves, and it became apparent to me what I wanted to focus on at Princeton: a combination of policy, the criminal-legal system and race/discrimination.

Once you know what you are interested in, choosing a thesis topic becomes much easier. I knew I wanted to go to law school after Princeton and I’ve always been interested in criminal justice reform. So, I made sure to choose a topic that encompassed all of that! I applied for funding from the Woodrow Wilson School⁠—the department I’m majoring in⁠—and planned a trip to Norway. While there, I spent two days at a men’s maximum-security facility in order to learn about their prison system. I conducted interviews, took pictures and observed the individuals who have been incarcerated along with the staff (read this post to learn more about my thesis!). Honestly, it didn’t even feel like work⁠—since it’s a topic I’m genuinely interested in, I really enjoyed the research.

I think that’s the key to conquering your senior thesis: make sure you choose a topic that you are genuinely interested in, and the research won’t feel so much like work. Keeping this in mind, don’t let the senior thesis scare you. As a senior, I feel so much support from my classmates, since I know they’re going through the same process. I’m excited to see the final product of all my hard work and I’m so glad I didn’t let it scare me away from committing to Princeton!

If you ask anyone on Princeton’s campus what the most daunting Princeton experience is, they’ll probably tell you it’s the senior thesis. Some students look forward to it, others dread it. Once spring rolls around and those thesis deadlines start creeping closer and closer, you start seeing fewer seniors on campus, as many of them are locked away in their rooms or in the library, trying their best to meet their deadlines. No matter the opinion, the thesis ends up getting done, somehow.

Despite it being a shared experience among Princeton seniors, the senior thesis seems like a far-away concept that is often hard to understand as a non-senior. During my junior year, my department⁠—the Woodrow Wilson School⁠ of Public and International Affairs—hosted a few information sessions about the upcoming thesis, but I remember leaving the meetings wholly unsatisfied and with lingering questions. How was I supposed to fit all that research into a couple of months?

Finally, I went to an information session about funding for thesis research. There, I learned that students in the Woodrow Wilson School have the opportunity to receive funding for their thesis research after filling out an extensive application. Among other things, the application includes a description of your thesis project and research, as well as an itemized list of your anticipated expenses.

At first, I was worried because there were so many students at that information session. How would there be enough funding for everybody? However, after speaking with seniors at the time, I quickly learned that most students do not start their research until they get back on campus. With this in mind, I submitted an application and was excited to learn that I had gotten the money I asked for!

Thanks to the Woodrow Wilson School and its funding program, I was able to complete my senior thesis research in Norway during the summer. The purpose of my trip was to visit Halden Prison, a maximum-security men’s prison in southern Norway, in order to learn about the Norwegian prison system and compare it to the American prison system. While there, I spent a day with the warden, learning about the culture of the prison and touring the entire facility. I also spent a day interviewing guards and incarcerated individuals.

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Of course, my trip wasn’t only educational! I also found time to get away and do three incredible hikes⁠—Preikestolen, Kjeragbolten, and Trolltunga⁠—and eat amazing food.

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My time in Norway was extremely valuable, and I am excited to continue my thesis research on campus!

I’ve found my summer home in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

During these months, I have two jobs. One is my internship in Thailand with a grassroots organization for Burmese migrants, and the other is my remote job for the Mapping Expatriate Paris project with the Center for Digital Humanities at Princeton. I’ve quite enjoyed life as a digital nomad. On the weekends, I bunker down at various bubble tea internet cafes to work on my Digital Humanities Project and to do research for my senior thesis.

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Both of these activities require access to the Princeton online network to download articles from virtual Princeton libraries or to look at the Digital Humanities archives.

The way that this happens? The Princeton VPN. I can do my research and work anywhere in the world and still have access to all of Princeton’s resources. Virtual access to Princeton libraries overseas is a huge deal. If you’re not convinced, try to find high quality articles on Old Norse sagas and archaeological records on Google! I need specific research articles for my senior thesis to get started while I’m traveling.

Because of the VPN, I’m able to participate in two incredible projects and prepare for my senior year. My summer is thus filled with hours at my grassroots organization, temples, Thai and Burmese language lessons, hiking, bubble tea addictions and brief periods where I step into the virtual Princeton library and lose myself in my research.

To answer the most frequently asked question I get from prospective students: It's super cool!

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Basically, being a Computer Science (COS) major means that I have to take eight departmental classes, which are COS classes that are 300-level or higher. COS courses are typically lecture-style classes, and the coursework involves programming assignments, problem sets and final projects. There's no one course that all COS majors are required to take, and it's nice having so many options for classes. (See listing of COS classes here.)

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Because I'm pursing an A.B. degree (as opposed to B.S.E. - read about the differences here), I have to do four semesters of independent work, which means I get to work on projects of my choosing, learn about whatever I want to learn about, and then write a report about it. For my junior fall, I wanted to learn how to make a mobile app, so I built an Android app that uses geofencing to deliver push notifications about public events happening in nearby parks. In my junior spring, I wanted to brush up on my web development skills, so I made a website that made URLs human-readable and then conducted a user study. For my senior year, I wanted to engage more with people, so I'm interviewing people and writing my thesis about it! If you're curious, my thesis is about smart homes, privacy and the Internet of Things. :)

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Since declaring COS as my major sophomore spring, I've taken two COS classes each semester, plus independent work. About half of my studies are dedicated to COS, and the other half is filled with whatever else I want to study--English, French, Chinese, dance, music and anything that strikes my fancy to round out my liberal arts education.

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Additionally, I'm super grateful for the fact that being a COS major has, quite literally, taken me places: I've gotten to work in San Francisco and Seattle the past two summers, and I spent my junior spring studying abroad at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. This spring break, I also got to travel to Berlin for the Fung Global Forum: "Can Liberty Survive a Digital Age?"

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I'm so happy to be a Computer Science major and have certainly enjoyed my Princeton academic experience. Hopefully you've gotten a good taste of what it's like to be a Computer Science major here at Princeton, as well!