Rigor and Resources Defined Graduate School Experience

I enjoyed the November article on the graduate alumni conference and 125 years of the Graduate School (Princetonians). It made me reflect on my own time there, and I thought I might supplement the piece with some observations that I think reflect positively on the school.

My own department — chemistry — was considerably more strenuous than what my peers experienced at their institutions. The department had rigorous requirements like the submission of research proposals beyond your core area of study as well as foreign language exams that were completely absent from what my friends had to do for their doctoral work. I often think they got off light when it comes to what they had to do to earn their degree. 

But in the time since I received my Ph.D., I have come to believe that what I have overlooked most in my time there was the large number of excellent resources Princeton has. I did experimental physical chemistry, so if our department stockroom didn’t have a part, chances are Jadwin’s did or I could take a bus over to Forrestal and raid theirs. I had access to the math/physics library as well as the one in Frick and the one in the E-Quad.  If I needed a brush-up on my math, chances are there was a class in engineering that could fill the gap. I still use the knowledge I picked up in the short course offered in the physics department on electronics for experimental science. And I fondly remember going to Firestone to read Suetonius, just for fun.

All I can say is that in over three decades of doing experimental physical science, I have never found my Princeton education wanting. And politeness forbids me from commenting further on the gaps I have observed with many of my peers.