Yes. There is a fully funded masters program, supported through TAships. Please see the DCS grad admissions page for more information.

For any administrative questions on the graduate program, please see this page. You can also contact our Graduate Coordinator, Melissa Lawson, at gradinfo@cs.princeton.edu or by calling 609-258-5387.

If you have other questions not answered by the above links or Ms. Lawson, you can email

Princeton's theoretical computer science graduate program is very competitive and, unfortunately, we get many more applications from excellent candidates than we're able to admit. The important factors are reference letters and grades (particularly at advanced theory or math courses). If you have any publications, please do include a link to electronic versions in your applications. Generally, we do not place much weight on standardized exams such as the GRE and TOEFL, although there is some university minimum requirement that should be achieved.

theory@lists.cs.princeton.edu (please include the string "[phd]" in your subject line).

theory@lists.cs.princeton.edu (please include the string "[phd]" in your subject line).

Do all Ph.D students get financial support?

Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates?

Do you have a masters program?

Should I email individual professors about my application?

What factors are considered in making admittance decisions?

Do all Ph.D students get financial support?

Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates?

Do you have a masters program?

theory@lists.cs.princeton.edu

Should I email individual professors about my application?

What factors are considered in making admittance decisions?

Do all Ph.D students get financial support?

Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates?

Do you have a masters program?

 Should I email individual professors about my application?
 What factors are considered in making admittance decisions?
 Do all Ph.D students get financial support?
 Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates?
 Do you have a masters program?

We believe Princeton is an excellent place for TCS research and are very happy you are considering it. You can find out more about the activities and research interests of the theory group from the theory group web page and the faculty's home pages.

For any administrative questions on the graduate program, please see this page. You can also contact our Graduate Coordinator, Melissa Lawson, at gradinfo@cs.princeton.edu or by calling 609-258-5387.

Below are the answers to some frequently asked questions:

Should I email individual professors about my application? What factors are considered in making admittance decisions? Do all Ph.D students get financial support? Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates? Do you have a masters program?

If you have other questions not answered by the above links, please email mailto:theory@lists.cs.princeton.edu?subject=[phd] | theory@lists.cs.princeton.edu

Should I email individual professors about my application?

No. Students are admitted to the graduate program, and not to research groups of individual faculty If you are interested in theory and/or working with a particular professor in Princeton, please mention this in your application.

Also, it is impossible for individual professors to evaluate your chances of admittance in advance: it is only determined by the whole department after careful scrutiny of your complete application.

What factors are considered in making admittance decisions?

Princeton's theoretical computer science graduate program is very competitive and unfortunately, we get many more applications from excellent candidates than we're able to admit. The important factors are reference letters and grades (particularly at advanced theory or math courses). If you have any publications, please do include a link to electronic versions in your applications. Generally, we do not place much weight on standardized exams such as the GRE and TOEFL, although there is some university minimum requirement that should be achieved.

#support Do all Ph.D students get financial support?

Yes. All admitted Ph.D students get financial support for the duration of their study and our stipends are similar or better than other comparable institutions. For more information on stipends and other administrative issues, see this page.

#intern Do you have a summer internship program for undergraduates?

No. At the moment we do not have such a program.

#masters Do you have a masters program?

No. There is no masters program in theoretical computer science at Princeton.

We believe Princeton is an excellent place for TCS research and are very happy you are considering it. Please do read the following points:

1. It is impossible for individual professors to evaluate your chances of admittance in advance: it is only determined by the whole department after careful scrutiny of your complete application (including reference letters and publications if any). A general guideline is that we usually only admit students who are at or close to the top of their class in terms of academic strength and research potential.

1. For more information about our graduate program, please see this page. You can also contact our Graduate Coordinator, Melissa Lawson, at gradinfo@cs.princeton.edu or by calling 609-258-5387.

Information for Prospective Theoretical CS Students at Princeton

We believe Princeton is an excellent place for TCS research and are happy you are considering it. Please do read the following points:

1. You can find out about the activities and research interests of the theory group from the theory group web page and the faculty's home pages.
2. Students are admitted to the graduate program, and not to research groups of individual faculty members. Sending emails to individual faculty members does not help. If you are interested in theory please mention this in your application. If you are interested in working with a particular professor, please mention this as well.
3. It is impossible for individual professors to evaluate your chances of admittance in advance: it is only determined by the whole department after careful scrutiny of your complete application (including reference letters and publications if any). A general guideline is that we usually only admit students who are at or close to the top of their class in terms of academic strength and research potential.
4. Our Masters' program is small and there is little financial support.
5. All admitted Ph.D. students get financial support.
6. We do not have an internship program for undergraduate students.
7. For more information about our graduate program, please see this page. You can also contact our Graduate Coordinator at gradinfo@cs.princeton.edu or by calling 609-258-5387.
8. Thank you for your interest in Princeton and good luck!