Princeton is one of the oldest universities in the nation, predating the United States itself, and is widely recognized as a bastion of leading academic work that shapes our world far beyond campus boundaries. Located on a lush suburban campus in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton leans into its reputation as an Ivy built for those who like to go deep and drown out the global noise. The acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 was . This followed the largest application pool in the history of the university keeping track, “0.2 percentage point dip in acceptance rate.”

Students are attracted to Princeton for a multitude of reasons and go on to pursue dozens of programs of study. There are a few, though, that are standouts from a popularity perspective. Each year, students at Princeton celebrate Declaration Day, a celebration for second year students who have filed their major choice with the college. For some majors, this requires professor recommendations or other prep work in advance, while others follow a simpler process. The Class of 2028 just celebrated Declaration Day in April 2026, and it came with : The number of computer science majors plummeted.

This underlines something we’ve been expecting across top schools, but have been waiting for the data to confirm. The rise of Artificial Intelligence, and subsequent gutting of well-paying roles for coders just out of undergrad at the big tech giants, was bound to negatively impact the number of students eager to earn a degree with “Computer Science” stamped on it. Princeton’s numbers show exactly that. There was a meaningful shift away from computer science and towards other majors in the engineering field. The number of students declaring the B.S.E. major in Computer Science decreased more than 30% compared to the Class of 2027, and the A.B. Computer Science track dropped over 40%. This means that one of Princeton’s most reliably competitive majors is faltering — which opens up opportunities.

At the same time, the humanities experienced a bump with the Class of 2028. More students declared in history and philosophy than when the Class of 2027 had to pick their majors.  

Five of the declared in the class were: Economics, the School of Public and International Affairs, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Molecular Biology, and Computer Science (B.S.E.)

In this post, we are going to break down Princeton’s top 5 majors and offer alternatives that aspiring students can use to strengthen their application. As you read, be open to surprises. What may just a few years ago have been a quick way to make it harder to get into Princeton may now be a powerful tool for gaining access to an exceptional university.

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When we assess the most popular majors for students who are at Princeton right now, so the most recent data available, there are a small handful of programs that monopolize most of the undergraduate students. If you chose to apply to Princeton with one of those top majors listed as your prospective course of study, you are making it harder for yourself to get in.

Picking a major that is popular doesn’t have a quantifiable negative impact on your application. It isn’t something that can be measured. However, we know from experience that specifying a more competitive program puts your application int a more competitive pool. When you are dealing with Princeton odds, you need every advantage you can get — and picking a different major can be exactly the boost you need.

Instead of Economics, do French and Italian

has held the trophy of Most Popular Major at Princeton for three years in a row, and of the Class of 2028 declared the major this year. The program is considered one of the finest in the world, and nearly anything would be a better choice than economics for listing as your first-choice area of study than economics, but we have one suggestion that we especially see strategic benefit in: . 

We can hear the skepticism through the screen, but hear us out. French and Italian is hurting badly at Princeton. In 2007, 19 students declared the major. For the Class of 2028, only one picked the program. Making a compelling case for yourself as a language student focused on French or Italian can be a great way to ensure that your application is given extra consideration. For this to feel authentic, you must have pursued one of the two languages to the highest level accessible to you, engage with the cultural community in some way, and ideally work as a language tutor for younger students. You absolutely do not have to have gone to France or Italy, but you do need to be exhausting every resource geographically within reach. 

Plus, once you are into Princeton you can declare a different major. But if you have what it takes to get into Princeton when assessed through a language lens, it can be a great tool for upping your odds of acceptance. 

Instead of Molecular Biology, do Chemical and Biological Engineering

As interest in the computer science program has shrunk at Princeton, other programs with clearer pathways to high-income jobs are growing. We expect majors that feed into other career paths, like roles in medicine and medical research, to continue to grow at Princeton. is programs at Princeton, and we expect to see the growth trajectory become even more dramatic. Instead of competing with all the aspiring doctors, consider applying with a vision towards a degree in Chemical and Biological Engineering.

is a much smaller program at Princeton, but with a lot of similarities. Like Molecular Biology, Chemical and Biological Engineering prepares students for diverse high-paying careers, including in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. The fact that all the things you have been doing to strengthen your Molecular Biology application also work in favor of your Chemical and Biological Engineering is a huge bonus.

Double down on science courses, aim for a leadership role in an engineering focused club as well as on a science-focused competitive team, and try to find a research assistant role or internship at a local lab.

Instead of Electrical Engineering or Computer Science B.S.E., do Computer Science, A.B.  

is an extremely popular program at Princeton, and the B.S.E. in Computer Science is shrinking but it remains at the top of the heap as far as declared majors currently pursuing the degree. While Computer Science, B.S.E. is shrinking, the is shrinking faster.

When picking an alternative major for something technical, like engineering, it helps enormously to stay adjacent to the program that you are actually most interested in. You don’t want to pitch yourself as an Art History major when your dream is engineering, after all. But there are enough commonalities between Electrical Engineering and the Computer Science B.S.E. and the B.A. in Computer Science that all the hard work you are putting into building a compelling application will still work in your favor. In other words, you haven’t wasted any time, you’re just pivoting what you’re pointing towards on paper.

Continue with the extracurriculars and whatever additional courses you have access to, aim for leadership roles in at least one club, team, or organization related to the major, and keep your grades sky high.

Instead of Politics, do English

Politics is at the intersection of where a social science meets the humanities, so while we wouldn’t recommend focusing on if Engineering is your dream, swapping Politics for English on your application actually does work here if you do the leg work to sell the swap.  

Yes, the humanities at Princeton are growing, but the programs are still far from the most popular at Princeton. This isn’t because the university doesn’t offer an exceptional English program — they do — but the immediate payoff of a humanities degree to validate the investment isn’t as obvious as well something related to politics.

In the Class of 2028, declared Politics and nearly half as many, 35, declared English. Anthropology is also an option that opens up the possibility of Princeton, but we emphasize English here for one reason: writing. One of the best ways to underline a prospective English major is to do more than read. You should also write. Through writing for your school paper or literary journal, and ideally progressing to an editorial role, you show a practice of English and writing. If you focus that writing on topics relevant to politics, even better!  

The History major, by comparison, doesn’t make this kind of a different. More students (albeit only 1 more) declared History in the Class of 2028 than Politics.

Instead of Mathematics, do Philosophy

The major at Princeton is small relative to the most popular majors at Princeton — but it’s growing. Acknowledging that it is becoming more competitive, we have a bold proposition: aim for instead.

The same kind of brain that thrives at math finds joy and challenge in philosophy. Some of the most well-known names in philosophy were also great mathematicians. René Descartes, Bertrand Russell, and Kurt Gödel, among many others, merge math and philosophy, especially through the lens of philosophical logic. By presenting an application that shows the combination of one of Princeton’s most popular majors, mathematics, and philosophy, you show yourself to be a complex thinker who will fit right into the Princeton community. Beyond that, you’ll contribute to it and bring new perspectives and conversations to campus.

To strengthen you application, you need to keep doing all the math ‘stuff’ that you have going on, but layer on the humanities and hard thinking. If you have access to extracurriculars like ethics, take them. If not, strive to pursue themes related to philosophy outside of school through supplemental courses or programs.

If you have the opportunity to work for a summer camp relevant to your prospective major, don’t turn down the chance. of students in the Class of 2029 at Princeton worked during the summer, during the school year, or both before applying. So, getting a job could help you more on your application than a fancy and expensive summer program that many other applicants have also completed, cancelling out much of the benefit as an application differentiator.

Like how getting a job can be a way of amplifying your application and improving your odds of acceptance, picking the right program ensures that your application is read in a light that makes it easier for the admissions team to say yes. We want you to have every chance of getting into Princeton possible, and selecting a strategic major can truly make a difference.

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