Faculty amend academic regulations, introduce new Ph.D. program

University faculty approved a new Ph.D. program and several changes to academic verbiage at a meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 4 that lasted approximately 10 minutes.

The faculty meeting began with several amendments to the “Conduct of Undergraduate Courses of Study.” Faculty voted to change mentions of “final examinations” to “final assessments” in academic calendars and other University publications. This change is on par with the first semester of phasing out Dean’s Date as a final assignment deadline for all courses.

Language was changed in the Term Papers, Examinations, and Final Grades in Undergraduate Courses section of the “Conduct of Undergraduate Courses of Study” to clarify that all courses “must now have a final assignment or examination.” Before, such assessments were recommended, but not required.

The faculty also added a statement to The Honor System section of the “Conduct of Undergraduate Courses of Study.” The language calls for the reintroduction of proctors for in-class examinations when “a student takes an in-class examination without their classmates present,” possibly if they are taking the exam at a different time or location from the rest of the class.

Faculty then continued to make small amendments concerning the rescheduling and the postponing of exams, which led to a discussion on technology, AI, and their impacts on student performance in courses.

To end the short meeting, faculty voted to approve a Ph.D. program in materials science and engineering (MSE) that has been in the works since September. The program will hold seats for eight graduate students each year, with an enrollment rate of 40 students within the defined program length of five years.

The MSE program is based on the research done at the Princeton Materials Institute, which has led the interdisciplinary exploration of materials science at Princeton since its founding in 1990. The program will complement existing degrees in other materials-focused departments such as Geosciences and Civil and Environmental Engineering. According to a proposal distributed at the meeting, every other Ivy League university confers a doctorate in MSE.

The admission process for the MSE program is set to begin next fall.

A packet of materials distributed during the meeting also announced the results of a December election for an ad-hoc committee on faculty-wide statements, formed after a faculty meeting over a contested proposal last fall. The members of the committee are: Flora Champy (French and Italian), Rachael DeLue (Art and Archeology), Elizabeth Davis (Anthropology), Jonathan Mummolo (School of Public and International Affairs), Peter Ozsváth (Mathematics), Ali Yazdani (Physics), and Claire Gmachl and Alejandro Rodriguez from Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Immediately following the conclusion of the meeting, some faculty members attended an informal closed meeting to discuss the impact of executive orders issued by the Trump administration. Numerous faculty declined to comment to ‘Prince’ reporters as they exited the informal meeting.

Cynthia Torres is an assistant News editor and an Archives contributor. She is from New Bedford, Mass. and typically covers University administration.

Jake Miller is a News contributor for the ‘Prince.’