Add 208 new courses to your spring wishlist — including five offering international travel opportunities and another offering a look behind-the-scenes of the new Princeton University Art Museum.
The University released the course offerings for Spring 2026 on Thursday, Oct. 30. Here are four takeaways from the 1,428 classes that will be offered — a decrease of 27 courses compared with Spring 2025.
Distribution requirements
Across all Spring course offerings, the literature and the arts requirement is the most common distribution with 242 classes, five classes fewer than last semester. Similar to Spring 2025, social analysis was the second most popular distribution, with 163 courses fulfilling that requirement this upcoming semester.
New courses
The University also published 208 new courses, an increase of almost 30 courses compared to last spring’s new courses. The English department is offering the most new courses (19) followed by the art department (14), around a 72 percent and 133 percent increase, respectively, compared with last spring. Of these new art courses, five mention the new Princeton University Art Museum — either in the form of looking at the museum’s collections, or meeting there as part of class discussions. Two other courses in other departments mention the new art museum.
For example, in FRS 126: Behind the Scenes: Inside the Princeton University Art Museum, 15 first-years will have the opportunity to “delve deeply” into Princeton’s collections, focusing on discussions of “museum best practices and the role of the museum in the 21st century.” The course description mentions that some sessions will be led by curators, conservators, and the art museum’s director, James Steward.
The collaboration between the PUAM and the classroom allows students to “engag[e] with art from around the world — and across time — in meaningful ways,” Steward said in a press release accompanying the museum’s opening.
Offerings by Department
The economics department and the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) are offering the most courses next semester, at 61 each, followed by the math department at 54. This is roughly consistent with previous years.
The University enrolled 1,408 students entering the Class of 2029 this fall, the final year of the University’s four-year class expansion plan. However, the total number of course offerings this spring represents an almost 200-course decrease since Spring 2023.
Travel Courses
The five courses offering international travel this spring will take trips to Jordan, Panama, Cape Town, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Denmark. This is in line with last spring, when four courses offered international travel to Panama, Ecuador or Colombia, and France. For the courses in Spring 2026, these classes average about 13 students.
Seniors will select Spring 2026 courses on Tuesday, Dec. 2, followed by juniors on Dec. 3, sophomores on Dec. 4, and first-years on Dec. 5.
Summer Bosch is a contributing Data writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com
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