The aim of tutoring is to help students develop the skills and strategies they need to independently and successfully engage in a course.
Peer tutors are undergraduates who have performed well in the courses they support. Please note that students may work only with tutors in the Princeton undergraduate tutoring program and with fellows in the Writing Center. Students are in violation of University regulations if they engage the services of private tutors (see Rights, Rules, Responsibilities).
Finding a Tutor
Assignments for one-on-one peer tutoring are made through the residential colleges. To request a peer tutor, make an appointment to meet with your college dean or assistant dean. Once you have been assigned a tutor, please make every effort to contact them as soon as possible. If the student assigned to you cannot be reached, or for some other reason is not working out, please let your dean or assistant dean know so that you can be assigned to a different tutor.
You may receive a maximum of 15 hours of tutoring per course, per term. The suggested frequency of tutoring sessions is once or twice a week, usually for one or two hours. If you continue to have difficulties in a course, please consult your instructor and/or make an appointment to see your dean or assistant dean. Since tutors need to study, too, peer tutoring is not available during the final exam period.
To get the most out of your session with the tutor, please come prepared with your questions. If you find that you need tutoring next term as well, you must see your dean or assistant dean again.
Becoming a Tutor
Qualified sophomores, juniors and seniors are usually needed to tutor introductory language courses as well as gateway courses in economics, math, science, computer science and engineering. You may volunteer to tutor courses in which you have earned an A- or above. You may also offer to tutor introductory courses you have not taken, if you have performed well in advanced courses in that department. Tutors for introductory language courses should usually have completed a course at the 200 level in that language. Language tutors may help students practice oral skills (comprehension and speaking) and review grammar; however, they must not review or edit work that will be submitted for a grade. Students with demonstrated native fluency may tutor 100-level courses only. Computer science tutors must contact the head course instructor or the lead preceptor to discuss the parameters of their work before beginning to tutor students.
Students interested in tutoring in Chemistry, Economics, Math, Physics, Statistics (e.g. POL, SPI, PSY) or R programming should apply for these courses through the McGraw Center.
Students who wish to tutor in other courses can apply via the residential college peer tutoring page. There are a few rules you should keep in mind:
- Only tutors registered with the Office of the Dean of the College and approved by their dean or assistant dean may tutor undergraduates.
- No one giving instruction at the University shall be permitted to tutor students for those examinations in which they take part, either by preparing questions or reading papers.
- Tutoring is not permitted during final examinations and must be concluded by the end of the reading period.
- A student normally may not be given more than 15 hours of tutoring, per course, per term. Please respect this limit, for you will not receive compensation for more than 15 hours per course for each student whom you tutor.
Tutors are paid $16 per hour through the time collection system. All tutors must attend training and complete the Tutor Agreement and I-9 forms. (See the Student Employment Office for more information.) Once you have been set up in time collection, you should log your hours on a weekly basis. You will be paid bi-weekly. Students who do not have direct deposit set up must pick up their checks at the Student Payroll Office, located in New South.