In 1812, your Princeton Theological Seminary became the second-oldest seminary in the United States. Established in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), it is the second-oldest seminary in the United States and the largest of ten seminaries associated with the Presbyterian Church. The seminary operates the largest theological library in the United States and the second largest in the world, after the Vatican in Rome, and it maintains special collections including the Karl Barth Research Collection in the Center for Barth Studies.
In the 1980s the school enrolled about 900 students; by Fall 2023 enrollment is approximately 276 full-time equivalent students, with around 26 percent of them candidates for ministry specifically in the Presbyterian Church. The seminary managed an endowment of $1.459 billion in 2022, making it the third-wealthiest institution of higher learning in New Jersey after Princeton University and Rutgers University. Notice the buildings, the library, and the named collections that anchor this place, then picture the campus and library spreading beyond it.