While back to school season places the focus on kids moving into new grades, new schools, and new classes, education is not just a young person’s game. Learning can be a life-long endeavor, and several programs in the region offer adult learners the opportunity to explore new subjects, revisit old interests, or enhance their professional credentials.
Princeton Adult School
Founded in 1939, the Princeton Adult School offers a wide range of online and in-person courses for ages 18 and up. All are welcome; there are no residency requirements to enroll. Most in-person classes are held at Princeton High School, 151 Moore Street, Princeton. Cost per course varies based on the number and duration of sessions.
“Our goal is to meet the learning interests and needs of the area’s diverse adult community in pursuing intellectual growth, workplace skills, job opportunities, and personal and civic well-being in a convenient and enjoyable education experience,” PAS states as its mission.
Classes on offer for the fall semester include practical topics in business, technology, and personal finance, such as estate planning and learning to use Microsoft Office. Others cover gardening, home decor, and making your house more energy efficient. In the field of health and wellness, programs range from the very active — dance and bicycling — to courses on astrology, emotional healing, and nutrition.
It’s not all health food, though. Chefs from the region all present courses on chocolate, Latin American cuisine, cupcake making, Indian food, cheese making, and more.
PAS hosts courses for English language learners as well as classes in American Sign Language and in Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Russian for various skill levels.
Classes also cover more traditional academic subjects, including art, writing, literature, history, music, astronomy, and more. PAS also offers a handful of limited lecture series on a variety of subject matters. Topics for this fall semester are “International Hot Spots: Crisis in Context,” “El Camino de Santiago,” “Blood, Guts and Betrayal — A History of Medical Care in America,” “Salem and the Witchcraft Trials of 1692,” and “How Will Education Meet the Challenges of Today? Empowering Students for Success.”
For more information or to register for fall classes, visit princetonadultschool.org.
Evergreen Forum
The Evergreen Forum, a program of the Center for Modern Aging Princeton (CMAP; formerly the Princeton Senior Resource Center) was founded in 2001. Per the CMAP website, it is “a peer-led, interactive dynamic learning program which provides rewarding, day-time classes on diverse subjects led by knowledgeable course leaders.”
Registration is currently open for fall semester classes, which begin in late September. In-person courses are held at CMAP’s Nancy S. Klath Center for Lifelong Learning at 101 Poor Farm Road, Princeton. Select courses are also offered online or in a hybrid format and are a mix of lecture, discussion, or lecture and discussion. Most courses are $110 for six- to eight-week courses and $85 for three- to five-week courses; scholarships are available to those with demonstrated financial need.
There are 26 courses on offer for the fall semester, a sampling of which include:
“2024 Elections: Democracy at Stake?” taught by Elaine Jacoby, a retired lawyer who teaches courses on politics and civil rights. Per the course description, it will “follow key Congressional races as well as the presidential election. It will also consider different viewpoints as to what democracy means, as well as threats to its continued existence.”
“American Impressionism: Bucks County Painters” is taught by Christina Kales, who holds a doctor of literature in humanities from Drew University, and includes an optional field trip to the Michener Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The class examines “the social and economic shifts in early nineteenth century America that supported the development of American Impressionist art,” focusing on the works of Edward Redfield, John Folinsbee, and Daniel Garber, “three painters in the Bucks County School whose work exemplifies a reinterpretation of French Impressionism.”
“Histories of Indigenous Peoples in America” is the 11th history class designed by Harvard-educated lawyer Robert Nolan for the Evergreen Forum. “When Europeans first arrived in America, people had been living here for approximately 30,000 years. They had aggregated into hundreds of distinct tribes, each with its own culture and history. Their cultures and their histories are fascinating,” the course description explains. “Yet as students most of us learned almost nothing about these Indigenous Peoples and their descendants. So, this course is about them.”
“Magic & Witches in Fiction for Grownups,” taught by Judith Woolridge, is a discussion course on novels by Hilary Mantel, Angela Carter, Sylvia Townsend Warner, Penelope Fitzgerald, and
Mikhail Bulgakov that feature magic, witches, Faustian bargains, and demons. Also covered will be short stories by Helen Simpson, John Wyndham, and others.
“Science in the News” is “a course tailored for curious minds hungry for insights into the most current research and issues in science and medicine. Each week, our diverse panel of scientists delivers two riveting lectures on two different topics, covering the latest discoveries and their impact on our understanding of the universe, the natural world, and the human body.” The course is led by Harold M. Heft, a retired automotive and defense industry executive whose academic research focused on biopsychology and philosophy of science, joined by a panel of physicians and scientists with wide experience and interests.
For more information or to register, visit cmaprinceton.org/evergreen-forum.
Princeton University Community Auditor Program
You don’t need to be one of the lucky few high school seniors who earn admission to Princeton University to get a taste of the Princeton University class experience. The Community Auditing Program (CAP) allows high school graduates ages 18 and up living within 50 miles of the university to audit up to three courses per semester as a “silent student.”
Roughly 125 to 150 courses are available to such students each semester at a cost of $200 per course. Auditors attend lectures only and may not participate in discussion components of classes, nor may they make direct contact with professors or other instructors.
While the enrollment window for new CAP students has closed for the fall semester, applications will open for the spring semester in mid-November. Prospective new auditors will be able to create accounts between November 18 and 21, then must schedule an in-person interview to be accepted to the program. An orientation session will follow for all new auditors.
For more information, visit community.princeton.edu/community-auditing.
Rider University
& The College
of New Jersey
Both colleges offer a number of certificate programs aimed at professionals seeking more advanced credentials.
Programs at Rider include Business Basics, Creativity and Innovation, Gender and Sexuality Studies, Global Supply Chain Management, and more others. At TCNJ, there are numerous programs designed for educators and those in related roles as well as certificates for those business and healthcare-related fields.
More information on Rider: www.rider.edu/academics/program-finder.
More information on The College of New Jersey: graduate.tcnj.edu/explore-programs.
Mercer County
Community College
The Center for Continuing Studies at Mercer offers a number of non-credit and continuing education programs, many aimed at bolstering professional credentials and helping adults progress in their careers. Others focus on personal enrichment. Most are held on the college’s West Windsor campus at 1200 Old Trenton Road or online.
Certification programs are available in a range of areas, from healthcare, manufacturing, and information technology to culinary arts, personal training, and education. Studying to become a veterinary assistant, learning the basics of solar panel installation, and earning the Society for Human Resource Management certification are all among the courses on offer.
For those looking to expand on hobbies or learn a new trade, courses in floral design, photography, and graphic design; English and foreign languages; writing and film; and fitness are among the many available.
For more information, visit mccc.edu/lifelong_learning.shtml.
