Principia's faculty members consider teaching their primary purpose. Their research, writing, and professional activities complement and deepen their teaching. Small classes allow faculty to enjoy a lively interaction with students. And these stimulating exchanges extend beyond the classroom, laboratory, or studio to informal visits in their offices, at home, or by telephone. Principia is on the quarter system.
Course credit is measured in quarter hours.
The number of quarter hours assigned to a course is typically the number of hours spent in a class each week. Most classes meet five hours a week, and enrolled students earn five quarter hours of credit. Students spend about two hours studying for each hour spent in class. A normal academic load is fifteen quarter hours per quarter, which allows a student to complete the required 180 quarter hours in four years. To be considered a full-time student, a student must carry a minimum of twelve quarter hours per quarter.