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The Principia is an educational institution for Christian Scientists, located on two campuses in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Facilities for early childhood through high school are located at The Principia School in West St. Louis County. About thirty miles away, on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River in Elsah, Illinois, is Principia College.

Founded by Mary Kimball Morgan, The Principia School was officially opened in 1898 in St. Louis. By 1906, The Principia had graduated its first high school class. In 1912, the Junior College was added, and became one of the first such colleges in the nation. The college moved to Elsah, Illinois in 1935, and the school later moved to its current location in the St. Louis suburb of Town and Country, Missouri.

Principia College is a four-year private co-educational liberal arts college in Elsah, Illinois. The campus sits on bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River between Alton and Grafton, located about thirty miles north of St. Louis. In 1934, Principia College graduated its first class as a full four-year institution. Emerging from the Principia Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools founded between 1898 and 1906, Principia College was established with a mission to "serve the cause of Christian Science." The college, however, has no official affiliation with the Christian Science church, nor does The First Church of Christ, Scientist, the denominational governing body, recognize or approve any school or college claiming to serve such a cause.

The president of the college today is a former correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and former White House aide, Dr. George Moffett; however, he has recently resigned with no reason given and will leave the college in 2007. The student population averages between 500 and 600 students. There are ten student dormitories on campus: Anderson House, Rackham Court, Howard House, Sylvester House, Buck House, Brooks House, Ferguson House, Jo McNabb, Lowrey House, and Clara McNabb. The first six mentioned were designed by architect Bernard Maybeck in 1935, as was the campus' chapel. ^[1] Maybeck attempted to use different architectural styles and building techniques for each of these dormitories and for the chapel. In an effort to ensure success with his designs and materials, he experimented with them through the creation of a small building known affectionately by Principians as the "Mistake House."

The Principia College campus was once considered as the site for the United States Air Force Academy. Fortunately for the college, the Air Force picked Colorado Springs, Colorado, instead. On April 19, 1993, the campus was designated a National Historic Landmark by the United States Department of Interior.

Principia is currently well-known for its solar car team and its Public Affairs Conference, the oldest student run public affairs conference in the country.

Principia's sports teams compete in the NCAA Division III in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and go by the "Panthers" nickname.

• Chandler Burr, author
• Robert Duvall, actor and Academy Award winner
• Ketti Frings, author, writer, and Pulitzer Prize winner
• Larry Groce, host of public radio's Mountain Stage
• Egil Krogh, part of U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration
• Christopher Shays, Connecticut congressman

• The Principia website
• The Principia School website
• Principia College website
• Tribute to the College's WTPC Radio in the 1970s

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