Brown gives students the freedom to direct their education
Urban archaeology: Students conduct fieldwork on the property surrounding the Meeting House at the First Baptist Church of Providence. Offering approximately 2,000 courses each year in more than 40 academic departments, Brown attracts, challenges, and cultivates independent thinkers with the power and drive to create personally meaningful lives.
Undergraduates at Brown are responsible for designing individualized programs of study across multiple departments. A strong advising network helps students engage fully with the Brown curriculum.
Brown’s Graduate School offers 51 doctoral programs and 28 master’s programs, including those of the School of Engineering, the School of Public Health, and the School of Professional Studies. The Warren Alpert Medical School awards some 90 medical degrees per year, and, along with its 7 affiliated teaching hospitals, is a hub of research.
Graduate students at Brown work side-by-side with faculty who are leaders in their fields. The Open Graduate Programs project allows select Brown doctoral students to pursue a master’s degree in a secondary field.
Brown students are active learners. A large number of centers and institutes fuel their research. Study abroad programs and international collaborations reflect Brown’s commitment to promoting global learning.
Students passionate about public service turn to the Swearer Center for ways to take constructive action locally and around the world.
Learning is supported by a library system housing 6.8 million print items, plus a multitude of electronic resources and expanding digital archives.
The Career Development Center helps students plan for futures that make productive use of their academic achievements.
Other programs include Pre-College Programs for high school students; and Undergraduate Summer Session, open to Brown and visiting undergraduates.
Brown also offers free, non-credit, online courses open to learners from around the world. These courses, offered in partnership with Coursera, develop students' knowledge and understanding of the liberal arts and sciences while providing a window into Brown's exceptional learning environment.
Open learning follows in the spirit of the Brown mission to “serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating, and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry.”
Guided by the Plan for Academic Enrichment, Brown continues to set new goals for distinction in education. The July 2010 formation of the School of Engineering and the launch of a School of Public Health in 2013 are direct results of these efforts.