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About the Graduate School

Participating in a Vibrant Community

Going to graduate school is about more than acquiring knowledge. You learn how to develop, apply, and share knowledge.

At Brown, graduate students are central to the dialogue and discoveries of a major international research university.  Research and teaching go hand in hand at Brown.

Faculty members are accomplished and accessible. You’ll find a MacArthur Fellow leading doctoral studies in Anthropology, and a National Book Critics Circle Award winner guiding MFA candidates in Literary Arts.  The first winner of the annual Graduate School award for advising and mentoring students is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Brown has a friendly scale and collaborative culture. With nearly 2,000 graduate students and more than 700 full-time faculty members, Brown offers exceptionally close mentoring in its doctoral and terminal master’s programs.  

Along with that support is the latitude to chart a path. It’s in the DNA of the place, reflected in the open curriculum adopted in 1969 for undergraduate education at Brown. Graduate students can craft their course of study, and they have the flexibility and resources to engage in Brown’s exceptionally rich tradition of interdisciplinary research.  Through the Open Graduate Education program, select doctoral students can also earn a secondary master's degree.

Independent thinking, skepticism, and difference are prized. Brown’s climate of openness and cooperation can be traced to its home in Rhode Island, which was founded on the principle of religious freedom. From the start, Brown welcomed students of all religious beliefs, and Brown remains dedicated to diversity and intellectual freedom.  

Whether your research takes place in a chemistry lab, at an overseas excavation site, or in a rare-books library, there is a wider community available to you that will enrich your student experience. Many of our graduate students also engage in the local community, through mentoring or other volunteer activity.