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The Degree

At Brown University, education for the undergraduate has as its purpose the fostering of the intellectual and personal growth of the individual student. The student, ultimately responsible for his or her own development in both of these areas, must be an active participant in framing his or her education. A central aspect of this development is the relationship of the student with professors and fellow students and with the material they approach together. Structures, rules, and regulations of the University should facilitate these relationships and should provide the student with the maximum opportunity to formulate and achieve his or her educational objectives. Accordingly, the following curricular structure reflects these purposes.

Two baccalaureate degrees are awarded--the Bachelor of Arts and the Bachelor of Science. Which of the two degrees is awarded is determined by the nature of the concentration program. In addition, the five-year combined AB-ScB program is actually one degree with each listed on the transcript and diploma as one distinct degree. In short, students cannot receive more than one distinct degree/diploma at commencement.

There are 5 minimum requirements in which all Brown undergraduates must meet in order to have the degree awarded: The Quantity Requirement; The Writing Requirement, The Concentration Requirement; The Residency Requirement; and the Tuition/Enrollment Requirement.

Progress to the Degree & Standing (The Quantity Requirement)

Each student is normally expected to enroll in four courses in each of eight semesters for a total of 32 courses. (Tuition payments, by decision of the Corporation, are based on the norm of 32 courses and eight semesters of full-time residence at Brown.)

To encourage risk-taking in the planning of educational programs, or to provide a degree of flexibility in individual programs, the minimum number of course credits that must be successfully completed for graduation has been set at 30. (Successful completion means a course completed with a grade of A,B,C, or S.). The minimum quantity is set higher for students enrolled in the 5 year combined AB-ScB program (38 credits) and the concurrent Bachelor's/Master's program (36 credits*). The maximum number of courses that may be completed in eight semesters is 40. A student may choose to take a minimum of three to a maximum of five courses in a particular semester. 

*Effective May 2, 2017 the required number of credits for the concurrent degree was raised from 34 to 36. Any students accepted into concurrent program after May 2, 2016 must complete 36 credits.

Normal academic progress is the completion of eight courses in two consecutive semesters. Under the guidelines for academic standing established by the faculty, to remain in good standing, a student must satisfactorily complete at least 3 courses by the end of the first semester, 7 courses by the end of the second semester, 11 courses by the end of the third, 15 by the end of the fourth, 18 by the end of the fifth, 22 by the end of the sixth, 26 by the end of the seventh and 30 courses to graduate after eight semesters. (Note: A course recorded as "Incomplete" has not yet been satisfactorily completed and cannot, therefore, be counted in calculations of academic standing.) In addition, a student will satisfactorily complete a minimum of seven (7) courses in any two consecutive semesters. Students who do not meet these requirements will have their cases referred to the Committee on Academic Standing for action which may result in academic status of Warning, Serious Warning or Suspension/Dismissal. Academic status of Suspension and Dismissal will be noted permanently on a student's transcript. A student may not be enrolled in fewer than three (3) courses in any semester without written permission from the Dean of the College for short work.

Academic standing is determined only on the basis of courses completed at Brown, including, as of summer 2000, credits earned in the Brown Summer Session, and as of 2016 post-matriculation transfer credits. Pre-Brown Transfer credit and A.P. credit do not figure in the determination of academic standing. Transfer credit for courses taken at other institutions, either in this country or abroad, may be granted by the Committee on Academic Standing on the recommendation of a department and, in the case of courses qualifying for concentration credit, on the recommendation of the student's concentration advisor.

Students who apply transfer credits towards completion of the requirements for their Brown baccalaureate degree, must complete successfully at least 15 courses and four full-time semesters of course work at Brown. (Note: Terms from Brown exchange programs and Brown Summer School do not apply to the four semester residence requirement.) For any semester to count as a full-time semester of residence, a minimum of three courses must be taken. Resumed Education students may study either on a part-time or full-time basis.

A.P. credits, do not actually carry academic course credit, may not be applied to the minimum requirement of satisfactory completion of the minimum 30 courses. However, A.P. credits may contribute to advanced standing, as described under the Tuition/Enrollment Requirement section below.

The Writing Requirement

Since its founding, Brown has stressed the importance of writing. Competence in reading and writing is required for all degrees. Beyond competence, Brown seeks to develop the quality of writing in courses throughout the University.

All students at Brown are expected to pursue a high level of performance in their writing. Students who, in the opinion of their instructors, fail to maintain an appropriate level of competence in writing, are referred to an agent of the Dean of the College to develop a plan for improving their writing abilities. This can include placement in a designated writing course. If students do not complete such a course satisfactorily or are subsequently judged by the Dean to be incompetent in writing, they will be refused registration by the Committee on Academic Standing until they meet the responsibilities for the completion of the writing requirement and/or not receive their degree.

For further information on the Writing Requirement and the mechanics of implementation/satisfaction of the requirement, please visit the Dean of the College's website in the Brown Curriculum section.

The Concentration

The Concentration is the focal point for a student's undergraduate educational experience. It is an in-depth study centering on the unit provided by a discipline or disciplines, a problem or a theme, or a broad question. Study in depth aids intellectual development by encouraging conceptual and methodological learning on a sophisticated level. Study in depth also allows students to gain a command of an area of knowledge sufficient to enable them to engage in meaningful creative efforts in that area. The unity of the subject area encourages the ability to utilize concepts and methods in a coherent manner.

In a concentration students will be undertaking an extensive inquiry into an area which is personally significant. They will be forced to integrate the large amounts of material with their personal experience. The very nature of a long and painstaking inquiry will aid students in assessing their capabilities and limitations.

The Concentration should be undertaken in ways which will maximize students' contact with individual professors who will guide them and work with them, and with their fellow students who are working in related areas.

The Concentration may coincide in some ways with specific prerequisite training for professional goals, but professional training is not the central aspect of the concentration process. Concentration is designed to carry out the processes of intellectual and personal development which are at the center of the undergraduate educational experience.

Students will devise, in consultation with an appropriate faculty member, a concentration program centered on a discipline or disciplines, problem or theme, or broad question; they may also select a standard departmental concentration. A written proposal presenting a statement on the major objectives of the concentration program and a list of the specific courses to be taken will be signed jointly by the student and faculty advisor, and submitted to the College Curriculum Council for approval. Standard concentration programs require only the approval of the appropriate department or committee.

The number and nature of courses constituting any proposed concentration program submitted to the College Curriculum Council should be fully consistent with the objectives stated in the proposal. The faculty advisor for an approved concentration program will be responsible for meeting regularly with the student throughout the period of concentration, to provide guidance as well as to assess, with the student, progress made toward attaining the goals embodied in the concentration program. This essential relationship will form a central feature in the terminal evaluation of a student's performance in concentration.

At the discretion of the College Curriculum Council, minor changes in concentration programs may be arranged with the approval of the faculty advisor. Major alterations in concentration programs, involving either changes in courses or in faculty advisors, will require the approval of the Council. Changes in standard concentrations require only departmental or Council approval as the case may be.

Departments and interdepartmental groups of faculty may establish, subject to the approval and periodic review by the College Curriculum Council, standard programs of concentration, thereby eliminating the need for individual approval. Faculty advisors designated by the department and interdepartmental groups will serve in the guidance of students undertaking approved standard programs of concentration.

Standard departmental concentration programs for the bachelor of arts degree shall require no fewer than eight semester courses and no more than ten. Concentration programs for the bachelor of science degree, with the exception of engineering, and standard interdepartmental bachelor of arts programs shall require no more than ten courses in any one department. The total number of concentration courses required for the bachelor of science degree and for standard interdepartmental bachelor of arts programs shall not exceed twenty (twenty-one for engineering). None of these limits need preclude a reasonable number of pre- or co-requisites, but, when passing upon any concentration requirement, the College Curriculum Council shall also review the number of these pre- or co-requisites.

In the case of independent concentrations that overlap with areas of study covered by departmental or interdepartmental programs, the College Curriculum Council shall inform the appropriate departmental officer(s) of all actions taken on submitted proposals. An active exchange of opinion between these components of the University is desirable from two viewpoints: first, a clear statement of the Council's reasons for arriving at specific judgments should assist the departments and interdepartmental groups in the continuing evaluation of their standard concentration programs; second, the comments transmitted by the departments and interdepartmental groups to the College Curriculum Council should be of considerable value to its members in the review of future proposals.

All students must declare a field of concentration by filing an appropriate advisor approved concentration program via the standard mechanism (i.e. ASK-Advising Side Kick) and on file with the Registrar no later than the end of Semester IV; any student may file at any time prior to the end of Semester IV. No student will be permitted to register for his or her fifth semester unless an advisor approved declaration of concentration has been completed and logged onto the student record. Students failing to complete registration on time because of the failure to file a concentration declaration will be subject to the same action taken by the University for all cases of late registration. Changes in declaration are permissible in accordance with the above procedure.

All courses in the concentration program must be completed satisfactorily.

The student and the concentration advisor should review the concentration at regular intervals. These reviews should take place no less than once in Semester V and once before midsemester of Semester VII.

A student who completes satisfactorily more than one concentration program may have the fact indicated on his or her permanent record. Sponsorship and authorization of each concentration program shall follow the usual procedures. In order to accomplish this, the student must have filed additional (maximum of 3) advisor approved concentration programs prior to the end of end of the pre-registration period in the student's seventh semester. In addition, no more than two courses can overlap in any concentration as a means to satisfy multiple concentration programs.

Residency Requirement

Every candidate for a baccalaureate degree, except those enrolled in the Resumed Education Program, must be enrolled for at least four semesters as a full-time student and must complete satisfactorily a minimum of fifteen courses at Brown. (Note: Terms from Brown study abroad programs do not apply to the residence requirement.) Students in the Resumed Education Program must complete satisfactorily a minimum of fifteen courses at Brown and be in residence not less than four semesters. Resumed Education students may study either on a part-time or full-time basis. Every student must spend sufficient time in concentration studies to permit faculty evaluation of his or her concentration. In addition, students in the Brown-RISD dual degree candidates must earn 15 Brown credits exclusive of their RISD courses recorded on their record and any Brown summer credits or credits earned while on study abroad.

Tuition/Enrollment Requirement

Prior to the awarding of a baccalaureate degree, each candidate normally must have accumulated credit for the payment of a minimum of eight semesters of tuition or the equivalent.

1. Tuition rates are set by the Corporation of the University for each semester. Normally, the tuition rates for the two semesters of a given academic year will be the same.

2. Tuition payments for the baccalaureate degree are based on the norm of thirty-two courses, four courses in each of eight semesters. The minimum tuition requirement is eight semesters, or the equivalent. This eight-semester tuition requirement is separate from and in addition to any other degree requirements. The minimum tuition requirement for the program leading to the combined degree of A.B.-Sc.B. or the Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program is ten semesters of tuition credit. (Note: The Brown Corporation has enacted a provision allowing students in the five-year A.B.-Sc.B. program who complete all academic requirements in nine semesters to terminate their studies at that point, provided the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) approves the breadth and quality of the student's program. In that case, the tuition requirement will be reduced to nine semesters. This provision is subject to review by the Academic Council.)

3. Payment of full-time tuition for a semester entitles the student to enroll in three, four, or five courses for that semester. For full-time degree candidates, tuition charges are set for the semester, not per course.

4. a. Students who are granted Advanced Placement credits (A.P.) and/or transfer credit for work completed at another college or university prior to enrollment at Brown may apply for and may be granted advanced standing and tuition credit. (*Not applicable for Brown-RISD Dual Degree candidates)

4. b. Students who are granted Brown course credits by the Committee on Academic Standing for equivalent work completed at and transferred from another college or university after enrollment at Brown may apply for and may be granted advanced standing and tuition credit according to the schedule in the table below, except as provided for in Section 4(d). For the purposes of these regulations, transfer credit for work completed prior to enrollment will be treated separately from transfer credit for work completed after enrollment. (*Not applicable for Brown-RISD Dual Degree candidates)

Brown Semester Course Credits Advanced Standing & Tuition Credits
3-6
1 semester
7-10
2 semesters
11-14
3 semesters
15+
4 semesters

In exceptional cases the Committee on Academic Standing may allow a student to transfer the equivalent of one or two Brown semester course credits for work completed during the regular academic year (for summer school courses, see (d) below). Tuition credit will be granted for each such course at the rate of one quarter of a full-semester credit subject to the following conditions:

4. b. 1. Such courses completed while the student is not currently enrolled at Brown will become part of the cumulative total of all transfer credits earned by the student and the Table in (b) above will apply.

4. b. 2. If the courses are completed as part of a dual registration arrangement (e.g., a student who is permitted to carry a less-than-normal load of courses at Brown and to pay an appropriate reduced amount of tuition in order to pursue concurrently certain specialized courses at another institution), tuition credit for such courses will be independent of any other cumulative total of transfer credits earned by the student.

4. c. Once advanced standing has been granted, a student wishing to extend his or her total period of enrollment beyond eight full-time semesters, or the equivalent, must apply to do so and must declare the number of courses for which he or she will register by December 1 for the spring semester and by June 1 for the fall semester. In such cases tuition for each course (for the extended period) will be charged at the rate of one quarter of the full-time semester rate.

4. d. Summer study at Brown and Transfer credit for summer school courses is allowed in accordance with provisions established by the Faculty Rules and the Committee on Academic Standing. When such credit is awarded, no enrollment/tuition credit is associated with summer work. In the case of summer transfer work the academic credit awarded may not be combined in any cumulative total of transfer credits for the purpose of tuition credit.

5. An eighth-semester student who owes less than a full-semester tuition credit at the beginning of the eighth semester will be charged the fraction of the full-time tuition charge for that semester which will complete the eight-semester obligation and may take an equivalent number of courses. Additional courses will be charged at the rate of one quarter of the semester's full tuition charge.

6. Regular degree candidate students who must or choose to take courses in semesters beyond the eighth semester in order to complete requirements for the baccalaureate degree will be charged tuition at the rate of one quarter of the semester's full tuition charge for each course enrollment.

7. Degree candidate students who are given permission by the dean to register for "courseload reduction" (one, two, or three courses) will be charged one quarter of the semester's full-tuition charge for each course enrollment.

8. Students in the eight-year program leading to a baccalaureate degree and the M.D. degree (Program in Liberal Medical Education) shall make four annual tuition payments at the rate fixed for the College (for years one through four) and four annual tuition payments at the rate fixed for the Alpert Medical School (for years five through eight).

9. The above regulations cover students who are candidates for a baccalaureate degree. For special students who are not candidates for a degree, a tuition charge of one quarter of the semester tuition rate will be made for each course taken.

Summer Session

The University sponsors a formal program of summer study for Brown students. Among the many advantages offered by summer courses at Brown are: the luxury of small classes with some of Brown's best faculty and expert visiting faculty; a curriculum that includes innovative courses presently available only in the Summer Session; the opportunity to devote concentrated attention to one subject; and the availability of small sections of courses that are typically over-enrolled during the academic year.

In addition, Brown undergraduates can find summer courses helpful to either maintain progress towards their degree or to accelerate their degrees (i.e. graduate in seven semesters) by earning four summer credits at Brown, thus saving approximately half of one semester's tuition charges. (Note that summer courses taken elsewhere cannot be used to accelerate.)  Brown summer courses DO NOT earn enrollment/tuition units and therefore while there is a provision to waive a semester of tuition by taking and earning 4 Brown Summer/Winter courses, students cannot use less than 4 Brown summer and/or winter courses as a way to reduce the enrollment/tuition unit requirement.

Summer courses are equivalent to courses offered at Brown during the fall and spring semesters (As stated above however, they do not count towards enrollment/tuition unit credit)  They are intensive, meeting a minimum of seven hours per week. Courses carry full credit for undergraduates enrolled at Brown, and as many as four of these courses may count toward the baccalaureate degree. NOTE: Brown-RISD Students can enroll in summer courses but they do not count towards minimum degree requirements and cannot be used to waive a semester of tuition.  The staff in the School of Professional Studies staff is available for information and advice; students are urged to consult the staff with any questions concerning summer courses or policies.

Winter Session

Similar to the 7 week Brown summer session mentioned above, the Winter Session is a further compressed academic experience available to Brown students. Courses carry full credit for undergraduates enrolled at Brown (maximum one per session), and as many as four of these courses may count toward the baccalaureate degree on their own or when combined with Brown summer session classes (cannot exceed 4 altogether).  The same regulation regarding Brown summer courses in that they do not count towards the enrollment/tuition unit requirement holds for Brown Winter session courses

NOTE: Brown-RISD Dual degree students can enroll in Brown winter courses but they do not count towards minimum degree requirements and cannot be used to waive a semester of tuition.  

For further information on Brown's Winter Session and related policies and procedures as it relates to degree requirements please visit https://wintersession.brown.edu/

Honors

The University, at graduation, grants honors to students whose work in the field of concentration has demonstrated superior quality and culminated in an honors thesis of distinction. One original thesis may be used to earn the honors distinction in only one concentration. The designation "Honors" is included on the student's transcript and diploma. No distinctions are made among quality levels of honors work. Students considering honors work should consult their departmental or independent concentration advisor.

Recommendations for honors are due in early May preceding Commencement. Only students who have completed all work before graduation may receive the honors distinction. Brown does not grant honors retroactively. Therefore, students who consider taking a grade of Incomplete in a thesis project should understand that they will not receive honors unless the thesis is completed in time to be evaluated by faculty readers and a recommendation submitted before graduation.

Latin Honors (magna cum laude)

Baccalaureate degrees may be awarded magna cum laude to the upper 20 percent (approximately) of the graduating class. The Committee on Academic Standing will draw up a list of those graduating seniors who are eligible to receive the bachelor's degree magna cum laude and it will be presented for Faculty Vote just prior to Commencement. This vote is final and binding as magna cum laude is not awarded retroactively for any late grades or grade changes that may come in after the fact.

Many students often wonder how magna cum laude is calculated since Brown does not compute a GPA (grade point average). What follows is the logic employed to determine magna cum laude honors at Brown University:

-Each student is assigned a normal load based on the number of tuition/enrollment units a student has in residence at Brown. For most students this normal load is 32.0 (4 courses x 8 semesters) if they are enrolled for 8 semesters in residence at Brown and do not take summer courses or study elsewhere, etc. 

-Likewise, if a student did enroll in Brown summer courses these are added on a 1:1 basis to his/her normal load. So in the case of a student who enrolled for 8 semesters and also enrolled in two Brown summer courses the normal load would be 34.0 ((4.0 X 8) + 2). For students who came in as transfer students and/or took a semester abroad their normal load would be decreased by the number of semesters that were credited as a result of transfer credits (ex. 6 semesters in residence fulltime the normal load would be 24.0 (4 courses x 6)).

 -The second part of the calculation is to take all graduating students who are actually completing their requirements for commencement in May and take their total number of magna-eligible grades (grades of A or S with distinction [Note: S* on transcript means mandatory S/NC grade option not S with distinction. Distinction marks are not released outside the University as they are used strictly for magna calculation purposes]) and divide based on specific student's normal load to come up with a magna percentage.

   *Courses numbered over 3000 taken by PLME students, regardless of grade received, do not count towards total magna-eligible grades. In addition, for Brown-RISD Dual Degree candidates only courses taken within Brown in fall & spring semester will count towards magna calculation.

 -The third and final step is for the Committee on Academic Standing to vote just prior to commencement on what magna percentage comes closest to the overall top 20% of the graduating class. It is important to note that this magna percentage changes every academic year based on total number of graduates actually receiving a degree and that the total number of magna eligible grades needed also varies. For this reason and for the fact that senior grades still come in until just prior to the Faculty Vote for commencement, when Latin honors ultimately gets finalized, release of magna cum laude recipients cannot be released until the actual day of commencement where they are listed in the Commencement Bulletin.

SPRING semester 2020 accomodation: Due to the unique disruption that the COVID-19 pandemic had on the spring 2020 semester, the CCC along with  the CAS and the Faculty Executive Committee approved an accomodation where magna will be calculated using two metrics in which all of the above will both include and exclude the spring semesters and the Committee on Academic Standing will be presented with two lists one for the approximate top 20% excluding spring 2020 and another including. This accomodation will be utilized each graduation cycle until all students who studied in the spring 2020 semester have completed their degrees. As such many students will be on both lists but there may be a few students on one list but not the other. Those students included on both top 20% lists will receive latin honors. 

In summary, Latin Honors (magna cum laude) at Brown is based strictly on the parameters listed above. Grades other than A or S with distinction are not held against students for the purposes of the calculation nor are students who come in as transfers or study abroad/away once matriculated are given any distinct advantage. Once the Faculty Vote just prior to Commencement occurs the awarding of magna cum laude is final and any subsequent grades that may come in after the vote are not considered as magna cum laude is not awarded retroactively to said vote. For students who receive magna cum laude, that distinction is made not only in the Commencement Bulletin, but the designation is also noted on the Official academic transcript and on the diploma.

Study Elsewhere

Students who wish to study at other U.S. institutions for transfer credit toward their Brown degree either in the Summer months (cannot exceed 4 credits inclusive of any Brown summer credit) or during the fall/spring semester may do so with prior approval of the appropriate departments and the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS). The CAS delegates to a specific dean of the College the authority to approve petitions for such programs.

Students planning study elsewhere in the U.S. should consult the Dean of the College website. The student should then work out a program and present it to his or her concentration advisor and other appropriate faculty members for approval. 

In a semester system, one Brown course is considered the equivalent of four semester hours. In a quarter system, one Brown course is considered the equivalent of six quarter hours. For that reason, the number of course transfer credits received for study away from Brown may not be equal to the number of courses taken. For example, a student taking four three-semester-hour courses (12 semester credit hours), all properly approved for Brown transfer credit, will receive the equivalent of three Brown course credits, while a student taking three four-quarter-hour courses (12 quarter credit hours), all properly approved for Brown transfer credit, will receive the equivalent of two Brown course credits.

In order to be considered for transfer credit, courses must be completed with a grade of C or better, and an official transcript must be received by Brown University from the host institution, which must be a regionally accredited, degree-granting, two or four-year institution.  Official transcripts should be sent to the Office of the Registrar. This transcript will be retained by the University. All transfer credit must receive Faculty and Committee on Academic Standing approval. Students should keep all materials from their work away, including, e.g., course syllabi, exams, papers, notes, projects, and portfolios, in the event that post-approval is required from an academic department at Brown. It is the student's responsibility to clarify in advance any concerns regarding the amount of transfer credit which may be awarded.

The Brown transcript will indicate the transfer credits received and the name of the host institution, as well as the approved course equivalencies and/or unassigned credits at Brown. Students applying to graduate and professional schools are often asked to provide official transcripts from all institutions at which they have been enrolled. In such cases, the student will need to request a copy of his or her transcript from the study-away institution to be sent to the graduate or professional school, as Brown will not furnish copies of another institution's official record.

Students returning from study elsewhere in the U.S. may receive up to eight course credits for work undertaken during one academic year, but normally no more than four concentration credits may be awarded. Credit cannot be granted until the student has successfully completed the work and has had an official transcript sent to the Office of the Registrar. Students who take a semester or year for study elsewhere must meet with one of the deans of the College to request a leave of absence. Students must notify the Office of the Dean of the College by the dates specified in the Academic Calendar. 

Foreign Study

To receive credit for foreign study, students must spend at least one semester enrolled in a foreign institution of higher learning, subject to the same rules and regulations as the host institution's regular students. There are two exceptions: where the language of study is one in which sufficient proficiency is unlikely to be achieved by the average Brown undergraduate, but the student should study the language while in the country; and where the usual assessment procedures may not be appropriate, in which case special arrangements may have to be made. Students may not study on itinerant programs (i.e., those which travel through many sites rather than are based in one primary site). Nor may they study at institutions created for overseas study for Americans, with special exceptions: for study of a specific area and/or field research unavailable at Brown or better pursued at a foreign site or in sites where "the average Brown student" cannot study alongside local students because of the language.

Foreign Study and the Brown Curriculum

Foreign study should be used to complement the applicant's program of study at Brown. This should be ascertained by the Office of International Programs (OIP) in consultation with the College Curriculum Council (CCC) subcommittee on foreign study, the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS), and regional advisory committees. Students must be in good academic standing to study abroad.

The Role of the Office of International Programs at Brown University & Study Abroad Procedures

The Office of International Programs (OIP) coordinates all foreign study undertaken by Brown students either on Brown sponsored programs or on Brown approved programs. 

Students planning to study abroad should visit the OIP as far in advance as possible of any intended study and meet with an OIP advisor and a concentration advisor. Students may receive up to eight course credits for work undertaken during one academic year. Normally no more than four concentration credits will be allowed. For concentration credit, the student will have to obtain approval from the appropriate departmental concentration advisor. This credit is usually granted after the student presents documentation, including evidence of work completed in the course(s) to the departmental concentration advisor.

Students must fulfill any language prerequisites required by Brown and by their program. All applications for study abroad must be approved by faculty committees as well as by OIP.

Official transcripts for non-Brown programs should be sent to the Office of the Registrar. For Brown sponsored programs, transcripts are sent to OIP. When other forms of evaluation or other documentation are to be used, these should be brought by the student to the Office of International Programs. Students not on Brown sponsored programs may be asked to take such materials to faculty advisors for review and final approval.

Courses are entered on the Brown Official Transcript based on the titles ascertained by OIP with a grade of S, not T as is case with traditional transfer credit.

Time spent on study abroad does not apply to the four semester residency requirement for the degree. All students studying abroad should be registered on approved study abroad leaves of absence through the Office of International Programs which indicate the date of return to Brown. 

Credit may be awarded for summer study abroad, particularly for language study. Students considering this option should consult with the Office of International Programs.

A.P. Credit

It is possible to receive academic course notations on the transcript on the basis of Advanced Placement (AP) examinations. Such courses, while they may satisfy a course pre-requisite on the basis of the Brown equivalency granted or simply by the score recorded, DO NOT count towards the the minimum number of courses (30 for the AB or ScB) required for the baccalaureate degree. The awarding of AP credit on the basis of AP examinations is based primarily on the recommendations of the individual academic departments. During the orientation program you will be able to learn from your academic advisors whether course credits have been awarded. Please refer to the section on Advanced Placement in the Guide to Liberal Learning for more specific information or refer to the Advanced Placement section of the Office of the Dean of the College website (http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/courses/ap.php).

The official academic record of all graduating students is sealed upon Commencement to reflect what was in effect upon degree completion. Therefore, no transcript notations will be made post-Commencement of AP credit or transfer credit as it was not used to clear a student's degree requirements. Students who wish to have AP credit notations or transfer credits in general reflected on the academic record must seek these notations and ensure receipt of all required documentation well before they graduate.

Brown-Rhode Island School of Design Dual Degree Program

Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) offer a 5 year Dual Degree Program. Students may receive a Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) degree from Brown and a Bachelor of Fine Arts (B.F.A.) degree from RISD. Prospective students must apply and be accepted to both institutions, and then be approved by a separate Brown/RISD admissions committee.

Upon completion of the degree program, the Brown University Official Academic Transcript will simply list the degree awarded by Brown University and any Brown University related honors (concentration or Latin honors), if achieved. In addition, if the student successfully completes the capstone project at the end of their experience Brown-RISD experience as communicated by the Brown-RISD committee, the transcript will also include a notation that the student 'Satisfied Program Requirements for 5 Year Brown-RISD Dual Degree Program' along with a notation of with/without Honors as judged by committee.

Students accepted into the Dual Degree Program will be enrolled in both Brown and RISD and will be required to complete existing degree requirements for both institutions. A minimum of two years in residence at each school is expected of the students. In order to complete the 15 minimum Brown credit quantity requirement degree candidates in the program must be aware that courses taken through Brown's summer session, while they may count for concentration credit, they cannot counts towards the 15 credit minimum, nor can the 4 Brown summer course tuition waiver provision be utilized.

For further Information on the Brown-RISD program please go to http://risd.brown.edu/.