Brown University

This article is about the private Ivy League research university in Rhode Island. For the private Christian university in Arkansas, see John Brown University.

Brown University
Coat of arms
Latin: Universitas Brunensis[1]
Former names
Rhode Island College (1764–1804)
MottoIn Deo Speramus (Latin)
Motto in English
"In God We Hope"[2]
TypePrivate research university
EstablishedSeptember 15, 1764; 260 years ago (1764-09-15)
AccreditationNECHE
Academic affiliations
Endowment$7.2 billion (2024)[3]
Budget$1.28 billion (2023)[4]
PresidentChristina Paxson
ProvostFrancis J. Doyle III
Academic staff
848[5]
Students10,737[5]
Undergraduates7,222[5]
Postgraduates2,920[5]
595 medical students[5]
Location
Providence
,
Rhode Island
,
United States

41°49′34″N 71°24′11″W / 41.82611°N 71.40306°W / 41.82611; -71.40306
CampusMidsize city, 143 acres (58 ha)
Other campuses
NewspaperThe Brown Daily Herald
ColorsSeal brown, cardinal red, and white[6]
     
NicknameBears
Sporting affiliations
MascotBruno the Bear
Websitebrown.edu

Brown University is a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. One of nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution,[7] it was the first US college to codify that admission and instruction of students was to be equal regardless of the religious affiliation of students.[8]

The university is home to the oldest applied mathematics program in the country and oldest engineering program in the Ivy League.[a][9][10][11] It was one of the early doctoral-granting institutions in the U.S., adding masters and doctoral studies in 1887.[12] In 1969, it adopted its Open Curriculum after student lobbying, which eliminated mandatory general education distribution requirements.[13][14] In 1971, Brown's coordinate women's institution, Pembroke College, was fully merged into the university.

The university comprises the College, the Graduate School, Alpert Medical School, the School of Engineering, the School of Public Health and the School of Professional Studies. Its international programs are organized through the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs, and it is academically affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Rhode Island School of Design, which offers undergraduate and graduate dual degree programs. Brown's main campus is in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence. The university is surrounded by a federally listed architectural district with a concentration of Colonial-era buildings. Benefit Street has one of America's richest concentrations of 17th- and 18th-century architecture.[15][16] Undergraduate admissions are among the most selective in the country, with an acceptance rate of 5% for the class of 2026.[17][18]

As of March 2022, 11 Nobel Prize winners have been affiliated with Brown as alumni, faculty, or researchers, one Fields Medalist, seven National Humanities Medalists,[b] and 11 National Medal of Science laureates. Alumni include 27 Pulitzer Prize winners,[c] 21 billionaires,[d] four U.S. Secretaries of State, over 100 members of the United States Congress,[25] 58 Rhodes Scholars,[26] 22 MacArthur Genius Fellows,[e] and 38 Olympic medalists.[27]

  1. ^ "1834: Third College Seal". Brown University Timeline. Providence, Rhode Island: Brown University. Retrieved July 26, 2024. ("Sigillum Universitatis Brunensis" in Latin),
  2. ^ "Brown University Admission Facts and Figures". Brown University. Archived from the original on July 8, 2012. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
  3. ^ As of October 6, 2024. "With 11.3% return in 2024, Brown endowment provides record support for academic priorities". October 4, 2024. Retrieved October 6, 2024.
  4. ^ "Brown sees 2.2% increase in net assets, 2.7% return on endowment in 2023 fiscal year". The Brown Daily Herald.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Brown at a Glance". Brown University. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
  6. ^ "Brown University Athletics & Recreation Brand Guidelines" (PDF). June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Bicentennial celebration". Brown University. Archived from the original on May 28, 2010. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  8. ^ Bronson, Walter Cochrane (1914). The History of Brown University, 1764–1914. Providence: The University. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-405-03697-2.
  9. ^ Suzuki, Jeff (August 27, 2009). Mathematics in Historical Context. MAA. p. 374. ISBN 978-0-88385-570-6. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
  10. ^ Maugin, Gerard A. (April 8, 2013). Continuum Mechanics Through the Twentieth Century: A Concise Historical Perspective. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 978-94-007-6353-1. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  11. ^ Parsons, Charles W; Rhode Island Historical Society (1881). The medical school formerly existing in Brown University, its professors and graduates. Providence, R.I.: S.S. Rider. OCLC 1038137370.
  12. ^ Bronson, Walter Cochrane (1914). The History of Brown University, 1764–1914. Providence: The University. p. 147. ISBN 978-0-405-03697-2.
  13. ^ Skidmore, Lydia Defusto, Alex (May 24, 2019). "Open Curriculum at 50". Brown Daily Herald. Archived from the original on April 30, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "Encyclopedia Brunoniana | Curriculum". Brown University. Archived from the original on July 20, 2014. Retrieved December 27, 2014.
  15. ^ Méras, Phyllis (2012). Explorer's Guide Rhode Island. Katherine Palmer Imbrie (6 ed.). Woodstock, VT. p. 42. ISBN 978-1-58157-786-0. OCLC 918312532.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  16. ^ NEWS, BILL RAPPLEYE, NBC 10 (October 13, 2017). "Homes on Benefit Street in Providence neglected". WJAR. Archived from the original on April 14, 2021. Retrieved April 14, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  17. ^ "Brown admits record-low 5% of applicants to class of 2026". The Brown Daily Herald. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2023.
  18. ^ "Top 100 – Lowest Acceptance Rates". U.S. News & World Report. 2021.
  19. ^ Brennan, Elizabeth A. (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize winners. Elizabeth C. Clarage. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press. ISBN 1-57356-111-8. OCLC 40126493.
  20. ^ "Cho Hyun-Sang". Forbes. Archived from the original on October 25, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2021.
  21. ^ "Carl Ferdinand Oetker". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Ipek Kirac". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  23. ^ a b Martin, Iain. "Adobe's $20 Billion Takeover Of Figma Makes Cofounders Billionaires". Forbes. Archived from the original on September 15, 2022. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  24. ^ "Roberta Anamaria Civita". Forbes. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2021.
  25. ^ Greene, Richard Henry (1890). Official Positions Held by Alumni of Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, University of Pennsylvania, and by the Men Educated at William and Mary College: With a Comparative Statement, Including a Resumé from the Material Gathered Concerning Harvard College for the N. E. Hist. and Gen. Register, July, 1887, by Chief Justice Wm. A. Richardson, LL.D., the Papers on Official Positions Held by Alumni of Yale, College of New Jersey, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia College and Brown University. D. Clapp & Son, printers. p. 34.
  26. ^ "Brown at a Glance". Brown University. Archived from the original on May 14, 2021. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  27. ^ "Olympians". Brown University Athletics. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.


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