Brown University is a leading nonprofit research university and the seventh-oldest college in the United States, distinguished by its student-centered learning model and the innovative Open Curriculum. Founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Brown has evolved into a premier Ivy League institution that challenges conventional educational boundaries through intellectual freedom and academic rigor. The university's unique approach empowers undergraduates to pursue their intellectual passions without traditional distribution requirements, fostering creative thinkers, intellectual risk-takers, and entrepreneurial problem-solvers who are prepared to make meaningful impacts in their communities and the world.
Brown's mission is to serve the community, the nation, and the world by discovering, communicating, and preserving knowledge and understanding in a spirit of free inquiry. With world-renowned faculty across the College, Graduate School, Warren Alpert Medical School, School of Engineering, and School of Public Health, Brown drives breakthrough research in areas ranging from brain science and biomedical engineering to environmental studies and international affairs. Deeply intertwined with its home in Providence, Rhode Island, for over two and a half centuries, Brown operates as an anchor institution that contributes significantly to the regional economy, public health, K-12 education, and community engagement while preparing students to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation.