Brown University Top Questions

What are the academics like at your school?

Thomas

I have been enrolled in 400-person economics lectures, 12-person spanish classes, and many things in between. Any class larger than about 20, larger than can easily facilitate a discussion that involves each student, will also include a weekly section led by either the teacher himself or, in my experience, highly-qualified TAs (often Ph.D. students or other graduate students). I have found that teachers are never satisfied to approach heavily discussed topics in the standard way, but seek new ways to make topics interesting or useful. I have found that my least satisfying class still has loads to offer, and it is more often an issue of my having found a subject that interests me more or less - teachers are, as I've found, unwaveringly qualified and insightful. I have never had any issue getting into a class, even as a freshman, or finding ways to speak one-on-one with my teachers. Even the teachers I've had in the largest classes make an effort to personally know as many students as possible, and have been extremely personable and excited to help in office hours. It is also a common occurrence for a teacher to extend a certain conversation outside traditional class hours, either meeting for coffee or inviting a student over to their house.

Gabrielle

In many instances, professors will know students names. In the rare likelihood that they do not, many professors will know a student's name upon introduction. With the open curriculum, students are often only in classes that they want to be in, so there is a lot of participation in every class. Some of my favorite classes taken have been in the public health department, also my concentration. The professors really get to know the students and there is so much conversation that students almost feel like they are teaching the course.

Solomon

Academics at Brown are challenging and fast-paced. Every class is relevant, and students must be responsible about attending class and doing assignments to succeed. There are serious discrepancies between the Humanities and Science course grading policies. The Humanities at Brown have much greater grade inflation, where the sciences do not curve, but generally are more competitive. Professors are easily contacted at Brown, as the school focuses largely on its undergraduates. Professors always give students opportunities to meet with them by appointment and during their office hours, and generally do a good job responding to their emails. Class participation in large lecture classes is less common, but there are a very large amount of small seminars for students offered in every department, and discussion is strongly encouraged in those courses. I am currently pursuing a degree in Biology, and the department has been very supportive of me.

Ana

Academics are stellar at Brown. Students in the sciences tend to have larger class sizes, especially at the intro level of classes (Chem, Econ, and Bio have huge intro classes), but they quickly get smaller until many senior-level classes are seminars, even in these concentrations. Students often study in groups, and the libraries have rooms you can reserve with white boards and good lighting for studying with friends at any hour of the day.

Katherine

Although the professors vary in terms of teaching ability, I have not had one professor who wasn't, well, nice. So far, all have been very easy to reach out during office hours and were friendly. Some departments have notoriously bad professors (math) in the lower level classes. Thankfully, Brown offers free group and one-on-one tutoring services for popular classes like intro chem or intro math. My experience with professors have generally been quite positive. I credit this to shopping period and the Critical Review (which is like a ratemyprofessor for Brown) which has enabled me to pick classes with professors I like.

Jonathan

Introductory classes can be large, and professors vary in their willingness of see you in office hours. But most professors are excellent in answering your questions. If you don't get to know at least one professor well during your time at Brown, that's your own fault. The professors are receptive, and many undergrads do research with professors as we don't have as many graduate students as other schools. Class participation is heavy in seminars and smaller classes. If you have a dynamic professor in a large class, there can be participation. But usually the class participation is much lower in the large lecture classes. The New Curriculum means that you will have to design your own education, so advising would be essential. I would suggest you talk to upperclassmen in the first few weeks just to get an idea of the classes at Brown that students take/good professors. The faculty advisor won't necessarily know that, they're more for concentration advising and thinking about your future.

Rory

I took a lot of classes in the Psychology and Neuroscience departments. Both were top-notch.

Jimmy

This may be one of Brown's strongest offerings. Professors are world-renown--and accessible! Very few classes are run by teaching assistants. Many professors will get to know you personally. You can take nearly any class you want! Getting around pre-requisites is really not as hard as it sounds. There are so many "must-take" classes that you're only really limited by your own time. If what you're interested in isn't offered, start up your own class, or your own major for that matter. Students are not competitive, only hard working.

Harper

I'm a pre-med student at Brown, so I started off my freshman year taking lots of big lecture classes towards my pre-med reqs and for my major. While I enjoyed big lecture classes because I wasn't usually one to ask questions in class and therefore, didn't feel pressured to initiate any conversation, the downside is that the professors don't know your name, unless you go to him or her for outside help during office hours. I never really did that, until second semester for my Cell & Molecular Bio and Neurobio courses. However, classes do become smaller once you get into the higher level classes. Because Brown doesn't have any academic requirements (besides the ones towards your track / concentration), you're really free to explore. I really have a penchant for literature so second semester I took a Romantic Lit class and read King Arthur, Sir Gawain, and Chaucer, which I really did enjoy. You're free to audit classes as well, and last semseter I audited City Politics with Morone (so good-- totally recommended!) Students I found are generally not so much competitive amongst each other, but with themselves. Everyone is constantly striving to do their best, and seeing others aruond you being so motivated, you naturally want to be more motivated as well.

Taylor

Very challenging, but can be negotiated quite easily with a bit of thinking. It really is what you make it. Professors and advisers are accessible and students are not super competitive. Intellectualism is rampant...sometimes annoyingly so.

Steph

Brown is designed for people who love to learn and want to guide their own education. It's famous for having an "open curriculum," meaning there are no core or distribution requirements. This doesn't mean students just take whatever they think is easiest -- but it does mean you will never find yourself in a class surrounded by people who don't want to be there. Interested and engaged students foster deeper, more involved discussions and, in my opinion, an overall more fulfilling academic experience. (And I took a class at BU that most of the students were using to fulfill a requirement, so i have some experience with the different atmospheres.) Learning for its own sake -- not getting a job.

Harper

INCREDIBLE classes in politics (I recommend Wendy Schiller and Roger Cobb)! Great history and spanish classes as well, and, form what I hear, unbelievably thorough science and engineering programs. Mostly work with professors, not TAs, even as freshmen.

Emily

Professors are very good so far, love having the open curriculum which I feel could be stressful if you don't have a good advisor (I did but knew many who didn't), class participation common in smaller classes, larger ones tend to have section once a week which is helpful and allows for more interaction, students are competitive with selves but not really others which creates a pretty relaxed atmosphere, pass/fail is great and really stresses Brown's desire to have students take a wide ranger of classes even things out of their comfort zone, education probably geared towards knowledge. Favorite class so far ES41 with Kurt Teichert, great professor, about 60 kids, knew all our names, very relaxed atmosphere, interesting reading, a lot of papers and big final project but definitely learn a lot, section once a week was nice too.

alex

Classes at Brown are challenging, but my no means overwhelming. Professor's are very understanding in terms of workloads and reading. The open curriculum means that students only have to take classes that interest them. The pass/fail option gives the opportunity to take classes that interest you without out the burden on the student's transcripts.

Alex

Of course there are classes that are better than others and teachers that are better than others. There are big classes and there are small classes. What's amazing about the academics here at Brown is that the students play such an active role in their education. They choose their courses and so its evident that they want to be learning, not for a job, but for the sake of knowling. To be in class with such motivated people, such interesting people, is a gift. It's what one pays so much for. To me, though, its priceless

Alex

Favorite Classes: The Social History of Early Modern Japan wit the guy who did the research and wrote the book. Art and Engagement with a preeminent Woodblock Print Scholar -- we went on a silent Zen Meditation Retreat. Students work a lot but its very non-competitive - nobody talks about grades (almost) and study parties are the norm. How much time you spend with profs is hugely dependent on you and on the specific professor. Don't come here if you're not ready to be adventurous and careful in setting your own course -- the advising sucks, so take the bull by the horns.

Felipe

Being an Ivy League college, Brown's academics are one of the highest in the country. Although there's always a boring class or an "uninteresting topic" everywhere, Brown does have a lot of popular professors. The neuroscience professors, in particular, I've learned, have been really popular amongst their students, as is a political science teacher for City Politics and an economics professor (who is blind, but, I hear, quite effective and funny!). Students are always very active in class and are rarely afraid to ask questions or make funny remarks or interesting statements. In the larger classes, it's difficult for teachers to really form a relationship with their students, but in smaller classes, that rarely exists. Students are not competitive in the sense that they try to outdo each other. It's hard to get in, and getting in is obviously an accomplishment - no easy feat. Students understand that and respect each other. Brown has NO core curriculum, which it emphasizes by letting its student body choose the classes and follow the interests that one wants to pursue. Academic requirements all differ across the array of concentrations, but most are possible if starting in the second or even third year, giving you a chance to explore your interests and try out new things the first year or so. It's a liberating feeling!

Michelle

The open curriculum is FANTASTIC. I have felt no pressure to take any classes that didn't interest me. All of my professors in my smaller courses (20 students or fewer) have known my name. In my lecture courses, the TAs will often get to know the students, depending on if sections are discussion-based or simply times to hand in homework. Students study hard during the day (often on weekends, too), but at night the campus comes alive with shows, concerts, lectures, and parties.

Harper

All but two of my professors knew my first name - one of my favorite professor's actually knows my middle and last name even... it's easy to become close to your professors if you go up and talk to them after class or during office hours. And for the classes that are relatively large, if your professor doesn't know your name, your TA definitely will. Students study - students at Brown want to learn and so the majority usually tries to get all their work done, or at the least they study from time to time. It's easy to balance work and fun, and professors definitely understand how busy students are. Sometimes workloads can be manic - so it's either ALOT of work or ALOT of fun and partying. Work definitely comes in waves: some weeks I feel like I have so much work to do and others I feel so relaxed and can just chill. Students are more helpful than they are competitive - sure, everyone wants to do well, but everyone also wants their peers to do well. So, classmates often study together or help each other - whether someone needs tutoring, wants their paper edited, needs missed lecture notes - students are willing to help each other out. Although the curriculum is flexible, it requires students to be self-motivated and organized. First year academic advising is very helpful - my advisor gave me great tips when picking classes and strategies for shopping period. For example, before committing to classes, it's important to compare your potential classes' syllabuses to make sure you won't have 2 exams and 2 papers due on the same day. I'm plan on majoring in Education and am part of Professor Li's research team, so I am in the education department often. All the professors in the department are extremely friendly and helpful to students. They love when students come by to visit - to study in the student room, for office hours, or even just to chat. It's a great department and I'm glad to be apart of it.

Dani

Classes range from all sizes - from 500+ person lectures to 5 people sitting in a circle. Obviously, its hard to get to know a professor in a big class if you don't go to office hours, but I've have a professor from a 120-person class remember me simply from the questions I asked in class. Brown students are generally not competitve. People share notes, give advice, and honestly help each other out on essays, even if they're writing the same one. Academics are challenging and inspiring, but chill. I realize now that there is hardly any cheating at Brown, something everyone used to do in my high school, even in AP classes. I think its the very lack of pressure that reduces the incentive for people to cheat. In most classes I've taken its easy to get a B and challenging to get an A. You can take however many classes you want as pass/fail, but I dont know anyone who takes more than one pass/fail per semester, and I've never met anyone to audit a class. I know this might sound strange, but at Brown students have the hardest time choosing classes, simply because there are SO many good ones. The school reccomends we take 4 classes per semseter and allows us to take up to 5, and while taking 5 classes is a serious workload, people take that many because there aren't enough semesters in 4 years to take all the good classes. Such a problem. Best class? Global Security After the Cold War with Minh Luong

Rich

At least in the geology department, professors are great about getting to know you individually. The department feels like a large family, and I feel like I really know most of my professors and concentrators. This may be harder in some of the larger departments, but overall there is an active and involved faculty. Further, some of my best conversations have been carried out outside of classes, as people debate religion, gender norms and other things.

jess

the open curriculum is probably one of the biggest attractions for students to come to brown (or for that matter, not to attend). personally, the open curriculum has been a positive for me. i am able to double major while still taking classes i'm interested in, such as the history of sports in america.

Jenna

Some classes are huge and some are small. It depends on the class. If it is an intro class, its most likely to be big. If it is a higher up class or a class most people don't take, it will be smaller. It just depends on what you're interested in. It is competitive because one wants to do the best he/she can, but Brown does not have a competitive atmosphere. People are willing to form study groups and help each other out. It's really reassuring. I LOVE the open curriculum!

Victoria

Some professors definitly know my face but i am not convienced that they know my name. My favorite class is Italian. Students study a lot however they also have a lot of fun there are many clubs around. There s a lot of intellectual conversation ooutside of class but nothing to make you feel left out or ignorant you will always find something to say and your comments are appreciated. You will find competitive students almost everywhere but here, it is not dominant. Nobody wants to do bad. But there is not tension with respect to wanteing to have higher grades than X in a class. The academic requirements are the best because there are none! you shape your education. How I felt about Brown during my first semester is in sense I was finally free. Throught high school somebody was always telling you what to take and make you take it! But here, you take what you will actually enjoy.

Brett

The academic structure here is good in that it allows you a huge amount of flexibility. It is one of the chief benefits in going to Brown. Students should be cautioned, however, that teaching quality varies from field to field. Brown attracts the best researchers in many sciences, but they are precisely that, researchers. Their teaching is incidental and sometimes forced. While the humanities tend to be very good, often the sciences are taught by supercilious professors whose courses become difficult for students whose learning styles are incongruous with whatever method the professor uses. In essence, it's hit or miss whether you'll have to seek outside help or the professor during office hours and essentially do the course outside of the lectures, or if the lectures will actually work for you.

Reese

Brown is hardly competitive. Everyone is pretty driven and laid back at the same time. Brown is one big oxymoron (although the last example is not an oxymoron, but whatever). Every professor is different. There are a HANDFUL of classes that are considered good at Brown. They are basically City Politics and Mande Dance. Done. Those are the only classes that people love.

Jerry

Professors - the best Favorite Class - COGS0420 - Human Cognition Least Favorite Class - ECON0110 - Principles of Economics Students competitiveness - Depends on how you look at it. There are those we care, and those who don't care. Pre-med students are usually quite intense about getting good grades. Most students here, however, at least expect to get straight A's in the classes they take for a grade ( option for SnC, Satisfactory/No Credit for any class). Most Unique Class - an education class I took last semester. Inter-disciplinary, pretty interesting: EDUC0410B Major: Political Science Time with professors outside of class: lol. Why? You can always do it. But why? Professors have office hours and are usually available if you really need them. Academic Requirements: Strict - expect only the best at this school. Education at Brown - perhaps the best thing that will happy to you.

Emily

you can take small classes with sometimes 10 people in them, or big lecture courses with 500 students in them. The professors are great. Two of my professors have had me and other students over to their house to socialize. Studetns participate in class, and have intellectual conversations outside of class. students are not competitive! No core requirements. Classes are geared toward learning for its own sake, rather than getting a job. Great liberal arts education available. students have to be proactive in chosing their classes.

Caitlin

Academics at Brown are challenging if you want them to be. It's fairly easy to float by if that's what you're into, but if you want to do a good job and you're invested in your classes you can learn a lot, and meet with people who are just as invested as you. Most professors are available during office hours, and I know a lot of people who have taken seminars with 5 or 6 people in them. (Of course, those are the random obscure topics, but still cool.) I've had mixed experiences with TA's. Some were amazing, helpful, and friendly, while others could barely speak English and were so shy they didn't want to look me in the face. One of the cool things about classes, though, is because of the New Curriculum (pass/fail options for any class you want and no core requirements) you get all sorts of people in your classes (I mean, most humanities majors don't take Engineering courses, but there's still a lot of crossover) While this can be annoying when you have spent 4 years studying topics and some science person keeps speaking up in class saying the most idiotic things, really most of the time it's a great additional perspective, and keeps individual majors from group-think.

Eliza

If you want to get to know professors, take small classes and go to office hours. Otherwise, most professors don't really bother to get to know you (in my experience). No matter how smart you think you are, there are people out there who are smarter, so don't count on having the best grade in the class to gain recognition. (Plus, you don't need it - just make a personal connection, participate, and show you care about the material). For the most part, students are silently competitive about grades. That is, everyone cares (very much) about how well they do, but that doesn't mean they are going to ask you how you did, or what your GPA is, etc... My favorite class at Brown has been Animal Behavior Laboratory. Not only was this a small course (10 kids) so I became close with the professor, but it is a seminar that meets once a week at the Roger Williams Park Zoo. A research based course, it was fairly rigorous, but incredibly rewarding. Not to mention I'm a huge animal lover, so being at the zoo was always a treat. Studying times vary widely. You definitely find those kids that study pretty much all of the time and have very little social life. Then there is a wide wide range in the middle where people have a good balance between working hard and partying hard. The unique thing about Brown, is I have yet to meet a person who completely blows off their work. Most people care, which makes it easier to motivate yourself. I mean, hey, I guess if everyone's doing it...

Kyle

Second to none.

Rory

the academics are quite strong and are what you make of them. its not hard to get good grades as long as you do the work. effort-based grading.

Ben

The New Curriculum rules - students only have to take required classes for their concentrations, and the rest is completely up to them. Students are serious about their studies here, and the classes, especially in the sciences, can be challenging and competitive. However, the academic atmosphere is not overly stressful. To quote a visiting friend from UCSB, "Brown kids study hard, and party hard." The profs here are really intelligent and motivated, across the board, and most classes are very rewarding. Best class? Neuro 1: Introductory Neuroscience. A Brown education is geared toward learning for its own sake - with a lack of requirements, students have to choose each of their classes on their own, inspiring them to choose what truly interests them.

Michael

I feel like the open curriculum's lack of academic requirements is perfectly balanced - you are required to take a certain set of courses to satisfy a concentration (unless you create your own, which is totally possible but actually a lot more work), but at the same time you can easily complete your requirements really early and take whatever courses you want (unless you're pre-med or engineering, those have a lot of requirements). The range of courses available is great, and everyone stresses out about making their schedules, but it's usually about how many awesome things they want to take. Classes are generally pretty small, I like it. Also YOU CAN TAKE ANYTHING PASS-FAIL. This is a great thing. It is also crazily underutilized even by the vast majority of Brown students. Most people I know have taken, max, like TWO courses pass-fail. But that was their choice. Me, I take everything pass-fail.

Gabi

Students study a lot, atleast my group of friends do, but yet again Brown has a diverse student body so study time varies although a majority of students do buckle down during exam periods. I have spent time with professors out of class and some (not all) professors know me by name. It is all in the choice of classes and class sizes you get to pick which one you want. I feel like education at Brown is generally geared at learning and changing the world with knowledge. Yes a bit idealistic, but that's Brown.

Tate

Do professors know your name? In most classes yes · Tell us about your favorite class. I've had many! One is "Hispanics in the US", where other than the readings and class discussions we each volunteer every week at a local public school and tutor, usually in Spanish. During spring break some of us also participated in a Brown community service project that takes volunteers to a clinic in the Dominican Republic · How often do students study? Depends on the student. But you can find a lot of people in the library on a Sat night. Kinda scary · Is class participation common? Yes, everyone loves to hear themselves speak · Do Brown students have intellectual conversations outside of class? Yes · Are students competitive? I don't think so. Everyone just has high standards for themselves · Do you spend time with professors outside of class? I was invited to two holiday dinners with professors, and one professor in a class I took last semester, took 5 students to dinner at a restaurant after class every week. It was a nice restaurant too · How do you feel about Brown 's academic requirements? They are minimal, and it's great · Is the education at Brown geared toward getting a job, or learning for its own sake? Depends on major, but generally I would say learning. Everyone's gonna get a job eventually anyway.

Gregory

In general the academics at Brown are good. Intro level classes, particularly in the sciences, tend to be big classes, you have to make a real effort to meet the professor, and it's tough and awkward to meet the professor unless you're having trouble in the class. Class participation is common in smaller classes, particularly humanities. In my classics class, for example, my professor knows my name. With the open curriculum, you can take any class you want to, which is really cool, because I've taken a class called Ancient Utopias and Imaginary Places at the same time as I was taking Organic Chemistry. That said, the advising program for freshman stinks. My advisor doesn't seem to have any investment in me, and my micklejohn (student advisor) is nice and insightful but not all that useful.

Tessie

The classes are HARD, not going to lie. At the same time, however, schoolwork does not consume your life. Most important is that I know, even if I am not getting straight A's anymore, that I am learning so much interesting stuff that I will actually remember because I want to. Love it.

Maria

Brown is famous for its open curriculum. It gives students the freedom to take the classes that they want, not what some old administrators think may be useful. Since students control what classes they take, they learn whatever interests them, and do not need to have a certain major to get into certain courses. Classes range in size, but there are always small classes available. Language classes, theatre classes and other courses that are best with a small group cap at around 20.

Natasha

Professors are generally very friendly and very open to after-class discussion. They appreciate your insights and treat you like an intelligent person whom they might even be able to learn from. My professors have been, for the most part, approachable, affable, and intelligent. Students are not cutthroat about academics, and generally, I feel, this fosters a happier student than competition does. Being at Brown is not really about landing a job at Goldman Sachs or making millions of dollars straight out of college (although some do), it's about the "Brown experience". Seriously, I know already that these are probably going to end up being the best four years of my life.

Royce

interesting classes, professors can be hit or miss as is the case anywhere. class discussions common in smaller humanities classes. students help each other out a lot. education at brown is more geared towards learning to satisfy intellectual curiosity and all...but there are a few preprofessional tracks, namely the COE program (business).

Andy

-physical and biological science classes are difficult: if you're premed, orgo is the great filter that cuts the number down -you have to make the effort to know your professor first but that's not that surprising -generally, i think most students are most competitive w themselves and don't nose around in other people's academic records -YOU CAN TAKE WHATEVER CLASSES YOU WANT: basically, and it's awesome and one of the best things about brown

Alex

The freedom to pick classes of your liking and the S/NC option really enable a person to have a challenge without overwhelming yourself. The education is as good and engaging as you are willing to make it. Ruth Simmons is a fantastic president who really cares about the students and is actively improving financial aid and course offerings. Brown's strongest point to me is the total lack of academic pretension compared to other schools. The students and faculty really strive foremost towards personal growth. Similarly, you can get into classes with upperclassmen and graduate students if you so desire from day one.

Ash

With the lack of a core curriculum, every semester was a huge smorgasbord of tempting choices. My educational journey may have lacked balance-- but boy, was it fun. After a few misfires in freshman year (where the title of a class sounded fantastic but the class itself was only so-so) I began ignoring course topics and titles altogether, asking around to upper classmen, and simply choosing whatever course any legendary & adored professors were offering that semester. It was a fantastic method. My professors were the creme de la creme of Brown and I absolutely loved them. (Odd or 'dry' topics can be fascinating when the subject happens to be the life's work and passion of some wonderful teacher who can bring it thrillingly to life. Even "hard" classes seem less hard when you are carried away by the enthusiasm of a great professor.) Brown is the sort of place where you can roll the dice like this for four years and not get hung up on any pesky core requirements. So long as you pick your favorite subject(s) to concentrate in, you will have an absolutely unfettered four years of learning at Brown. Back then, this meant-- yay, no more math! I did not realize until later the true value in that open curriculum-- at Brown, you are given complete autonomy over your life, your choices, and what you make of things. Not only does that mean that you are excited to be in any class, because YOU have chosen it, but by the time you graduate, you have 4 years' head-start over everyone else from other colleges in being comfortable with and experienced at running your own life. I left Brown with a thesis in poetry, a reasonably unmarketable degree and no idea what I would "do" with my life, but with a VERY high level of confidence and self-determination. I was comfortable that I could experiment, figure things out, find my way-- and I knew from experience that if I made mistakes or hated where I wound up I could re-group and change course. What a gift, to know that you can meander a bit in life, and have things turn out well.

Jonathon

My favorite class at Brown has been Hip Hop Music and Cultures. The professor took a different approach to Hip Hop and helped me learn more about a culture that I was already involved and invested in.

Tristan

intense.

Tristan

Professors know the name of students who become involved and participate.

Jacquelyn

There are many unique classes that I don't think you would find at other schools. You can take classes outside of your major becuase of the open curriculum. The difficulty of the classes vary by professor and department, but for the most part I find them challenging yet managable. Classes can be large (up to 500 people) or small (under 10). Students are generally not competitive, with the exception of science classes (in my experience). Class discussions are interesting and common

Emily

Brown is not competitive at all, which is the number one attraction academically for me. Coming from a super cutthroat high school, I was so happy to be able to focus on my own personal motivations and goals, and not worry about how I compared to other students. The faculty is great, and there is great opportunity to get to know people in your concentration. There is plenty of freedom in our schedule and requirements, which fosters strong independence and diversity in student interests and ambitions.

Emily

see above. grade flexibility and the pass/fail system is awesome. teachers really do care about you, and want you to succeed. most teachers are really easy to get a hold of during office hours or out of class. ive made alot of great connections with professors and have been invited over their houses numerous times. the education at brown is geared toward allowing kids to dapple in all different academic areas without feeling scared about it lowering their gpa. it allows for one to graduate feeling well rounded and haven chosen the field best for them. they prep you for getting a job, but also, give you the academic edge that allows you to connect with many other people from different fields.