Brown University Pre-College Programs
Summer@Brown offers courses that are designed for students looking to experience college-level academics on an Ivy League campus. Reflecting Brown’s broadliberal arts curriculum, Summer@Brown features nearly 200 courses, designed andtaught at the level of first-year college courses, and ranging in length from one to four weeks. Resting on the principles that are at the core of a Brown undergraduate education and its open curriculum, the program shifts the focus away from grades and credits and towards learning itself.
The program attracts likeminded students, ambitious and driven in their educational pursuits. This, combined with passionate instructors, fuels the program’s challenging curriculum. Students engage in their own academic development and are encouraged to explore topics of interest. Without the pressure of formal grades, students can focus on studying what they are passionate about.
Prepare for College Success
Along with a robust co-curricular program and a supervised residential experience, Summer@Brown is designed to help prepare students for the self-discipline and independence required for college-level life and learning. Students learn to balance rigorous academics and free time by making daily decisions about homework, activities, and relaxation.
Classes meet for three hours daily, and are scheduled during the morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon. Each course may require up to three hours of daily out-of-class homework assignments—reading, writing, group work, and studying. This time also includes scheduled meetings with your instructor or course Teaching Assistant. Many courses feature site visits, excursions, labs, or hands-on projects, all of which broaden the student learning experience.
At the close of the summer, all students who successfully fulfill the course requirements will receive a certificate indicating so. Students enrolled in courses two weeks or longer will also receive a narrative Course Performance Report (CPR), in which the instructor outlines the content of the course and evaluates the student’s performance.
Live and Learn on Brown’s Ivy League Campus
Outside of class, students experience the independence and responsibility of life on an Ivy League campus. They meet fellow students from around the world and attend events, workshops, and social activities, including Prepare for College Success Workshops and the Summer@Brown Speaker Series.
For the duration of their stay, students live and learn on the Brown University campus. Brown’s residence halls are within walking distance of academic buildings and campus resources. Each hall is staffed with carefully selected and trained Residence Directors (RDs) and Residential Advisors (RAs), who live onsite and help students create a balanced academic and social life. Students eat their meals in Brown’s dining halls, which offer a variety of options, and have access to Brown’s libraries, study center, and Writing Center.
What to Study?
The process of choosing your courses begins with some questions about yourself:
- What areas of study do you find most intriguing?
- What do you consider you are “best” at and want to do more of?
- What are you determined to “do” better?
- What do you know little about but are deeply interested in exploring?
- What course of study do you think will bring you in contact with the kinds of people you most want to be with?
- Among those things you think you “ought” to study, which do you most “want” to study?
- Where do you want to go, and what do you need to know to get there?
Take More Than One Course
Accepted students may choose to enroll in multiple courses, arranging them in successive, overlapping, or concurrent sessions. Most students who take more than one course enroll in a series of courses in succession, taking one course at a time. While enrolling in concurrent courses is demanding, given the amount of class and study time each course requires, many students build a schedule that includes courses that meet during the same week(s) for part of their time at Brown. For more information about course scheduling, please contact our office.
With academics at the core of the program, Summer@Brown challenges students to explore their independence and emerge better prepared for their transition to college.