Brown University

Summer@Brown
Providence, Rhode Island


		Program Description Program Overview Visit Web Site Get Free Info See Photos

For More Information, Contact
Office of Summer and Continuing Studies
Brown University
42 Charlesfield Street
Providence, Rhode Island 02912
401-863-7900
Fax: 401-863-3916
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Continuin
g_Studies/pc/index/php

Type of Program: Academic enrichment
Participants: Boys and girls, grades 7–12
Program Dates: Late June through early August

Location

Providence, by virtue of its size, location, and diversity, offers many advantages. A city large enough to support a convention center and a large, active Civic Center that draws top entertainment and sports events, Providence is still small enough to offer involvement in local politics, community service, and cultural activities. Providence also offers an excellent repertory company and a major performing arts center as well as museums, concert halls, and a good commercial transportation system. It does not overwhelm the newcomer.

Background and Philosophy

Summer@Brown is about learning to succeed on a competitive college campus like Brown’s. For many students, the greatest challenge in transition from high school to college is balancing the competing demands of increased responsibility, increased personal freedom, and increased opportunity. Year after year, students report that the primary benefit of Summer@Brown is that they are better prepared, more confident, and better positioned to succeed during one of the biggest transitions of their lives. Academics are the core of the Summer@Brown experience. The program strives to ignite a passion for learning while providing the tools students need to succeed in college. A diverse roster of courses is available—everything from the cutting edge of arts and science to practical, career-oriented courses. Many students report that Summer@Brown is their first taste of a participatory academic environment in which students are encouraged to debate, question, challenge, and explore rather than simply absorb information. This give-and-take is a cornerstone of the Brown academic experience and a key component to success.

Program Offerings

Summer@Brown allows exceptional high school students to experience what life is like on an Ivy League campus. A number of precollege programs are offered from late June through early August each year. A full description of each program, including dates and fees, is available online (http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Continuing_Studies/pc/index/php).
Seven-week credit courses are for seniors and exceptional juniors who want to challenge themselves in full-credit Brown University courses. Seven-week students share the classroom and study side-by-side with Brown University undergraduates. They are given ample freedom to make decisions and are challenged to meet rigorous academic standards. The standard work load for the program is two courses, and all residential students are expected to be enrolled as full-time students. Seven-week students are tested both emotionally and intellectually, and successful completion of any course demonstrates a student is ready for rigorous Ivy-level academic work.
Mini-courses vary in duration from one to five weeks and allow students to delve deeper into subjects they enjoy or explore new topics they may not have experienced in high school. The short-term, intensive summer courses show students what it means to be completely absorbed in the learning process. As part of their learning, students do such things as shadow a physician, hone their writing skills, map the stars, seek answers to human behavior, examine international affairs, or analyze their own DNA.
Intensive English Language Program is designed for high-achieving international high school students who do not speak English as their native language. The program immerses students in English language and college life through a combination of classroom meetings, trips, social activities, and interactions with American students. Students improve their ability to speak, read, write, and understand English while enjoying all the benefits of Summer@Brown and making lasting friendships with people from all over the world.
The Leadership Institute teaches leadership skills in the context of environmental issues, trade, health, security, human rights, conflict, and diversity. The program brings together students who desire to understand complex issues and develops the knowledge, skills, and attitudes associated with positive, socially responsible leadership. Participants learn to pair new skills with their own strengths as they are educated, inspired, and encouraged to engage in their local communities and the world at large. The Leadership Institute also runs the BELL program for environmental leadership.
TheatreBridge is a unique, six-week hands-on professional theater program that offers a connecting link between high school and college theater and encourages a commitment to a life of creative engagement. Rising high school juniors and seniors have a unique opportunity to stretch their imaginations and skills as they create new work under the mentorship of established theater professionals and develop their acting, directing, and writing skills.
Language and Culture courses are intensive four-week classes that combine the study of language with the study of culture. In a unique approach that combines the study of language, culture, customs, and media, participants build a base from which they can begin to understand a chosen language and its associated culture. These courses allow high school students to get a head start on studying foreign languages and cultures that are often outside the normal high school curriculum.
SPARK is a one-week summer residential program for rising seventh and eighth grade students who have demonstrated outstanding ability in science. The program nurtures students’ love of science in a challenging but noncompetitive, stress-free environment with no tests or grades. SPARK brings together groups of students with similar abilities and diverse backgrounds and gives them access to the ideas, resources, and tools they need to nurture their academic gifts in the sciences. They grow as individuals and cultivate their academic gifts in an environment that is safe, challenging, and, most of all, fun.

Enrollment

Programs are open to highly motivated high school students.

Daily Schedule

Students enrolled in the seven-week credit-bearing summer session take two classes with Brown undergraduates. Those enrolled in noncredit mini-course programs take one class that meets in the morning or afternoon. When students are not in class, they can take advantage of a wide range of college-success workshops that occur during the day and evening.

Extra Opportunities and Activities

Students can take trips to Boston, Newport, area beaches, and shopping outlets. Other activities include ultimate Frisbee on the Campus Green, documentary films viewing, yoga, karaoke, talent shows, dances, a speaker series, and performances at the Brown/Trinity Playwrights Repertory Theatre. Most (but not all) events and activities are free. College visits and trips to popular destinations have limited space. Students are strongly encouraged to sign up early in the dining halls.

Facilities

Students have access to a variety of excellent nonacademic facilities and services. Public computer clusters allow access to the Internet and laser printers. In addition, all students have broadband network connections in the dorm rooms for their personal computers. The Writing Center offers writing experts to review paper and to show students how to be better writers. Brown’s excellent air-conditioned libraries offer study spaces where students can obtain ready assistance from resource specialists. There are seven libraries on the Brown campus, each with a different specialty. Brown has a range of world-class athletic facilities—from outdoor tennis courts, to indoor weight- and cardio-training equipment and a track, to an Olympic-sized swimming pool. The main campus dining hall, known among Brown students as “the Ratty,” serves all-you-can-eat breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

Staff

At Brown, students enjoy a world-class faculty. Brown University Public Safety personnel are on duty twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. The department comprises more than 70 men and women, including police officers, security officers, communications control officers, and building guards.

Medical Care

Brown University Health Services is available to all students during business hours, Monday through Friday, for medical problems such as colds, cuts, sprains, or infections. Situations involving medical attention are referred to local hospitals, and parents/guardians are notified. Limited pharmacy and X-ray hours are offered. Brown University maintains its own Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMTs are equipped to respond immediately to medical emergencies twenty-four hours a day.

Costs

The cost for each program is available online. Course fees range between $1400 for day students taking one-week classes to $8500 for residential students enrolled in a seven-week credit class.

Financial Aid

Dean’s Scholarships are awarded, on a first-come, first-served basis, to high school students who have demonstrated financial need. Applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Scholarship funding is limited.

Application Timetable

Students should check the Web site for specific information regarding application requirements and deadlines. In general, students must submit the completed application, the application fee (which varies depending on when the application is sent in), an official school transcript, and a teacher’s recommendation