Brown University
Founded 1764. Ivy League home of the Open Curriculum on Providence's College Hill.
Overview
Chartered in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, it took the Brown name in 1804 after a gift from merchant Nicholas Brown Jr. Brown was among the first colonial colleges to admit students regardless of religious affiliation. Its Open Curriculum, adopted in 1969, abolished general distribution requirements and lets undergraduates design their own course of study. The Warren Alpert Medical School, strong applied mathematics, and close ties with the neighboring Rhode Island School of Design shape its College Hill campus. In 2001 Ruth Simmons became its president, the first Black president of an Ivy League institution.
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