Brown University is one of the ten most prestigious private universities in the United States of America. It was founded in 1764 in the city of Providence, which is the capital of the state of Rhode Island. It is a member of the Ivy League, an organization that brings together the oldest elite educational institutions in the country. The university became the first in the northeastern United States to abolish religious segregation.
Spirit of freedom
Studying in the USA is very popular with foreign students. This is due not only to the highest level of teaching staff and rich material and technical base, but also to the special atmosphere inherent in the leading universities of the United States.
In this series, Brown University stands out, whose training system was created in the 1960s on the wave of hippies. The institution is distinguished by a peculiar teaching program when students do not have compulsory subjects. They are free to study the disciplines they see fit. Optional instead of gradesoffsets are given.
Historical background
The founding of Brown University dates back to 1761, when three Newporters petitioned the colony's General Assembly to "establish a literary institution or school for the instruction of young gentlemen in languages, mathematics, geography, and history."
The Assembly decided to establish a Colonial College in the town of Warren. Pastor James Manning was sworn in as its first president in 1765 and subsequently held classes in his parish. Five years later, the school moved to suburban Providence.
In 1803, the administration promised to name the college after the first person to make a donation of $5,000 or more. It turned out to be a merchant Nicholas Brown. The promise was kept, and since then the educational institution has been called Brown University.
Unique education system
In the 60s of the last century, under the influence of the hippie subculture in the United States, a new movement of students and progressive teachers developed who wanted to "teach students to think, and not just teach facts."
Several American universities backed the initiative at the time. One of them was Braunovsky, where the First Independent Research Group (GISP) was formed in 1966, in which 80 students and 15 professors took part.
Following the work of GISP (and after a number of student demonstrations in their support)university president Ray Heffner supported curriculum reform in 1969. Its essence is as follows:
- Providing special "Thoughts" courses for freshmen.
- Introduction of interdisciplinary courses.
- Rejection of the compulsory study of subjects of general education.
- Changing the system for assessing the level of knowledge. Instead of points, optionally, the values \u200b\u200bof “satisfactory” or “no rating” can be set. At the same time, subjects that did not receive a satisfactory grade are not displayed in the final certificate (its analogue).
In the future, the special course "Thoughts" was canceled, but other elements of the reform are still relevant. In 2006, an attempt was made to switch to the traditional letter (point) rating system. However, the idea was rejected by the Study Council after a survey of alumni, faculty and students.
Training
In the walls of the educational institution, specialists are trained in more than a hundred undergraduate programs. Among them are such rare disciplines as: anthropology, archeology, biophysics, geobiology, Egyptology, biomedicine, cognitive neuroscience, urbanology, the study of Sanskrit, marine biology, sex and society, semiotics, chemical physics, ethnology and others.
International programs are organized through the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. The university has academic ties to the Marine Biological Laboratory and the State School of Design. Together with the latter, the Brown / RISD dual degree program is being implemented, within the framework ofwhich, after a five-year course of study, graduates are awarded degrees from both institutions.
University structure
In general, the university includes three main departments:
- Bachelor.
- PhD.
- Medical Department.
University includes:
- College
- High school.
- Alpert Medical School.
- Engineering school.
- School of Public He alth.
- Research school.
In addition, institutes, laboratories, research centers, museums, Women's College, sports teams, sections, clubs, communities and other structures operate within the educational institution.
Campus
Whoever is interested in studying in the USA knows that campuses have been built for large universities in this country. These are educational centers where applicants study, spend the night and spend their leisure time in a compact area. Many teachers, employees of research centers and technical staff live here. Brown university is no exception (as the name of the institution is written in English).
College Hill campus was formed in the 18th-19th century on the hills of the Jewelry District, hanging over the city of Providence. It is surrounded by residential buildings of the same era, so the buildings of the university are combined with the architectural structure of the city. You can distinguish the main campus from neighboring houses by the old brick fence enclosingterritory of the educational institution. The main campus consists of 235 buildings spread over 143 acres (0.58 km2).
Architecture
Traditionally, the most important element of a private university in Providence is the central gate - Van Wickle Gates. They are used in a symbolic initiation ceremony for freshmen and graduates. The main gate was built in 1901 on the initiative of patron (and former student) August Stat van Wyckl. They are made of wrought iron and are limited to brick and stone columns. They are open for processions and on special occasions. On the sides are smaller gates, which are used for everyday movement.
Perhaps the most beautiful building is Robinson Hall, a library built between 1875-1878, designed by Walker and Gould. The octagonal openwork structure made of red brick is made in the Venetian Gothic style. The multi-thousand library fund is located in five buildings, of which the John Hay Library is also worth noting. It opened in November 1910 and was the main one until 1964. The most rare and valuable manuscripts related to the exploration of the New World are kept in the John Carter Brown Library, the central entrance of which is made in the Beau Art style and resembles the Arc de Triomphe.
The most notable building on campus was the Carrie Tower. Built in 1904 in an English interpretation of the Baroque style, it is a memorial to Caroline Brown, Nicholas Brown's granddaughter.
The oldest building of Brown University is University Hall. Heaccepted the first students in 1770. Until 1832, it housed living rooms, auditoriums, a reading room, a chapel, a library and a dining room. Currently, University Hall is the administrative center, including the offices of the president, the dean of the college, and the chancery.
Achievements
Among Brown University's professors and alumni are eight Nobel Prize winners, five National Humanities Medalists and ten National Medal of Science winners. Eight students went on to become billionaires.
Also among outstanding alumni:
- Chief Justice of the United States.
- Four US Secretaries of State.
- 54 members of the United States Congress.
- 55 recipients of the Rhodes Award, which en titles Oxford to study free of charge in any speci alty at the graduate or graduate level.
- 52 Gates Cambridge Scholar (similar to the previous scholarship but taught in Cambridge).
- 49 Marshal Scholarship holders, which allow them to study for free at any university in the UK.
- 19 Pulitzer Prize winners.
- 14 Genius Grant Winners ($500,000). It is given to people with exceptional abilities.
- Royals and leaders and founders of major companies.
According to various rankings, Brown University ranks high in the rankings among American universities. For example, in 2012, MFA magazine ranked it 1 among Ivy League institutions and 4 nationwide. Forbes editionin 2014 ranked the university seventh in the "America's Most Entrepreneurial Universities" category. In the Academic Ranking of World Universities for 2017, the institution entered the TOP-60.
