The College
Academic Policies
Learn more about Brown’s academic policies, including the Academic Code, class attendance, writing requirement and more.
Academic Policies
Learn more about Brown’s academic policies, including the Academic Code, class attendance, writing requirement and more.
Norms regarding the quality and originality of academic work are often much more stringent and demanding in college than they are in high school. All Brown students are responsible for understanding and following Brown’s academic code.
"Academic standing" refers to the number of courses you are expected to complete each semester as you progress toward your degree starting with your first semester of enrollment at Brown. All undergraduates start their studies at Brown in “good” academic standing.
To earn a Brown undergraduate degree, students who did not transfer to Brown are expected to complete eight full-time semesters of enrollment at Brown.
Auditing a course allows you the opportunity to take a course without receiving course credit. "Vagabonding" is the process of sitting in a course without officially registering either for credit or as an auditor.
Course instructors have the authority to establish attendance policies for their courses. Such policies are usually published in course syllabi.
Faculty have jurisdiction over academic practices within their courses. However, Deans of the College and Student Support Services may at times provide dean's support notes on behalf of students who are experiencing personal or health circumstances that impact their ability to complete academic work.
Choosing a double concentration allows you to focus your studies in two specific areas, though all Brown students are encouraged to take courses across a variety of disciplines.
The dates of final exams are fixed by the Registrar so that students will not be scheduled to take multiple exams in the same time block. Students are required to take their exams at the designated time.
By Brown University Faculty Rules, Brown undergraduates may not enroll in courses with overlapping meeting times. The Registration system prevents students from doing so to enforce this faculty rule. Students may petition for an exception only in narrow circumstances.
On the rare occasion when consulting with the instructor does not resolve the concern, students may appeal to the chair of the department.
Brown University Faculty/Instructors may submit grade changes in Undergraduate or Graduate courses for a previously submitted final grade that is less than one year from the original submission date.
You may qualify for a Latin honor at graduation or may apply for honors within your concentration.
Year-long courses require students to complete both semesters of the course in order to receive credit for each semester. Some departments will consider petitions from students to receive credit for the first semester of the course without completing the second semester. Departments have sole authority to consider such petitions and are under no obligation to do so.
Each year, approximately 200 Brown students take a leave of absence to engage in meaningful activities that complement their academic studies.
Unless a course is explicitly approved by either the College Curriculum Council or Graduate Council as being able to be repeated for credit, once course credit has been earned with an initial passing grade A,B,C, or Satisfactory (S) or through Transfer Credit it cannot be officially registered for again for in an effort to improve one's initial grade.
At Brown, students may be able to use qualifying results of standardized examinations to place into higher level courses, to satisfy concentration requirements, or to qualify for advanced standing. To utilize qualifying results, please ensure you report your results to Brown.
Students may seek credit for courses taken away from Brown at an accredited institution.
Many academic departments employ advanced undergraduates as teaching assistants in entry-level courses.
The "Writing Check" provides academic guidance for students who can benefit from additional writing instruction and support.
Learning to write well is a developmental process that occurs over time. For this reason, all Brown undergraduates must work on their writing with intention and focus at least twice during their undergraduate studies.
Petitions in ASK
The following petitions can be found in ASK:
- Advanced Placement requests for placement credits
- Brown-RISD Cross Registration petition for exception
- Combined A.B.-Sc.B. Degree petitions for exceptions
- Concurrent and combined degrees petitions for exceptions
- Course overlap petition for exception
- Course Performance Reports requests
- Late Course Registration petition
- Leaves of Absence petition
- Ninth Semester petition
- Returning from Separation petition
- Study Away/Transfer Credit requests for pre-approval