The College

Declaring a Concentration

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Declaring a Concentration

As an undergraduate at Brown, you will choose at least one area of in-depth study.

You must declare a concentration no later than the middle of your fourth semester, before pre-registering for semester five (usually spring semester of sophomore year). If you are a transfer student matriculating with fourth- or fifth-semester standing, you must declare a concentration in your first term at Brown. Below is a step-by-step guide to the declaration process.

Review the concentration's requirements on brown.edu. Additional instructions for prospective concentrators may be listed on department websites.
Make a list of taken and intended courses that might count toward the concentration. Map out the remaining semesters of study to account for course availability, study abroad, etc.
Seek approval for non-Brown courses relevant to the concentration. Begin by obtaining syllabi and a copy of the transcript.
Contact a concentration advisor in your chosen area to discuss your proposed course plan. Check the concentration's website for instructions about the preferred process for meeting with prospective concentrators. If it is unclear from the website, email the concentration advisor or director of undergraduate studies to ask for an appointment. Other topics for discussion might be study abroad, senior capstone projects, research opportunities, and approval of any transfer courses.
Log into ASK to complete your declaration (see instructions and screenshots in the IT Knowledgebase). In addition to the course plan, there are a few short answer questions. You might review the questions and draft your answers in an external document to allow yourself sufficient time to consider your responses. Submit your proposed course list and short answer responses. Your concentration advisor will then review your declaration and either approve or request a revisions. You will need to resubmit your declaration after you make any required revisions.
Pay attention to deadlines. Students are not allowed to register for fifth-semester courses unless a concentration has been approved by the deadline. Entering fifth semester transfer students are granted an exception. Check the Academic Calendar for the deadline in a given semester.

Bear in mind that the declaration is a blueprint subject to revision (with the concentration advisor's approval, of course).

Frequently Asked Questions

Students can speak to any of the following department representatives to learn more about concentration requirements and expectations:

Director of Undergraduate Studies
DUG Leader
Concentration advisor

The above information is listed on the relevant Undergraduate Programs website for your program of interest (also known as Focal Point)

Students typically declare a concentration during the mid-semester point of their fourth semester. Please check the academic calendar for the most updated deadline.

Students can find concentration requirements on the University Bulletin. However, we also suggest connecting with a Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS) or a DUG leader for support in understanding the nuances of the requirements for students’ chosen concentration. Students can find this information along with other concentration-specific advising processes on Focal Point.

We suggest F-1 students connect with the International Advising Team for more support on declaring a concentration as an F-1 student.

Please see step #5 above. For additional support on submitting your concentration declaration in ASK, review this OIT tutorial or connect with concentration advising support listed on Focal Point.

We encourage students to connect with the Director of Undergraduate Studies (DUS), DUG Leaders, or Concentration Advisor(s) which can be found on Focal Point. Students can also connect with a Matched Advising Program for Sophomores (MAPS) mentor for additional peer support.

If students can't find their concentration declaration content in ASK, then they’ll need to resubmit it. ASK does not automatically save students’ concentration declaration. We suggest students save their concentration declaration content in a separate document before inserting it into ASK to decrease the possibility of ASK timing out and losing their information.

Once students submit their declaration, their concentration declaration status should be ‘Pending.’ If students receive a notification in ASK that their status has changed to ‘Revisions Requested,’ we encourage students to review the changes suggested by their concentration advisor and resubmit as soon as possible. Once the declaration is ‘Approved,’ students will be notified and see the change updated in ASK. You can find more information on this OIT page.

This means a student’s concentration declaration is under review by the department and can no longer be edited. If a student’s concentration declaration status is labeled ‘Pending’ for more than a week, please reach out to an assigned concentration advisor in ASK or the Director of Undergraduate Studies in your concentration in Focal Point.

Students can change their primary concentration at any time, provided that they can meet the requirements of the new concentration by the end of their time at Brown.

For students planning to declare a second concentration, they must have their second declaration submitted and approved before the end of their penultimate semester (typically the 7th semester).

Please review these instructions from OIT.

No, students can only have one ‘In Process’ concentration declaration at a time. Students can add a second concentration any time up until the end of the Reading Period in their 7th semester. Please review this OIT tutorial for additional support

It may be helpful to review the concentration declaration before meeting with a concentration advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies. If the department has specific advising instructions for concentrators, this is typically found in Focal Point.

Typically, yes, however, some concentrations won’t require this. This information is usually detailed in Focal Point, however, if not, then we suggest connecting with the department as soon as possible. Please be mindful that the week leading up to the concentration declaration deadline is a busy time for concentration advisors and Directors of Undergraduate Studies. Therefore we suggest meeting with them as early as possible in your third and fourth semesters.

Yes. Students will need to declare a concentration in ASK before the semester 4 deadline to avoid a “no concentration” hold on their account preventing them from participating in pre/registration for the next semester. Students can then pursue the separate IC declaration process with help from the Curricular Resource Center and IC advising committee.

Not at all! On the ASK concentration declaration form, it may request students to indicate their interest in a thesis, but students are able to change this option before they graduate.

Students are asked to write an essay of 500-1000 words about their academic goals within their chosen concentration, how their work so far responds to the Liberal Learning Goals, and how they will continue working on their writing within their concentration. Some departments may require supplemental essays.

Yes, however, this may be difficult with concentrations with many requirements such as Engineering and Computer Science. We encourage students to consult a concentration advisor or Director of Undergraduate Studies in their prospective department to develop a plan to satisfy their concentration requirements.

Don’t panic! Students should receive outreach from the department about revisions and/or next steps.

No later than the end of the penultimate semester (typically the 7th semester). There are no exceptions to this deadline.

No. Students can have one concentration and a certificate or two concentrations without a certificate.

Please review this troubleshooting guide by OIT or email advising@brown.edu.

The best way to resolve a ‘no concentration hold’ is to submit a concentration declaration and have it approved by a concentration advisor as soon as possible. If a ‘no concentration hold’ was applied with a ‘Pending’ concentration declaration students will need to meet with an academic dean to lift the hold.

In addition to completing a concentration, students must complete at least 30 course credits, 8 semesters of full-time enrollment, and 2 WRIT-approved courses throughout their time at Brown (the first during semesters 1-4, and the second during semesters 5-8). You can find WRIT courses on the Courses at Brown database, with “WRIT” followed by the course descriptions.

https://www.brown.edu/academics/college/degree/curriculum/writing-requirement

Please update your course plan early in your final semester to ensure that when your concentration advisor has to sign off on your concentration requirements, it is easier for them to do so.