Brown University awards two baccalaureate degrees: the bachelor of arts (A.B.) and the bachelor of science (Sc.B.). There are also options to pursue a combined A.B.-Sc.B., or a five-year bachelor’s and master’s degree. In order to graduate with a Brown baccalaureate degree, you must satisfy the requirements of your chosen concentration in addition to other undergraduate degree requirements established by Brown as outlined below. These requirements are designed to ensure that you engage in the full breadth of your chosen area of study, including its foundation and methods and depth in a focus area within the field.
The College
Complete Your Degree
As an undergraduate student at Brown, you have enormous latitude to shape your own course of study while completing the requirements to earn your degree.
Complete Your Degree
As an undergraduate student at Brown, you have enormous latitude to shape your own course of study while completing the requirements to earn your degree.
To earn your Brown degree, you must earn at least 30 course credits, fulfill the requirements of a concentration, demonstrate writing competence, and be enrolled for the equivalent of eight fall and spring full-time semesters of instruction, with a reduced number of semesters of enrollment required for transfer students based on their prior studies.
As an undergraduate at Brown, you may choose to complete more than one concentration, as approximately twenty percent of students do. You can pursue this option as part of a single degree, or a five-year combined degree (A.B.-Sc.B.) program. You also may pursue options to complete both a bachelor’s and master’s degree within four or five years.
Many Brown students spend a portion of their senior year hard at work on an independent project of their own design or a capstone experience that allows them to synthesize what they have learned in their studies in and beyond the classroom.
The Midyear Completion Ceremony is held annually in honor of students completing degree requirements in the summer and fall semester (affectionately called ".5ers"). Hosted by the College, the event allows students, family, and friends to celebrate seniors' achievements.
Brown's Commencement ceremony is held every year on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. The ceremony takes place outdoors on the historic College Green, with separate ceremonies for each academic department following the main event.