College of Brown University
The College of Brown University is the undergraduate school of Brown University, in College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1764, the college is the university's oldest school and the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
Compared to its peers, the college is distinguished by its Open Curriculum; adopted in 1969, the Open Curriculum permits students to study without any course requirements outside of their chosen concentration.
Admissions is among the most selective in the United States, with an acceptance rate of 5.0% for fall 2022.
History
On March 3, 1764, James Manning and Ezra Stiles filed a charter to create the College of Rhode Island. Their mission, as stated in the charter, was to prepare students "for discharging the Offices of Life" by providing instruction in the Vernacular Learned Languages, and in the liberal Arts and Sciences." Manning became the college's first president in 1765, and five years later the school moved to its present location on College Hill on the East Side of Providence.In 1850, Brown President Francis Wayland wrote, "The various courses should be so arranged that, insofar as practicable, every student might study what he chose, all that he chose, and nothing but what he chose." However, the college did not make any major institutional changes for over a century. In 1969, the Open Curriculum was implemented, eliminating distribution requirements and allowing students to take any course Satisfactory/No Credit. In addition, the university eliminated pluses, minuses, and D grades in the letter grading system.
The current Dean of Brown's College is Rashid Zia, a class of 2001 Brown graduate. Previous deans have included Maud Mandel and Kenneth Sacks.