Renowned human rights attorney and Watson Senior Fellow Malika Saada Saar has organized a series of events for the spring 2025 semester called Fireside Chats on Building AI for Humanity, featuring conversations with tech industry leaders about AI and human rights.
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Dany Bahar co-authored a paper examining the impact of economic sanctions on Venezuelan migration, finding that higher oil income — not lower — correlates with increased crossings of Venezuelan migrants at the U.S. southwest border.
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A show exploring today's biggest global challenges with the world's leading experts, from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
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The Rhodes Center Podcast, hosted by Mark Blyth, features conversations with some of the most thought-provoking figures in international finance and economics. Mark and Brendan talk with scholars, policy makers, and finance experts about some of today's most pressing economic issues, and about how those issues affect our daily lives.
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Academic Programs

Watson is home to a thriving undergraduate concentration, International and Public Affairs, as well as a highly rigorous and intensive 12-month Master of Public Affairs program. At the PhD level, the Watson Institute’s Graduate Program in Development provides training and research funding to Brown University doctoral students focused on issues of development in the Global South and beyond.

Student Experience

The Watson Institute houses several undergraduate and graduate programs that take an interdisciplinary, comparative approach to policy-relevant learning in the social sciences. Our programs are designed to inspire today's engaged scholars and creative thinkers to become tomorrow's leaders in international and public affairs.

“ I appreciate how multidisciplinary IAPA is — I've taken classes in anthropology, urban studies, economics and philosophy. They have all contributed to my concentration and my wider view of the world. ”

– Charles Alaimo IAPA Class of 2025

Centers, Initiatives and Programs

The Watson Institute is proud to house 11 region or topic-focused centers, initiatives and projects that are dedicated to research, teaching and outreach. These entities also serve as conveners, sponsoring informative events that inspire dialogue among scholars, students and the public.

learn more about our centers