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.

  

Laura Cianciolo, who earned her Master of Public Affairs at the Watson Institute in 2024, credits her Watson-acquired expertise in statistics, econometrics, data visualization, problem-solving skills and interdisciplinary problem-solving with empowering her to conduct more sophisticated and meaningful research.
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Watson's Graduate Program in Development (GPD) fieldwork opportunities informed Rehan Rafay Jamil's research focus. Jamil says the ability to cross traditional academic boundaries encouraged by the GPD improved his research, while the program's financial backing allowed him to do critical fieldwork.
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Anindita Adhikari, who earned her Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University in 2024, found the dialogues and debates she engaged in about global challenges across traditional academic disciplinary barriers through Watson's Graduate Program in Development have made her a better researcher and colleague.
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This year’s 39 Fulbright awardees — Brown’s largest group of recipients to date — will begin teaching and research assignments in 23 countries across five continents in Fall 2024.
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Paige Censale, a first-year student and member of the Resumed Undergraduate Education community, depicts the lives of immigrants, refugees and others through compassionate and informed documentary filmmaking.
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Benjamin Bradlow, an alumnus of Watson's Graduate Program in Development (GPD), was recently awarded a Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Azrieli Global Scholars fellowship. Now an assistant professor at Princeton, his research focuses on the politics of urban inequality and the perils of the transition to a “green” economy in the Global South.
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Two years spent working as a research assistant at the Watson Institute's Climate Solutions Lab have prepared graduating senior Sarah Smith with the skills needed to combat the climate crisis outside of Brown.
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The combination of data analytics and policy analysis taught in Watson's Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program prepares people for real-world situations, whether they are working in government, for a think tank, or in the private sector. The mentoring and support among MPA alumni can also lead to professional development.
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The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace selected Fulbright Scholar Erik Brown, an International and Public Affairs alumnus, for the prestigious Gaither Junior Fellowship program.
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