News Archive

When David Wade a graduate of Brown's class of 1997 was approached about designing a course for Watson’s Master of Public Affairs program, the former chief of staff to the U.S. Department of State asked himself: What did he wish he’d be able to study while at Brown?

Join Military Fellow Theodore Shanks for Delivering a Sustainable Future: US Air Force's Role in Climate Change, February 16 at 12 p.m.

Isabel Gates MPA ’22, Fiona Kastel MPA ’21, and LaTausha Rogers MPA ’21 have all been named finalists in the Presidential Management Fellows program. Each finalist then has up to one year to secure their two-year fellowship with the federal government. Each year, the competitive and prestigious program selects only five percent of its applicants as finalists, some 50 to 60 percent of whom become fellows.

These not-for-credit study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into topics and apply theory and research to real world challenges. 

It’s been 12 months since a mob of American citizens attacked the US Capitol. The insurrectionists couldn’t overturn the election results, but they did make us question basic assumptions about the state of American democracy.  

Between the January 6 attacks on the U.S. Capitol and the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was an eventful year – but not all the news was bad. Below are the year’s top 10 news stories from the Watson Institute.

After acquiring critical skills in the classroom and real-world experience in the semester-long Policy-in Action consultancy, Watson MPA students benefit from personalized career development planning and placement support.

The past decade has seen the rise of nationalism and right-wing populism throughout the world, and India has been no exception.

"Fauci" kicks off this year's John F. Kennedy Jr. Initiative for Documentary Film and Social Progress season.

An initiative funded by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Foundation will explore the detrimental effects not just of inequality but of great wealth on democratic institutions.

A new Brown University report critically examines the National Climate Assessment (NCA).

The Watson Institute spoke to Mary Beth Meehan, whose "Seeing Silicon Valley" exhibition opens at Watson.

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs talked with Jeff Colgan about the Climate Syllabus Bank and why its syllabi are meaningful for students today and in the future.

Join the Watson community for several events this Fall surrounding the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan.

People were less politically polarized after taking part in workshops modeled on the principles of couples therapy, showed a study conducted by a political scientist at Brown, the nonprofit Braver Angels and other researchers.

Award recognizes Professor Mark Blyth for being a mentor par excellence.

The Watson Institute’s one-year master of public affairs program saw a 58% increase in new students in 2021 due in large part to policy issues laid bare during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Associate Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs Susan Moffitt becomes director of Watson’s Master of Public Affairs on January 1, 2022, she will be at the helm of the largest and most diverse class in the program’s six-year history.

Five of the up-and-coming scholars who constituted the 2020-2021 cohort of postdoctoral fellows are off to new academic positions in the United States, Europe, and Israel. While they were here, they took full advantage of the opportunity to research, write, and teach that the fellowship affords.

The Brown University Climate Solutions Lab has just released a report assessing the Biden administration’s international climate diplomacy so far. Written by the CSL’s director, Jeff Colgan and co-authors Thomas N. Hale and Scott M. Moore, “Biden @ 100 DAYS: A Climate Foreign-Policy Scorecard” examines the current administration's actions and commitment to reorienting U.S. foreign policy to meet the climate challenge.

Brown University Juniors weigh in on Watson's new International and Public Affairs (IAPA) concentration.

Scientists have developed vaccines for Covid-19 in record time. Now how do we convince enough people to take them? To get a better understanding of the roots and causes of "vaccine hesitancy," Sarah Baldwin spoke with political scientist and Watson Institute Associate Professor Prerna Singh.

Chiara Castrovillari ’20 MPA discusses her experience in the Brown MPA program and how it prepared her for her current role as a Research Assistant in the Strategy, Policy and Review Department for the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C.

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs' Climate Solutions Lab is compiling a syllabus bank of courses that address climate change.

A newly created research position is designed to shed light on some of the most deeply troubling elements of human history while exploring new ways of envisioning the future.

These not-for-credit study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into topics and apply theory and research to real-world challenges. Study groups will take place over Zoom and are limited to 25 students.

Experts from the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University weigh in on the causes and consequences of the January 6th insurrection.

Indisputably, it was a year unlike any other. Here’s your chance to take another look at some of our most notable stories of 2020.

Curricular changes will make the MPA program even more enriching and promote deeper integration with the Watson Institute's core mission.

Quiet Period 2021 Events

A comprehensive report, "Presidential Climate Action on Day One: A Foreign Policy Guide for the Next U.S. President," issues a sweeping set of recommended actions, both domestic and international, to address climate change, this century’s defining global challenge.