Senior fellows receive a one-year appointment at Brown University through the Watson School of International and Public Affairs. Fellows are encouraged to lead student study groups each semester and throughout the year to attend student/faculty discussions, visit courses, host public events, and mentor undergraduate and graduate students through office hours. Recent fellows include Menaka Guruswamy, senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India, former U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele, writer ZZ Packer and Jim Yong Kim, former president of the World Bank.

Study Groups

Senior Fellow study groups provide an opportunity for students to delve deeply into policy and international affairs topics and apply theory and research to real-world challenges.

They are open to undergraduates and graduate students from all concentrations. The study groups are designed to be accessible to students across different fields and to avoid infringing on students’ coursework. Fellows often invite guest speakers to address specific topics. Background reading is usually assigned for each session but is kept to a minimum. The group size is kept small to promote student participation and conversation, and participating students are expected to attend all five meetings.

Current Study Groups

Antitrust, Big Tech, and the Fight for Democracy: Inside the House Judiciary Antitrust Investigation

Led by: David Cicilline
This study group goes inside the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's landmark investigation into competition in digital markets, the most significant congressional antitrust inquiry in half a century.

Climate Change in an Energy Insecure World

Led by: Deborah Gordon
This study group discusses the complex interactions and tenuous balance between energy, economic, and climate security, using technological, financial, and policy perspectives.

American Democracy or American Authoritarianism? The role of election workers, judges and journalists in the 2026 midterm elections

Led by: David Rohde ’90