Effective July 1, 2026, Şebnem Kalemli-Özcan will become director of the Watson School’s Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, taking over for long-time director Mark Blyth.
Pre-med student Neel Godbole transferred to Brown University after his sophomore year, seeking a more flexible curriculum. He found the perfect match for his diverse interests in the Watson School’s undergraduate concentration, International and Public Affairs (IAPA).
The Master of Public Affairs (MPA) Program offers two distinctive programs that enable students to build connections and deepen their MPA experience. The MPA Research Fellows Program emphasizes faculty engagement and hands-on research, while the Equity in Policy Scholars Program stresses interaction with policy practitioners and leadership development.
Watson School Military Fellow, Hillery Anderson, a Lt. Col. in the U.S. Air Force, came to the Watson School of International and Public Affairs after serving at the Pentagon to research issues relating to artificial intelligence and education. According to Anderson, the Air Force must prepare now for how AI will impact future recruits to keep pace with China.
While working as a global relations officer at Brown University, Diana Perdomo chose to take advantage of the University’s Employee Education Program to earn a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree. It was a decision that would accelerate her career growth, leading to impactful positions in government and the nonprofit sector.
A new report from the Costs of War project finds that H.R. 1, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” directs most of its $156 billion in military spending to contractors, setting a troubling precedent for bypassing the regular defense budget process.
Senior Fellow J. Brian Atwood has been awarded the American Academy of Diplomacy’s 2025 Henrietta Fore Award for Excellence in International Development for his leadership in global development.
Nate Blouin, who earned his Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree from Brown in 2019, dropped out of his freshman year of college and moved to Utah to ski. He then went on to become the youngest legislator in Utah's State Senate, defeating his opponent with 72% of the vote.
New research from the Costs of War project finds that U.S. spending in Gaza has surpassed $31 billion, more than 10% of the population has been killed or injured, and displacement across the region has exceeded 5.27 million people.
A new paper co-authored by David Kertzer examines how Italy’s Fascist regime enforced its 1938 racial laws and the contradictions within its own ideology.
Watson School political scientist Prena Singh was recently awarded the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award for her ongoing research into vaccine hesitancy in India and China.
Internationally focused from a young age and growing up outside Washington, D.C., Marcus Burke experienced career growth after earning his Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree from Brown in 2017 as a mid-career professional.
As the Watson School launched early this summer, its Master of Public Affairs (MPA) program welcomed a new class of students. This year's cohort brings with them a wide array of experiences and perspectives that have shaped their goals as they enter the program.
Costs of War’s latest report, “The Employment Impacts of Cuts to Federal Spending: Not All Cuts Are Created Equal,” finds federal dollars create more jobs when invested in education or healthcare than in the military.
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. Enrollment in each group is limited to 25 students.
Robert Blair has been named the 2025 recipient of the Theda Skocpol Emerging Scholar Award, which recognizes outstanding early-career contributions to the field of comparative politics.
Derrick Zantt earned his master's degree in public affairs from Brown in 2016. A fourth-generation service member, Zantt currently works as an analyst for the Department of Defense, where he puts his belief in open data and the knowledge he acquired at the Watson Institute to influence policy.
A new Costs of War report titled “Profits of War: Top Beneficiaries of Pentagon Spending, 2020–2024” finds that military contractors received over half of Pentagon spending from 2020 to 2024.
Sonia Cuesta, who earned her Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree from Brown in 2017, was happy to give back to the program that helped her establish a career in human rights and international relations. During the spring 2025 semester, Cuesta supervised a new generation of MPA students' Policy in Action project from her position at the United Nations.
Ieva Jusionyte’s 2024 book, "Exit Wounds: How America’s Guns Fuel Violence Across the Border," has won multiple awards, including the Juan E. Méndez Book Award and two awards from the Association of American Publishers.