Graduate Programs

Brown University offers master's and Ph.D. programs in several engineering disciplines, as well as master's degree programs in computational engineering, design engineering, entrepreneurship, and technology leadership.

Because of our unique structure and approach to engineering, and the lack of formal boundaries between engineering disciplines, our research is highly interdisciplinary and often includes connections to other departments on campus outside of the School.

Areas of Study

Design Your Own Graduate Program

Graduate and Professors in lab

  • Craft your graduate program to align with your interests and future trajectory. 
  • Graduate students enjoy the ability to select from our wide course offerings to better match their interests.
  • Ph.D. students can apply to enroll in Brown’s Open Graduate Education to pursue a master’s degree in a secondary field.

Created for Student Success

  • Students receive continual feedback. There are rigorous checkpoints, and nearly all students who enter the graduate program finish.
  • Evaluations are centered on research skills and progress, not rote learning.

Manageable Scale and Collaborative Culture 

  • testStudent-centered ratio of 2.8 Ph.D. students per faculty member allows for greater access and interaction with faculty members
  • Brown's structure is designed to make interdisciplinary work fluid with no true boundaries. Collaboration on research projects across engineering disciplines and with other academic units on campus (physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, etc.) is encouraged.  
  • Our advisors are passionate, supportive, and committed to strong mentorship.
  • Learn more about Brown’s Graduate School culture and distinctive opportunities

Students and faculty from diverse training, gender, and ethnic backgrounds

Vicki Colvin Lab w student

  • The University is committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive academic community. Please read about diversity and inclusion at Brown.
  • Brown Engineering is ranked No. 35 nationally (of 429 institutions) in Percentage of Doctoral Degrees Awarded to URM students (American Society of Engineering Education, 2020).

Guaranteed Funding

  • Our doctoral fellowships offer five years of guaranteed support through a mix of scholarships, research, and teaching assistance. The guaranteed support provides our Ph.D. students with the security that enables them to focus entirely on their research.  
  • Students also earn fellowships.

Ivy League Education

  • Brown offers a liberal arts education within a research university 
  • Brown's graduate programs in engineering are nationally-ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News and World Report, Academic Analytics, and others.

Graduate Lab/ERC

Located in the heart of affordable, spirited, and creative Providence, RI

Providence

Excellent career placement

  • Both our master's and Ph.D. graduates enjoy successful post graduate career paths.

  • More than 50% of master's graduates and 40% of Ph.D. graduates enter industry upon graduation. Some of our recent graduates have gone on to find positions at Apple, Amazon, Analog Devices, Boeing, Cognex, Draper Labs, Facebook, Google, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Medtronic, Microsoft, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, NIST, Owens Corning, PerkinElmer, Roku, Sandia, Snapchat, and Yelp.

  • Nearly 40% of master's graduates go on to pursue a Ph.D., and nearly 50% of our doctoral graduates find employment in academia. Recent graduates have gone on to Columbia, Duke, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Johns Hopkins, Maryland, MIT, Northwestern, Princeton, UC San Diego, and Wisconsin.