This Section:
Table of Contents
Information for Programs and Students
Last revised August 2023
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requirement. A student who desires credit for work conducted elsewhere should file a timely
application with their program’s Director of Graduate Study. Transfer credit forms are available
through the Office of the Registrar.
Some graduate student appointments, such as Teaching Assistant, Research Assistant, Proctor,
and Teaching Fellow, typically require being on campus regularly. In order to be employed by
the University when an appointment does not require being on campus regularly, the student
holding the appointment must nevertheless reside in a location where Brown is registered to do
business.
3.
Advancement to Candidacy.
A student is advanced to candidacy for the PhD upon
satisfactorily completing all the requirements, departmental and general, requisite to beginning
work on the dissertation. Requirements for candidacy are determined by the department or
program of study. Most departments require the completion of specified coursework plus
passage of a preliminary examination or examinations or a qualifying paper before advancing
any student to candidacy.
4.
Dissertation.
The candidate must present a dissertation on a topic related to their area of
specialization that presents the results of original research and gives evidence of excellent
scholarship. The dissertation must be approved by the supervising faculty under whose direction
it is written.
Financial Support for Graduate Study
The Graduate School at Brown University guarantees incoming doctoral students five academic
years (six in the case of students in the Humanities and Social Sciences) of support that includes
a stipend, full tuition scholarship, health insurance, dental insurance, and coverage of the
University health services fee subject to their remaining in "good academic standing" in their
graduate degree program, as well as fulfilling the responsibilities associated with their
appointment. The support may take the form of a Teaching Assistantship, Research
Assistantship, Fellowship or Proctorship. All such assignments form part of the student’s
professional training and are viewed as integral to the student’s academic development.
The guarantee of financial support only refers to the first five years of study (six in the case of
students in the Humanities and Social Sciences) in the Graduate School; it does not refer to years
of support that can be used at any time, or that can be used in addition to external support. This
support includes a stipend, tuition, health insurance, dental insurance, and the health services fee.
The Director of Graduate Study (DGS), in consultation with students and other faculty in the
program, and the deans in the Graduate School, decides the most appropriate form of support
(e.g., fellowship, teaching assistantship, research assistantship, etc.) for each doctoral student in a
given year. All such appointments are made by virtue of the student’s status as a graduate student
at Brown and are seen as an integral part of the student’s academic training. The flexibility of
this approach helps to ensure that, within the constraints of other departmental needs, doctoral
students receive the type of appointment that is most appropriate for their current level of