Brown University School of Engineering

Brown offered its first engineering course in 1847, making the school's program the oldest undergraduate engineering program in the Ivy League^[3][4] and the third-oldest civilian engineering program in the United States.^[5][a] In 1850, the civil engineering curriculum was inaugurated as a focused one and a half year program. In 1903, engineering moved into its own new building on Lincoln Field.^[6]

The current program was formed in 1916 from the combination of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering departments.^[6]

The Lincoln Field Building was built in 1903 as the university's first building devoted to engineering

Built in 1965, Barus & Holley is shared by the Brown Physics Department and School of Engineering

In 2010, the university established the Brown University School of Engineering based on the original Division of Engineering.^[1] In July 2011, Lawrence Larson became the school's inaugural Dean. Prior to his appointment, Larson served as the chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California, San Diego.^[7]

Between 2014 and 2017, the school undertook a major expansion of its facilities, designing and constructing a new Engineering Research Center.^[8]

The Brown University School of Engineering offers ABET-accredited engineering concentrations in biomedical, chemical, computer, electrical, environmental engineering, materials, and mechanical engineering (Sc.B.). Also offered are programs in design engineering and engineering-physics. In addition, the Brown School of Engineering offers a bachelor of arts degree in engineering.

The Brown University School of Engineering offers master's degree programs in biomedical engineering, chemical engineering, data-enabled computational engineering and science, electrical and computer engineering, environmental engineering, innovation management and entrepreneurship, materials science and engineering, mechanical engineering and applied mechanics, sustainable energy, and technology leadership.

In 2020, the school partnered with the Rhode Island School of Design's Division of Architecture and Design to launch a new joint Master of Arts in Design Engineering (MADE) program. The program is designed as an 11-month residential program and began in the summer of 2021.^[9]

The Brown University School of Engineering offers Ph.D. programs in biomedical engineering, chemical and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, fluids and thermal sciences, materials science and engineering, and mechanics of solids and structures.

In its 2023 rankings, U.S. News & World Report ranked Brown as the 33rd best undergraduate engineering school in the country. The School of Engineering graduate program ranked 53rd.

In 2019, Brown awarded the 7th highest percentage of undergraduate engineering bachelor’s degrees to women, at 47%.^[10]