While most applicants must submit a personal statement regarding their interests and/or intended areas of study, some programs ask applicants to respond to short-answer questions instead of a personal statement. Some programs ask applicants to address specific questions in their personal statements (they are provided in the prompt).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a scanned image of their college transcript at the time of application, which can speed processing; however, a final, official transcript will be required of all admitted students who matriculate. Applicants who have attended international institutions must submit transcripts or certified attestations of study, with certified English translations. Once translated, the original transcript and the certified translations are to be sent to the Graduate School admission office. College seniors should submit current transcripts, followed by a final official transcript showing the award of the baccalaureate degree prior to matriculation, as is required and mentioned above. 

The Graduate School requires three letters of recommendation by persons well qualified to speak from first-hand knowledge about the applicant's potential for graduate study. All letters should comment on an applicant’s ability to do research and perform in the program’s required coursework. At least two of these letters should be from faculty at the institution of current study or, if the applicant is not in school at the time of application, at the institution most recently attended. 

Letters of recommendation for applicants to MFA programs may be from academic or nonacademic sources; please consult individual program listings for details. Letters of recommendation must be submitted online.

Applicants to programs requiring the GRE must have their results to the Graduate School or, if applying to one of the programs in the School of Public Health, to a separate Brown University code. Please refer to our GRE page and individual listings for the doctoral or master’s program for details.

 GRE Information

All international applicants whose native language is not English must ensure that the Graduate School receives their official score from the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), TOEFL ITP Plus for China or International English Language Testing System (IELTS).

TOEFL/IELTS Information

A nonrefundable fee of $75 is charged for processing each application received by the Graduate School. This fee must be paid when the application is submitted. An application will not be processed unless the fee is paid. 

Applicants who want to be evaluated by more than one graduate program must submit separate applications to each program for which they would like to be considered. 

The Graduate School is not responsible for errors made by applicants during the application process. There are no application fee refunds. 

Application fee waivers are available under certain circumstances. Applicants to Brown's graduate programs who can demonstrate financial need may apply for an application fee waiver.

Application Fee Waivers

All materials related to an application that are not submitted electronically as part of the online application should be mailed to the Graduate School admission office:

47 George St., Box 1867
Brown University
Providence, R.I. 02912.

Do not send any application materials directly to the program you are applying to as this will only slow the progress of your application. Material submitted in support of the application, including transcripts and writing samples, will not be returned to the applicant.