We hope that your fall semester is going well. In this time of ongoing uncertainty related to the global pandemic, we recognize the importance of advance planning and are therefore reaching out regarding the University’s academic plans for the Spring 2022 semester.

Brown currently plans to operate in-person for the spring term. This means that students enrolled in coursework and/or appointed as Teaching Assistants, Teaching Fellows, Research Assistants, or Proctors are required to be in residence and active on campus during the semester. We recognize that advanced doctoral students sometimes use fellowship semesters to conduct research elsewhere; we expect that to be the case in spring 2022.  

Given the ongoing public health situation, we recognize that some PhD and MFA students, like faculty, may request an accommodation to fulfill their teaching obligations remotely due to medical considerations or a disability. Students who would like to request an accommodation to teach remotely due to medical considerations or a disability must contact Student Accessibility Services as soon as possible. Please note that students in this group will still need to be local and available to meet with individual faculty and students in-person. Students requesting accommodations should also be aware that very few courses will be available remotely.

There may be a small number of students appointed on Research Assistantships who will be conducting research away from Brown, such as in a laboratory at another institution. Students who may be away from Brown’s campus for an extended period while appointed on an RAship require approval in advance from their program and from the Graduate School. In such cases, please contact your DGS, who will be in touch with the Graduate School.

Though unanticipated changes in the public health situation are always possible, we hope this information will inform your planning for the spring. Please also visit the Healthy Brown website for current University public-health policies.

If you have questions, please write to Graduate_School@brown.edu. 

Sincerely,
Andrew G. Campbell