Undergraduate Programs
Source: https://www.brown.edu/undergraduate-programs
Focal Point
Brown offers more than 80 concentrations, what some colleges call majors. You'll sample courses in a wide range of subjects before immersing yourself in one of these focused areas. To complement your concentration, you may also choose to complete one of several interdisciplinary undergraduate certificates.\
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Africana Studies
A.B.
The concentration in Africana Studies critically examines the artistic, historical, literary and theoretical expressions of the peoples and cultures of Africa and the African Diaspora.
Department of Africana Studies
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American Studies
A.B.
The concentration in American Studies seeks to understand American society and cultures as emerging from historical and contemporary processes at work in local, national, and global contexts.
Department of American Studies
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Anthropology
A.B.
Anthropology is the study of human beings from all times and all places, offering a holistic, comparative, international, and humanistic perspective. In studying and interpreting the vast range of similarities and differences in human societies and cultures, anthropologists also seek to understand how people themselves make sense of the world in which they live.
Open details for Anthropology
Applied Mathematics
A.B. Sc.B.
The concentration in Applied Mathematics allows students to investigate the mathematics of problems arising in all areas of science, technology and engineering.
Division of Applied Mathematics
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Applied Mathematics - Biology
Sc.B.
The Applied Mathematics – Biology concentration allows students to develop complementary expertise in biology and applied mathematics.
Division of Applied Mathematics
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Applied Mathematics - Computer Science
Sc.B.
The concentration in Applied Mathematics – Computer Science allows students to develop complementary expertise in computer science and applied mathematics, and provides a foundation for advanced work at the intersection of these disciplines.
Department of Computer Science
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Applied Mathematics - Economics
A.B. Sc.B.
The Applied Mathematics-Economics concentration is designed to reflect the mathematical and statistical nature of modern economic theory and empirical research.
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Archaeology and the Ancient World
A.B.
The concentration in Archaeology and the Ancient World provides an opportunity to explore the multi-faceted discipline of archaeology while examining the critical early civilizations of the so-called "Old World" that is, the complex societies of the Mediterranean, Egypt, and Ancient Western Asia.
Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology & the Ancient World
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Architecture
A.B.
The Architecture concentration allows students to develop a broad understanding of the concepts and methods for the planning and design of buildings, landscapes, and cities.
Department of History of Art and Architecture
Open details for Architecture
Astronomy
A.B.
Along with Greek, Latin, and Mathematics, Astronomy counts as one of the oldest continuously taught subjects in the Brown curriculum.
Open details for Astronomy
Behavioral Decision Sciences
A.B.
Leading to a Bachelor of Arts, the study of decision making at Brown covers descriptive questions like how people, institutions, and nations make judgments and decisions; normative questions about rationality, such as what constitutes the best judgments and decisions; and prescriptive questions, such as how the process of decision making can be improved to make actual decisions closer to optimal ones.
Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
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Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Sc.B.
How does life work at the molecular level? This question is at the core of the concentration program Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Biology Undergraduate Education
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Biology
A.B. Sc.B.
The Biology concentration invites students to study, in depth and in breadth, the science of life and living matter.
Biology Undergraduate Education
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Biomedical Engineering
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Biomedical Engineering is jointly offered by the School of Engineering and the Division of Biology and Medicine as an interdisciplinary concentration designed for students interested in applying the methods and tools of engineering to the subject matter of biology and the life sciences.
Open details for Biomedical Engineering
Biophysics
Sc.B.
Biophysics is a quantitative science at the intersection of the life and physical sciences. It requires a significant level of competence in physics, chemistry, biology and math as reflected in the concentration requirements.
Biology Undergraduate Education
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Business, Entrepreneurship, and Organizations
A.B.
Business, Entrepreneurship and Organizations (BEO) is a multidisciplinary concentration that provides a rigorous and synergistic program in the study of commercial activity grounded in economics, sociology and engineering.
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Chemical Engineering
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Chemical Engineering prepares students for any field in the chemical sciences. The program emphasizes a molecular engineering approach to problem-solving.
Open details for Chemical Engineering
Chemical Physics
Sc.B.
Chemical Physics is an interdisciplinary field at the crossroads of chemistry and physics and is administered jointly by the two departments.
Open details for Chemical Physics
Chemistry
A.B. Sc.B.
The Chemistry concentration offers courses and research opportunities that range from fundamental studies involving the characterization and preparation of synthetic and naturally occurring molecules, to interdisciplinary studies at the interfaces of chemistry with biology, medicine, physics, engineering, and nanoscience.
Open details for Chemistry
Classics
A.B.
The study of Classics focuses on the languages, literature, history, culture, and legacy of Greco-Roman antiquity.
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Cognitive Neuroscience
A.B. Sc.B.
Cognitive neuroscience is the study of higher cognitive functions in humans and their underlying neural bases.
Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
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Cognitive Science
A.B. Sc.B.
The field of Cognitive Science uses scientific methods of experimentation, computational modeling, and brain imaging to study mental abilities such as perception, action, memory, cognition, speech, and language, as well as the development and evolution of those processes.
Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
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Comparative Literature
A.B.
The concentration in Comparative Literature enables students to study an illustrative range of literary topics and to develop a focused critical understanding of how cultures differ from one another and what those differences mean.
Department of Comparative Literature
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Computational Biology
A.B. Sc.B.
Computational biology involves the analysis and discovery of biological phenomena using computational tools, and the algorithmic design and analysis of such tools.
Center for Computational Molecular Biology
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Computational Neuroscience
Sc.B.
This multidisciplinary concentration spans many fields, including computer science, neuroscience, cognitive science, applied math, and data science.
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Computer Engineering
Sc.B.
Computer engineers design computer hardware (from chips to servers), communication and network systems, and the smart digital devices that continue to revolutionize how we live and work. They also write the software to run these systems, constantly innovating to improve performance to meet our growing technological needs.
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Computer Science
A.B. Sc.B.
Computer science is now a critical tool for pursuing an ever-broadening range of topics, from outer space to the workings of the human mind.
Department of Computer Science
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Computer Science - Economics
A.B. Sc.B.
The joint Computer Science-Economics concentration exposes students to the theoretical and practical connections between computer science and economics.
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Contemplative Studies
A.B.
The concentration in Contemplative Studies investigates the underlying philosophical, psychological, and scientific bases of human contemplative experience.
Contemplative Studies Initiative
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Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies
A.B.
Critical Native American and Indigenous Studies (NAIS) is an interdisciplinary concentration offered through the American Studies department focused on research, teaching and engagement with the social, cultural, artistic, ancestral, heritage, legal and political aspects of Native American and Indigenous peoples in the historical and contemporary periods.
Department of American Studies
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Data Fluency
Certificate
The undergraduate Certificate in Data Fluency is for undergraduates who wish to gain fluency and facility with the tools of data analysis and its conceptual framework.
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Design Engineering
Sc.B.
Our world’s problems are increasingly complex, complicated, and integrated technologically, physically, environmentally, socially, politically, and in many other dimensions. Therefore, there is an increasing need for people who can approach problems from multiple perspectives and think across several disciplines.
Open details for Design Engineering
Development Studies
A.B.
Development Studies is an interdisciplinary concentration whose mission is to provide students with the knowledge, critical perspectives and skills they need to engage with the issues of economic and social development, especially as they relate to the Global South.
Program in Development Studies
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Early Modern World
A.B.
The Concentration in Early Modern World promotes interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches to historical cultures around the world between the waning of feudalism and the arrival of global industrial capitalism, from the 1300s to the end of the 1800s.
Center for the Study of the Early Modern World
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Earth and Planetary Science
A.B. Sc.B.
Earth and Planetary Science is a highly interdisciplinary concentration employing principles from physics, chemistry, and biology to understand processes on and in the Earth and other planetary bodies.
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
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Earth, Climate and Biology
A.B. Sc.B.
Students in Earth, Climate and Biology apply principles from geology, biology, chemistry, and physics to understand how major components of the Earth, such as its atmosphere and oceans, interact with and sustain life in the past, present, and into the future.
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
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East Asian Studies
A.B.
East Asian Studies is a multidisciplinary concentration designed for students wishing to attain reasonable fluency in Chinese, Japanese, or Korean with specialized exposure to selected East Asian subjects.
Department of East Asian Studies
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Economics
A.B.
The study of economics helps students understand markets, firms, financial organizations and public debate about economic policy, including taxation, government expenditure, trade, globalization, health and welfare.
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Education Studies
A.B.
Undergraduate concentrators study education in a rigorous, multi-dimensional way that allows them to investigate thorny questions of opportunity and equity in real-world settings.
Open details for Education Studies
Egyptology and Assyriology
A.B.
The concentration in Egyptology and Assyriology offers students a choice of two tracks: Assyriology or Egyptology.
Department of Egyptology and Assyriology
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Electrical Engineering
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Electrical Engineering equips students with a solid foundation for careers in electrical engineering and related fields, to advance the knowledge base for future technologies, and to merge teaching, scholarship, and practice in the pursuit of solutions to human needs.
Open details for Electrical Engineering
Engaged Scholarship
Certificate
The Engaged Scholarship Certificate allows students to investigate public, civic, and/or social justice issues that they are passionate about through the integration of academic study with community-based learning, research, and action.
Swearer Center for Public Service
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Engineering
A.B.
The concentration in Engineering equips students with a solid foundation for careers in engineering, to advance the knowledge base for future technologies, and to merge teaching, scholarship, and practice in the pursuit of solutions to human needs.
Open details for Engineering
Engineering and Physics
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Engineering and Physics is sponsored jointly by the School of Engineering and the Department of Physics.
Open details for Engineering and Physics
English
A.B.
The English Department fosters the study of British, American, and Anglophone literature—old and new—in ways that are both intensive and open.
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Entrepreneurship
Certificate
The certificate program in entrepreneurship provides curricular structure for undergraduates who wish to make entrepreneurship an important part of their intellectual journey at Brown.
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Environmental Engineering
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Environmental Engineering provides students with the tools to develop sustainable solutions to complicated environmental problems and design real-world solutions that consider risk, sustainability, life-cycle principles, and environmental impacts.
Open details for Environmental Engineering
Environmental Sciences and Studies
A.B. Sc.B.
Brown’s Environmental Sciences & Studies (ENVS) concentration prepares students to address the complex challenges of our rapidly changing world.
Institute at Brown for Environment & Society
Open details for Environmental Sciences and Studies
Ethnic Studies
A.B.
Ethnic Studies is an interdisciplinary, comparative concentration that examines the construction of race and ethnicity in social, cultural, historical, political, and economic contexts.
Department of American Studies
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European Critical Thought
Certificate
The Certificate Program in European Critical Thought offers Brown undergraduates from all areas of the University a scaffolded approach to foundational texts in critical theory, as well as its antecedents and legacy.
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French and Francophone Studies
A.B.
The concentration in French and Francophone Studies is committed to the pursuit of an interdisciplinary, linguistically rigorous, and textually informed understanding of French and Francophone literatures and cultures.
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Gender and Sexuality Studies
A.B.
Gender and Sexuality Studies is an interdisciplinary concentration that examines the construction of gender and sexuality in social, cultural, political, economic, and scientific contexts.
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Geochemistry and Environmental Chemistry
A.B. Sc.B.
Geochemistry concentrators apply chemical principles and approaches to investigate processes that operate on and within the Earth and other planets.
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
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Geophysics and Climate Physics
A.B. Sc.B.
Geophysics and Climate Physics involves applying physics and mathematics to study processes that operate on and within the Earth and other planets, over short and long timescales.
Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
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German Studies
A.B.
German Studies exposes students to the language, literature, and culture of the German speaking areas of Central Europe.
Open details for German Studies
Health and Human Biology
A.B.
Health and Human Biology is an interdisciplinary concentration that provides a rigorous foundation in the biological sciences with substantive course work in humanities and social sciences within a subfield of Human Health and Disease.
Biology Undergraduate Education
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Hispanic Literatures and Cultures
A.B.
Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in the world and the second language of the United States. In our society, knowing Spanish is not just an asset; it is increasingly a necessity.
Department of Hispanic Studies
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History
A.B.
History is the study of how societies and cultures across the world change over time. History concentrators learn to write and think critically, and to understand issues from a variety of perspectives.
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History of Art and Architecture
A.B.
The concentration in History of Art and Architecture introduces students to the history of art, architecture, and visual culture.
Department of the History of Art and Architecture
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Independent Concentration
A.B. Sc.B.
The Independent Concentration program is for students interested in actively constructing an interdisciplinary concentration, representing a coherent field of study that Brown does not offer.
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Intercultural Competence
Certificate
Intercultural Competence defines the knowledge, skills and attitudes that curious and open-minded students acquire through the targeted study of languages and cultures.
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International and Public Affairs
A.B.
The concentration in International and Public Affairs equips students with the knowledge and skills necessary to be engaged global citizens.
Program in International and Public Affairs
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International Relations
A.B.
The objective of the International Relations concentration is to foster creative thinking about pressing global problems and to equip students with the analytic tools, language expertise, and cross-cultural understanding to guide them in that process.
International Relations Program
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Italian Studies
A.B.
Inherently interdisciplinary, the Italian Studies concentration allows students to strengthen their language skills in Italian and deepen their knowledge of Italian literature, history, art, and culture.
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Judaic Studies
A.B.
Jews have lived and flourished over thousands of years in a variety of social contexts, stretching from the Land of Israel and the eastern Mediterranean to Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Concentrators will have the opportunity to study Jews in these contexts, getting to know their social structures, and what they have created.
Open details for Judaic Studies
Latin American and Caribbean Studies
A.B.
The concentration in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACA) leads to a strong, interdisciplinary understanding of culture, history, and contemporary issues in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Latino/a diaspora.
Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies
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Linguistics
A.B. Sc.B.
Language is a uniquely human capacity that enables us to communicate a limitless set of messages on any topic. While human languages can differ greatly in certain respects, all are intricate, complex, rule-governed systems.
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Literary Arts
A.B.
Brown's Program in Literary Arts provides a home for innovative writers of fiction, poetry, playwriting, screenwriting, literary translation, electronic writing and mixed media.
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Materials Engineering
Sc.B.
Materials engineers design, create, and manufacture materials, which include semiconductors, polymers, ceramics, metal alloys, and composites. Their contributions have led to breakthroughs in many fields, including computing, communications, automobiles, energy, aerospace, buildings/infrastructure, and biomedical devices.
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Mathematics
A.B. Sc.B.
Mathematics is a grouping of sciences, including geometry, algebra, and calculus, that study quantity, structure, space, and change.
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Mathematics - Computer Science
Sc.B.
Students may opt to pursue an interdisciplinary Bachelor of Science degree in Math-Computer Science, a concentration administered cooperatively between the mathematics and computer science departments.
Department of Computer Science
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Mathematics - Economics
A.B.
The Mathematics Economics concentration is designed to give a background in economic theory plus the mathematical tools needed to analyze and develop additional theoretical constructions.
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Mechanical Engineering
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. program in Mechanical Engineering (ME) has a long tradition of excellence at Brown. ME is one of the most versatile engineering disciplines, as it explores a wide range of systems spanning fluids and solids. Students from this concentration learn the Science of motion, designing and analyzing systems that shape our World: from high-precision nanomechanical machines to large-scale aerospace systems.
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Medieval Cultures
A.B.
The program in Medieval Studies offers a concentration in Medieval Cultures with two tracks with distinct foci: one in Medieval Cultures and the other in Late Antique Cultures.
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Middle East Studies
A.B.
The concentration in Middle East Studies (MES) seeks to build a strong, interdisciplinary understanding of historical and contemporary issues within the Middle East, broadly defined.
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Migration Studies
Certificate
The Migration Studies Certificate promotes a multidisciplinary understanding of migration and the development of a range of methodological skills by linking students to diverse learning resources across departments and centers at Brown, and building community among students and faculty with shared interests in migration, immigration, and the immigrant experience.
Open details for Migration Studies
Modern Culture and Media
A.B.
Modern Culture and Media (MCM) is an interdisciplinary concentration that explores the ties between media and broader cultural and social formations.
Department of Modern Culture and Media
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Music
A.B.
The concentration in Music integrates theory, history, ethnomusicology, technology, composition, and performance.
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Neuroscience
Sc.B.
Neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the functions and diseases of the nervous system.
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Philosophy
A.B.
The Philosophy concentration offers courses covering subjects from the philosophy of religion to the philosophies of science and literature.
Open details for Philosophy
Physics
A.B. Sc.B.
Physics is the scientific study of the fundamental principles governing the behavior of matter and the interaction of matter and energy.
Open details for Physics
Physics and Philosophy
A.B.
The Physics and Philosophy concentration is for students with a deep interest in physics who do not need to acquire the laboratory and computational skills of a professional physicist.
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Political Science
A.B.
Political science explores big questions about the systems and societies that make up our world: What is democracy? Why and how does democracy flourish — or decline? How do emotions shape our political behavior? What does injustice mean and how does it manifest? Who calls the shots in a global economy? Political Science grapples with these and many other questions.
Department of Political Science
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Portuguese and Brazilian Studies
A.B.
Portuguese and Brazilian Studies examines the Portuguese-speaking world, a large and diverse geographical and cultural area spread over five continents.
Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies
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Psychology
A.B. Sc.B.
Psychology encompasses a range of phenomena and levels of analysis in pursuit of three goals: to deepen our understanding of cognitive and neural mechanisms of sensation, perception, learning, and emotion; to probe the biological and evolutionary foundations of behavior; and to clarify the social perception and assessment of individuals and groups.
Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences
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Public Health
A.B.
Public Health is an interdisciplinary concentration through which students examine a variety of health issues, including population health and disease, health policy, cross-cultural and international aspects of health, the organizational and social structures through which health services are delivered and received, and the public health system.
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Public Policy
A.B.
Housed in the Watson School of International and Public Affairs, the concentration in public policy is organized around the interdisciplinary and comparative study of human societies, but with a particular focus on the rules and norms by which we govern ourselves.
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Religious Studies
A.B.
Religious Studies explores religious thought and practice in various historical, political, cultural, and social contexts in order to understand and interpret societies and cultures throughout the world.
Department of Religious Studies
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Science, Technology, and Society
A.B.
Science, Technology, and Society (STS, formerly Science and Society) is an interdisciplinary concentration that examines the processes of scientific discovery and the establishment of scientific policies and systems of belief from historical, philosophical, anthropological, and sociological perspectives.
Program in Science, Technology, and Society
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Slavic Studies
A.B.
Slavic Studies is concerned with the languages, literatures, and civilizations of the Slavic world.
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Social Analysis and Research
Sc.B.
The Sc.B. concentration in Social Analysis and Research provides both a conceptual and a working knowledge of the techniques for data collection and analysis used for social research in academic and non-academic environments.
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Sociology
A.B.
The concentration in Sociology (leading to a Bachelor of Arts) provides a foundation in sociological theory and methods and the opportunity to cultivate more specialized knowledge in the discipline's substantive interests.
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South Asian Studies
A.B.
The diversity and shared histories of South Asia's cultures, religions, languages, and nations are an important area of engagement in the world today.
Saxena Center for Contemporary South Asia
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Statistics
Sc.B.
The Bachelor of Science degree in Statistics is designed to provide foundations that include basic statistical concepts and methodologies, and to expose students to the role of statistical thinking and analysis in interdisciplinary research and in the public sphere.
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Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
A.B.
The Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies (TAPS) is the intellectual and artistic center for the aesthetic, historical, literary, practical, and theoretical explorations of performance in global perspective — theatre, dance, speech, time-based art, and even performative "roles" in everyday life.
Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies
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Urban Studies
A.B.
The Urban Studies program teaches students to analyze the city, urban life, and urbanization through a variety of disciplinary lenses.
Open details for Urban Studies
Visual Art
A.B.
The Visual Art concentration engages in artistic practice across a wide range of media: painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, photography, and digital imaging.
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