Black and Indigenous Histories Summer Institute

The Ruth J. Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery & Justice at Brown University, in partnership with the Tomaquag Museum, is thrilled to offer a free summer institute for high school students. This exciting program includes breakfast, lunch, and course materials for each participant, along with an incredible opportunity to dive deep into history, culture, and justice. Rising 9th-grade students through graduating 12th-graders from the Rhode Island community are encouraged to apply and join in this unforgettable experience. Please note that transportation is limited, so students and their families will need to arrange their own transportation to and from campus during the week.

• Eligibility Criteria: Local students entering 9th-12th Grade
• Costs: Free
• Focus: The program focuses on local Black and Indigenous histories and leadership development.
• 2026 Program Dates: July 13-July 17, 2026
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Brown Collegiate Scholars Program

The Brown Collegiate Scholars Program offers students in the Providence Public School District four years of year-round activities at no cost to scholars or their families. The program provides students with the knowledge and skills to support their college aspirations.

• Eligibility Criteria: Enrolled as an eighth grader within the Providence Public School District on the way to attending four years of high school at a PPSD school (at the time of application)
• Focus: Academic Enrichment, Tutoring, Mentoring, Youth Development, Social Emotional Learning, College Readiness & Access  
• Costs: Free
• Timeline: Program dates are year-round

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Brown Pre-College Programs

Brown Pre-College Programs offer college-level courses and co-curricular experiences for high-performing high school students during the summer. On-campus, online and experiential opportunities are available. The STEM for Rising 9th & 10th Graders Program is the only Brown Pre-College Program available to students who have completed 8th grade.

• Eligibility Criteria: Students entering 9th-12th grade
• Focus: Academic areas span a range of disciplines, similar to Brown's undergraduate curriculum, college readiness and access
• Costs: Costs vary and are dependent on program and course length. Full scholarships are available to admitted Providence Public School District (PPSD) students. The need-based Sibley Scholarship is available for students from other school districts.
• Timeline: Varying sessions from mid-June to the end of July
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Brown Summer High School

Brown Summer High School (BSHS) is an academic enrichment program offered by the Education Department that provides motivated local students with the opportunity to pursue study in areas that interest them most. Courses are offered in English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

• Eligibility Criteria: Local students entering 9th-12th grade
• Focus: English, Math, Social Studies & Science, College Readiness & Access
• Costs: Free
• Timeline: BSHS will enroll students on a first-come, first-serve basis (with priority given to partner schools and districts) until full or until the first day of class, whichever comes first.
• 2026 Program Dates: July 6-24, 2026 
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HealthCORE 

HealthCORE is a two-week program offered by the Warren Alpert Medical School that aims to expose high school students to different career opportunities in healthcare, teach them important skills, and connect them with individuals who could help foster their interests. HealthCORE’s objectives are to provide students with a better understanding of healthcare professions, increase their interest in medicine and help them develop tangible skills to make informed decisions about their future careers. The program takes place in the summer, and the students attend daily lectures and panel sessions led by healthcare professionals from various fields. The students also gain hands-on experience in the anatomy lab and practice clinical skills by working with mock patients and practicing vital signs.  

• Eligibility Criteria: Local rising 10th-12th grade students
• Focus: Skill development and medical career pathways
• Costs: Free
• Timeline: To be announced
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Go Get Math @ ICERM 

GoGetMath, hosted by the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM) at Brown University, is a summer program designed to give high school students a deeper look at mathematics beyond the standard school curriculum. Through collaborative problem-solving, interactive sessions, and exploratory projects, participants engage with new mathematical ideas while developing confidence, persistence, and a stronger sense of mathematical community. The program is designed to strengthen students’ confidence, expand their understanding of what mathematics can be, and foster connections with peers and mentors who share an interest in discovery. High school students who live in or near greater Rhode Island and who will be entering the 10th or 11th grade in the fall of 2026 are encouraged to apply.

• Eligibility Criteria: Rising 10th and 11th graders from the greater Rhode Island Community
• Focus: Mathematical enrichment and collaborative problem-solving
• Costs: Tuition is $100. Full financial aid is available. Daily lunch included.
• 2026 Program Dates: August 10-14, 2026
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Pathways to Medicine 

Pathways to Medicine is a mentorship initiative at The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University designed to connect Rhode Island high school students with the next generation of healthcare professionals. Through this program, mentees are paired with a multidisciplinary team of mentors, including medical, nursing, physician assistant, and pharmacy students. Through monthly sessions involving medical case studies, healthcare simulations, and interactive workshops, high school students will develop a myriad of academic skills with encouragement and guidance from their mentors.

The tiered mentorship not only provides high school students with access to real life applications of the topics they learn in class, it provides them with a means of how to turn the subjects they love into lifelong careers in healthcare professions. The program is centered on objective and data-driven strategies to not only educate but create a fostering community that will allow students to build lifelong skills.

• Eligibility Criteria: Local students entering 9th-12th Grade
• Focus: Mentorship and medical career pathways
• Costs: Free
• Timeline: To be announced
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Brown Tutoring Corps

The Brown Tutoring Corps (BTC) mobilizes Brown University students in local K-12 schools and other elementary and secondary programming to support youth to make academic gains, develop mindsets and skills that contribute to postsecondary readiness, and build relationships with Brown University. 

A collaboration between the Annenberg Institute and the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University, the BTC is grounded in a research-backed, high-impact tutoring model, partnering with school and district leaders to design programming responsive to schools’ conditions and students’ needs. BTC supports student learning acceleration– through data-driven, targeted curriculum support and enrichment– with strong relationships and mentoring playing significant roles in student experience and outcomes. BTC strives to create an efficient program in which Brown University students work together and become part of the fabric of the schools they serve.
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DEEPS CORES

Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences’ Career Opportunities and Research in Earth Science (CORES) is a STEM outreach program that introduces Hope high school students to the fields of Earth, Environmental and Planetary sciences, related research and career opportunities. The program runs bi-monthly (2x/month) throughout the academic year in 10th and 11th advisories using inquiry-driven meetings. Additionally, the program provides guidance for applying to  Brown Pre-College Programs (February and March) to interested students, as well as paid summer research 5-7 weeks-long internship opportunities at DEEPS.

DEEPS CORES also offers a College Application Mentorship program to seniors considering college from May of their Junior year till their graduation with monthly summer meetings and bi-monthly academic year meetings and personalized mentorship support.

• Eligibility Criteria: Interested Hope High School sophomores, juniors and seniors can apply
• Focus: Earth, Environmental and Planetary sciences awareness, introduction to research and support for higher education access
• Cost: Free
• Timeline: Applications open in May and are due in September, and are open throughout the year. Programs run throughout the academic year.
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College Day at Brown

Brown has a longstanding commitment to providing impactful experiences for students in Providence and beyond — influencing their educational outcomes and enhancing their access to a high-quality college education and career exploration opportunities. In keeping with this commitment, the University created College Day at Brown, an immersive day-long experience for high school students in Providence and other Rhode Island communities. Building on partnerships between the University and Providence-area public schools, the programming is designed to introduce or further expose students to the world of higher education by facilitating pathways and creating familiarity and excitement about the pursuit of post-secondary education at Brown, as well as other colleges and universities.  
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Rhode Island Ethics Bowl

The Rhode Island High School Ethics Bowl is an annual competition hosted by the Brown University Philosophy Department, at which high school students from across the state come together to discuss ethical questions. It's a really fun day, and the skills students develop through participation are much needed by society at large. In the Ethics Bowl, teams consider cases dealing with questions of contemporary concern — from the ethical status of walking one’s dog through a graveyard, to questions about immoral art, nuclear proliferation, and medical triage. Team members take turns discussing the issues at hand and respond to questions and comments from the other team and a panel of judges. It’s not a debate competition. Teams start from open questions – not opposing positions. They can agree if they wish. Ethics Bowl scoring rewards collaborative discussion, engagement with conflicting viewpoints, and generous acknowledgment of objections. It’s fun and a great way to practice constructive, civil disagreement.

Last year, twelve teams participated from a range of local public, private, and charter high schools. This year, the organizers would like to get even more teams involved! Support is offered to all new teams. There's a practice Bowl in December, and Brown and the University of Rhode Island philosophy department members are available as volunteers to speak at schools and coach and mentor teams. The competition itself takes place on one day in late January or early February. Please reach out to the organizers to involve your school community!

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STEM Day

Students from local high schools visit Brown for a full-day conference featuring an interactive panel discussion, breakout sessions, and resources on college access/success, as well as STEM opportunities outside of the classroom. This has been hosted by Brown’s Department of Chemistry. Faculty, undergraduate and graduate students serve as group leaders and lead breakout sessions. Students may also serve on the student Q&A panel.      
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Brown faculty or staff members who would like to suggest a program for this page can contact engage@brown.edu.