Department of Education

Brown Summer High School

Join an exciting group of 150-200 students who come to the Brown campus mornings in July to learn together. Teachers plan engaging classes for local students from all over RI and Southeast Massachusetts. Students have a chance to eat breakfast and lunch together and have assemblies and panels focused on college. 

What is Brown Summer High School?


Brown Summer High School is a morning enrichment program that provides motivated local students with a chance to pursue study in areas that interest them most. Courses are offered in English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies.

Students at Brown Summer High School are a community of excited learners from Providence, Central Falls, and other communities in Rhode Island. BSHS will enroll students on a first-come, first-serve basis until full or until the first day of class, whichever comes first. 

Brown Summer High School challenges students to think deeply about big questions. Students pursue deep learning in up to three courses during the month of July. Courses include hands-on and experiential learning that is focused on collaboration, discussion, and creative labs and projects. All courses have a focus on equity and justice so that learning is relevant to students’ daily lives. Regardless of your plans beyond high school, as a BSHS student, you will develop skills and insights valuable to all of your future endeavors!

Students can register for two classes are able to rank course choices. Each class is 2 hours long. Because available courses are based on the number of master's students in each teaching program, we cannot guarantee the availability of your course selection.

Related Link 

BSHS 2021: From Superheroes to Climate Justice ↗

Dates

Classes will meet on weekdays from July 7-25, 2025.

Students register for two classes. Because BSHS includes project-based learning, it is important that students attend all class sessions. Due to the short length of the program, students should not sign up for BSHS if they have conflicting obligations in July.

Who is Eligible?

Priority enrollment goes to all Providence, Central Falls, and local area high school students entering the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade who are at least 14 years old by September may apply to BSHS. We seek students like you who will be ready to act, build, share, and create!

BSHS will be free of charge to all students.

Teaching Faculty

Courses are taught by teams of Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) candidates at Brown University. 

Teaching teams are led by exemplary mentor teachers from local schools. Teacher Education faculty supervise and collaborate with all of the teams.

Credit

Some schools grant credit for participation in BSHS. Questions regarding credit should be directed to your school.

 

Thank you for your interest in Brown Summer High School! 

The 2025 application will be available on March 1, 2025. 

For more information, email bshs@brown.edu.

Confirmations will be sent beginning in mid-June.

Contacting Brown Summer High School


To contact Brown Summer High School, please email BSHS@brown.edu or call 401-400-9451. Our program is staffed from the end of May to the end of July each year. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Brown Summer High School serves local students only. We offer priority enrollment for Providence Public School students and Central Falls Public School students. Students who are within commuting range of Brown University are welcome to apply. Please do not apply if you are not in the local area or if you are an international student.

If you are looking for information about Brown University's Pre-College Programs, which offer first-year college-level academic experiences through residential and commuter options for on-campus programs, as well as location-based summer and online programs, please visit the Pre-College website