Master's students at Brown are known for their exceptional dedication and expertise in their respective fields, contributing to innovation, professional and scholarly excellence and impactful community engagement.
Discover news, stories and profiles of students and alumni from the Brown master’s community.
Dr. Emily Qazilbash is the Director of the UEP program and a Professor of Practice in Education. Previously, she served as Chief Human Capital Officer for Boston Public Schools and began her career as a teacher in Baltimore and Boston. Her research focuses on teacher quality, educator evaluation, unions, and school reform. She holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Harvard Graduate School of Education.
After witnessing systematic inequalities first-hand while working two jobs supporting at-risk communities, Jillian Harvey decided she needed to further her education in public policy to make a real impact in her community. After graduating from the Watson Institute's Master of Public Affairs Program in 2019, Harvey became a leader in the field of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the state of Massachusetts.
Combining cutting-edge science, technology and engineering education with economic and policy instruction, the on-campus program will prepare students to be change-makers in the global transition to renewable energy.
Graham Sheridan's success demonstrates that while the shortest distance between two points may be a straight line, it's not always the best career path. After earning his Master of Public Affairs degree from Brown in 2014, Sheridan took a winding route to his current position as a clean communities and economic development director at Virginia Clean Cities.
Alana Gerber is a MAT candidate who is passionate about fostering critical literacy skills through student-centered learning. Currently student teaching at Hope High School, Alana values the MAT program’s close-knit community and faculty support.
Brown’s Urban Education Policy (UEP) program hosted a gathering designed to foster meaningful connections between current students and accomplished alumni.
Meet Alexa Kastner, a UEP student and passionate advocate for educational equity. Through her internship at the Annenberg Institute at Brown University, she works on high-impact tutoring initiatives while applying her analytical skills to drive meaningful change.
Balancing the rigorous demands of a doctoral program is challenging for the most motivated students, but for those keen to position themselves for profound impact, Brown’s Open Graduate Education program allows Ph.D. students to concurrently pursue a master’s degree in another field.
Katie Rieser is the Director of the MAT program and a Senior Lecturer in Education. Previously, she taught English Education at Harvard and spent a decade as a middle and high school teacher and curriculum dean. Her research focuses on teacher education and anti-racist practices in K-12 schools.
Meet Ellie Jurmann, a passionate future educator dedicated to making math both engaging and empowering for middle school students. Ellie shares her journey through Brown’s Bacc/MAT program, the joys of student teaching, and her hopes for creating a classroom where students feel supported, challenged, and valued.
Brown Engineering’s new on-campus master of science in sustainable energy will prepare students to tackle global climate change and lead the transition to a decarbonized energy future.
With climate change bearing down, Online MPH student Sean MacLean’s work with the Red Cross takes him from one natural disaster zone to another, where he leads recovery efforts and provides assistance to devastated communities.
From undergraduates transferring from other institutions to students starting master’s degree programs, nearly 200 students embarked on their Brown journeys in late January.
A new professional development initiative led by Brown’s MAT program brought together two dozen local teachers to enhance their mentoring skills, collaborate with colleagues and strengthen their teaching.
Both institutions enhance their longstanding partnership with a new agreement that allows IE University top performing undergraduate students to complement their STEM studies at Brown University School of Engineering.
Hamidou "Hammi" Sylla, who earned his MPA from the Watson Institute at Brown University in 2023, found Watson faculty and staff enormously supportive of his YouTube talk show, "Let's Just Talk with Hammi." Many of Sylla's interviewees became valuable professional and personal mentors.
A smart cutting board that integrates AI and teaches beginners to cook. An easy-to-use menstrual blood collection device that allows women to home-test for endometriosis. Compostable food packaging and edible, flavored utensils. These are just a few of the creative product designs dreamed up by grad students enrolled in the Brown/RISD Master of Arts in Design Engineering (MADE) program. Launched in 2021, the highly selective, 11-month master’s program focuses on collaboration and problem solving, allowing students to develop iterative making skills and produce small and large-scale work that addresses real-world issues and improves people’s lives.
“At its core,” she explains, “it's about building relationships with students and leveraging their ‘funds of knowledge.’ This asset-based approach recognizes that all students bring valuable knowledge to the science classroom.”
With Tulip, an AI-powered health care platform featuring the groundbreaking “Dr. Tulp,” Cole Roberts, Sc.M. ’16, aims to revolutionize patient care by equipping physicians with real-time, research-based insights.
Daysha graduated from the Master of Arts in Teaching program in 2023 and is currently a mathematics instructor at Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, CA
The 48-hour project requires Master of Public Affairs (MPA) students to evaluate a policy problem and issue policy recommendations to a real or theoretical client on a complex policy problem within 48 hours.
Grant Cohen, who earned his Master of Public Affairs degree from Brown in 2024 while working a full-time consulting job, used the experience to sharpen the skills he needed to advance his career in the public service sector.
Ashley Delgado, who earned her MPA from the Watson Institute at Brown University in 2024, practices many of the skills she learned at Watson — tact, patience, program management skills and effective use of limited resources — in her current position with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program at Brown University held a professional development day for teachers from Providence-area schools who mentor Brown MAT students in year-long classroom placements.
Brown's biomedical engineering graduate programs distinguish themselves with customizable curriculums, clinical partnerships and a collaborative, supportive community that encourages interdisciplinary research and innovation.
Applications are now open for the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs Master of Public Affairs Program's Equity in Policy Scholars program, a scholarship and leadership development program designed to increase the diversity of backgrounds and perspectives in public policy making.
As we celebrate First-Gen Day, the Division of Master’s and Professional Programs highlights inspiring stories from first-generation faculty and staff. Youlim Yai, Director of Enrollment Management, shares her journey as the first in her family to attend college and graduate school in the U.S., discussing the challenges she faced and the importance of accessible support for first-gen students.
As we celebrate First-Gen Day, the Division of Master’s and Professional Programs highlights inspiring stories from first-generation faculty and staff. Holly Brennan, Graduate Admissions Counselor, shares her experiences navigating the challenges of higher education as a first-gen student and how they helped shape her journey and build her confidence.
As we celebrate First-Gen Day, the Division of Master’s and Professional Programs highlights inspiring stories from first-generation faculty and staff. Lynn Koerbel, Assistant Director of MBSR Teacher Training, shares her journey toward earning a master’s degree, reflecting on her non-traditional path, struggles with self-doubt and the rewarding process of finding a sense of belonging.
The Division of Master’s and Professional Programs is thrilled to welcome two new team members, Amanda Blazka and Carmen Rowe. With their diverse experience and passion for student success, they will play key roles in supporting the academic and professional journeys of Brown’s master’s students.
In the master of science degree program, students learn how to use data responsibly, giving local and global learners valuable training in responsible AI development and implementation.
This summer MPH student Derrick Webb performed mixed-methods research in Nairobi, attended an HIV conference in Munich and finally joined other emerging leaders in HIV/AIDS research at the prestigious White House Rising Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C.
The two-year master’s program merges the fields of data science, technology and health care to uniquely position graduates to harness the potential of AI to improve health care delivery.
Meet Sofia Fontaine, a member of the MAT English cohort, hailing from Los Angeles, CA. Sofia completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College, where she majored in English and minored in Education Studies.
Out of 35 applicants, the Watson Institute has selected nine students for the 2024-2025 Director’s Fellowship cohort, offering them the chance to collaborate on research with faculty across the Institute's centers and initiatives.
Laura Cianciolo, who earned her Master of Public Affairs at the Watson Institute in 2024, credits her Watson-acquired expertise in statistics, econometrics, data visualization, problem-solving skills and interdisciplinary problem-solving with empowering her to conduct more sophisticated and meaningful research.
Meet the 2024-2025 graduate assistants for the Division of Master's & Professional Programs who seamlessly balance the roles of master’s students and leaders.
The Board of Overseers of the Annenberg Institute at Brown University established the permanent annual scholarship in 2012 for an Urban Education Policy masters student who most epitomizes the former Brown University president’s commitment to educational equity and social justice.
A total of 3,289 undergraduate, graduate and medical students have begun their studies at Brown University — here’s a look at the newest students to arrive on College Hill.
Brown University’s Master of Public Affairs Program recently welcomed its latest class to its rigorous one-year program. The new students bring their diverse life experiences and interests to a vibrant and dynamic learning community, where they will apply their learning to address pressing societal challenges, preparing them to be global leaders in public affairs.
With a commitment to community engagement, the public health graduate student and aspiring physician is spending her summer helping underinsured Rhode Islanders access protective health care.
Brown CS Master’s student Yumeng Ma (advised by Brown CS faculty member Jeff Huang) has just received an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship for her work in human-computer interaction, specifically at the intersection of human-AI interaction and accessibility. The award is the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, and aims to recognize and support outstanding graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Dean Shankar Prasad welcomes new and returning master's students to a new academic year and highlights opportunities for personal and professional growth.