Brown University School of Engineering

What Brown University School of Engineering does

Brown University School of Engineering is the engineering academic unit within Brown University, a private Ivy League research institution headquartered at 75 Waterman Street in Providence, Rhode Island. Engineering instruction at Brown dates to 1847, making the program the oldest in the Ivy League and the third oldest in the United States; it was elevated from a division to a School in 2010. The school delivers ABET-accredited Sc.B. degrees in six engineering disciplines (Biomedical, Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Materials, and Mechanical), an A.B. engineering degree that integrates with Brown's liberal arts Open Curriculum, multiple Master of Science tracks, a 5th Year Master's pathway, four specialized professional master's programs (including a joint MADE with RISD and Data-Enabled Computational Engineering), and Ph.D. programs across six research areas. Its 80,000-square-foot Engineering Research Center connects three engineering buildings, hosts shared labs, and increased the school's research footprint by 22 percent.

The school's research portfolio spans biomedical engineering, chemical and environmental engineering, electrical and computer engineering, fluids and thermal sciences, materials science, and mechanics of solids and structures, with active AI/ML work in dynamical systems, physics-informed neural networks, and materials design. Notable technical capabilities include computational high-temperature materials simulation (Van de Walle lab), bioelectronic integrated circuit design for nanopore sensors, the Dynamic Intelligence Lab combining dynamical systems and control theory with brain function research, and Defense Department-funded work on cryogenic magnetic cameras and open-source semiconductor chip design via a NIST-Google-SkyWater consortium. The faculty comprises 57 tenure-track members including 8 National Academy of Engineering members and 23 NSF CAREER Award recipients.

The business model is structured as a non-profit academic unit. Revenue derives from three streams: tuition and fees (recurring, paid by undergraduate and graduate student cohorts through Brown's centralized admissions), sponsored research funding (federal grants from NSF, NIH, Department of Defense, Army Corps of Engineers, plus private foundation support such as a $1.2M Gates Foundation grant), and alumni philanthropy. Go-to-market is direct-to-consumer via Brown's admissions funnel, augmented by the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship and NSF I-Corps Hub for research commercialization, and pre-college summer programs for high-school pipeline recruitment. The school serves undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students globally with on-campus delivery at the Providence campus and reports 268 total employees.

Name

Brown University School of Engineering

Legal name

Brown University School of Engineering

Website

https://engineering.brown.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Brown University School of Engineering is a private Ivy League engineering school offering ABET-accredited undergraduate, master's, and Ph.D. programs across six engineering disciplines, serving students through 57 tenure-track faculty and the 80,000-square-foot Engineering Research Center in Providence, RI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Higher Education Engineering

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Engineering & Technology Institutes (Comprehensive) (EDAHAEAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

STEM-Focused Research Universities (Engineering & Applied Sciences) (EDAHABAB)

Keywords

• Engineering education
• Undergraduate engineering degrees
• Graduate engineering research
• Biomedical engineering programs
• Interdisciplinary engineering research

Headquarters

HQ city

Providence

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Tuition and Fees: Revenue from undergraduate and graduate tuition, along with associated fees for engineering programs
2. Sponsored Research Funding: Federal and private research grants from agencies including NSF, NIH, Department of Defense, and foundations such as Gates Foundation
3. Alumni Giving and Donations: Philanthropic contributions from alumni and supporters for scholarships, facilities, and programs

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brown University School of Engineering delivers accredited engineering education and research across undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels in six disciplines: Biomedical, Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Materials, and Mechanical Engineering. Programs integrate engineering with Brown's liberal arts Open Curriculum and emphasize interdisciplinary collaboration, supported by the 80,000-square-foot Engineering Research Center, the Brown Design Workshop makerspace, and joint programs such as the Brown/RISD Master of Arts in Design Engineering (MADE).

Product overview

Brown University School of Engineering is an educational institution offering a comprehensive portfolio of engineering degree programs. The portfolio includes undergraduate Sc.B. and A.B. degrees (ABET-accredited in six disciplines), multiple Master's programs (including joint degrees with RISD), and Ph.D. programs across six research areas. The school operates the 80,000 square foot Engineering Research Center as its primary research facility, along with the Brown Design Workshop makerspace. Graduate offerings include specialized professional master's in Data-Enabled Computational Engineering, Design Engineering (MADE), Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME), and Technology Leadership. The school emphasizes interdisciplinary collaboration without traditional departmental boundaries, integrating with Brown's liberal arts Open Curriculum.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bachelor of Science (Sc.B.) Engineering Programs ABET-accredited undergraduate degree programs in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, preparing graduates for professional practice or graduate school.
• Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) Engineering Degree
• Master of Science (Sc.M.) Programs
• 5th Year Master's Program
• Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
• Master of Arts in Design Engineering (MADE) Eleven-month joint degree program awarded by RISD and Brown, focusing on collaboration between technical and design disciplines.
• Master's in Data-Enabled Computational Engineering and Science Eight-course program designed for recent graduates and working professionals pursuing careers that involve advanced modeling and simulation in engineering and physical sciences.
• Master's in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship (PRIME)
• Master's in Technology Leadership
• Engineering Research Center (ERC)
• Brown Design Workshop (BDW)

Quantifiable outcome

• 41% of undergraduate students are women - significantly above engineering field average
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Tufts UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2024Collaborating institution on cryogenic magnetic camera research with Brown professors Zaslavsky and Xiao.
• CoolCAD ElectronicsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2024Industry collaborator on cryogenic magnetic camera development project.
• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Cooperative research and development agreement with Google to develop and produce open-source semiconductor chips for nanotechnology and semiconductor research. Brown researchers Zaslavsky and Patterson designing circuitry for the chips.
• GooglecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Partnership to fund initial production costs and subsidize first production runs of open-source semiconductor research chips manufactured by SkyWater Technology.
• SkyWater TechnologycoreTechnology or Integration · 15 September 2022Semiconductor foundry in Bloomington, Minnesota manufacturing the NIST/Google research chips as 200-millimeter silicon wafers.
• University of MichiganminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Partner university in NIST/Google chip design collaboration for nanotechnology research.
• University of MarylandminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Partner university in NIST/Google chip design collaboration for nanotechnology research.
• George Washington UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Partner university in NIST/Google chip design collaboration for nanotechnology research.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 September 2022Partner university in NIST/Google chip design collaboration for nanotechnology research.
• University of California-DavisminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 July 2015Collaboration with Alexandra Navrotsky's lab at UC Davis to synthesize and experimentally verify high melting point materials predicted by Brown's computational models.
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint degree program - Master of Arts in Design Engineering (MADE) - an eleven-month program utilizing assets of both institutions with focus on collaboration between technical and design disciplines.
• Warren Alpert Medical SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDeep connections with Brown's Medical School for collaborative research and education in biomedical engineering.
• School of Public HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with Brown's School of Public Health on health-related engineering research initiatives.
• STEMJazzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCross-disciplinary innovation and networking hub supporting STEM inclusion initiatives.
• Leadership AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProgram supporting underrepresented students in STEM through research and professional development.
• Brown-Tougaloo PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorical partnership supporting educational access and diversity in STEM.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• MIT School of Engineering: Elite private research university's engineering school; directly comparable in mission, research intensity, degree portfolio, and federal-grant dependence. Largest engineering school in the U.S. — useful benchmark for faculty scale and revenue ceiling.
• Stanford University School of Engineering: Elite private research university's engineering school; comparable in interdisciplinary culture, federal/industry research funding, and graduate program scale. Useful benchmark for commercialization and tech-transfer output.
• Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science: Princeton's engineering school; a direct Ivy League peer with similar faculty scale and undergraduate-focused culture. Strong comparator for ABET-accredited program portfolio and PhD research output.
• Dartmouth Thayer School of Engineering: Dartmouth's engineering school; an Ivy League peer with a similar emphasis on undergraduate teaching and a smaller research footprint. Comparable in faculty scale and interdisciplinary orientation.
• Cornell College of Engineering: Cornell's engineering school; an Ivy League peer with substantially larger faculty scale and broader discipline coverage. Useful benchmark for engineering research funding ceiling within the Ivy League.
• Penn Engineering (University of Pennsylvania): University of Pennsylvania's engineering school; a directly comparable Ivy League peer with strong biomedical engineering and cross-school collaborations with medicine, paralleling Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School partnership.
• Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science: Yale's engineering school; another Ivy League peer with a smaller, interdisciplinary profile similar to Brown's. Useful comparator for faculty scale and liberal-arts integration model.
• Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences: Harvard's engineering school; directly comparable as an Ivy League peer with interdisciplinary model and strong federal funding footprint. Key peer for applicant funnel and research positioning within the Ivy League.
• Columbia Engineering (Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science): Columbia's engineering school; an Ivy League peer with a larger New York City footprint and broader research portfolio. Comparable in graduate programs and urban industry partnerships.
• Caltech Division of Engineering and Applied Science: Caltech's engineering division; a small, elite private engineering school with intense federal funding (DARPA, NSF) and high research output per faculty. Comparable in faculty density and prestige-driven applicant funnel.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brownengin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/brownengin
• Facebookfacebook.com/brownengineering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/brown-university-school-of-engineering
• Instagraminstagram.com/brownengineering

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Brown University School of Engineering