Watson Institute

Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies is a leading center for research and teaching on the most important problems of our time, especially issues of inequality and insecurity in an increasingly complex world. Understanding the conditions and consequences of the flows of knowledge, people, wealth and weapons across global contexts, the Watson Institute works to improve policies and the contributions of publics and media to making a better world.

Our core faculty of anthropologists, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and other specialists works across academic disciplines with Brown faculty associates and an ever-changing cohort of visiting scholars and practitioners from around the world. The Institute collaborates with key organizations such as the United Nations, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and international enterprises to seek practicable solutions to today's global problems.

Watson oversees one of the University's largest undergraduate academic concentrations – the International Relations Program - with over 400 students. Also at the Institute are the Development Studies, Latin American Studies, Middle East Studies, and South Asian Studies concentrations for undergraduates. The Graduate Program in Development supports interdisciplinary learning and contextual expertise for doctoral students of the social sciences.

Across the University, partnerships include the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the International Writers Project, the William R. Rhodes Center for International Economics and Finance, and the Choices for the 21st Century Education Program.

A full agenda of seminar series, conferences, lectures, workshops, and other meetings each year brings leading scholars and public figures to the Institute to put current events into context, explore emerging global issues, develop policy, and publish research. The Institute also develops documentaries, webcasts, and other global interest media to reach the public.