Photos: With Pre-College programs underway, young learners embrace their curiosity at Brown

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - Thousands of high school students from across the globe arrived in Providence in late June, marking the start of Brown University's dynamic summer Pre-College Programs - one- to six-week sessions designed to give high schoolers a sampling of academic and collegiate life.

While each of Brown's 11 Pre-College Programs is distinct, they are all designed to prepare students for their eventual college experience, wherever they end up studying, said Dean of Pre-College and Undergraduate Programs Adrienne Marcus.

"Even in the span of a very short time, there is significant positive impact for students in their sense of self, their curiosity and their ability to navigate new material and new environments," Marcus said. "It's always remarkable to me that in as little as six days on our campus, these young scholars work hard and emerge from our programs having developed their confidence both in and out of the classroom."

Over the course of six weeks this summer, nearly 5,000 students from almost every U.S. state and 74 countries across the globe are studying with Brown. More than 4,600 students are living on Brown's campus or at several locations both in the U.S. and abroad. Over 340 students are participating in online offerings, some of whom are taking multiple classes, contributing to a total of 5,082 summer course enrollments.

Summer@Brown, the largest Pre-College offering, features well over 200 courses reflecting topics from investigative journalism and bioethics to machine learning and product design. The program invites young students to live on College Hill, or join remotely from anywhere in the world, and embrace new and sometimes unfamiliar experiences.

"With students studying such a wide range of subjects and being from so many different parts of the world, they gain perspective of how people live in communities that are very different from their own, while broadening their understanding of how much more there is to learn," Marcus said. "We know that they will bring that same level of enthusiasm and inquisitiveness to wherever they pursue their bachelor's degree."