Brown University is a private university located in Providence, Rhode Island, and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III (1760–1820), Brown is the third-oldest institution of higher education in New England and seventh oldest in the United States.

Brown was the first college in the nation to accept students regardless of religious affiliations. Academically, Brown consists of The College, Graduate School, and Alpert Medical School. Brown's international programs are organized through the Watson Institute for International Studies. The New Curriculum, instituted in 1969, eliminated distribution requirements and allows any course to be taken on a satisfactory/no credit basis. In addition, there are no pluses or minuses in the letter grading system. The school has the oldest undergraduate engineering program in the Ivy League (1847). Pembroke College, Brown's women's college, merged with the university in 1971.

Brown’s main campus is located on College Hill on the East Side of Providence. The university's 37 varsity athletic teams are known as the Brown Bears. The school colors are seal brown, cardinal red, and white. Brown's mascot is the bear, which dates back to 1904. The costumed mascot named "Bruno" frequently makes appearances at athletic games. People associated with the University are known as Brunonians.

Since 2001, Brown's 18th president has been Ruth J. Simmons, the first permanent female president of the university. She is also the first African American and second female president of an Ivy League institution.

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