Member Profile

Brown University

The Watson School of International and Public Affairs

Brown University’s Thomas J. Watson Jr. School of International and Public Affairs seeks to promote a just, peaceful and prosperous world through research and teaching on the world’s most pressing economic, political and social policy challenges. As Brown University’s policy school, the Watson School brings together scholars and policy practitioners across traditional academic boundaries, connecting rigorous research with the practical challenges of policymaking.

The Watson School’s flagship graduate program, the one-year residential Master of Public Affairs, combines rigorous analytical training with hands-on experience to prepare students for policy-related careers across local, state and national governments, diplomacy and security , nonprofits, and private organizations. Students develop skills in economics, data analysis, and management while applying their learning to real-world policy challenges. Drawing on expertise across Brown, the program prepares graduates to become creative thinkers and policy leaders. Students can also pursue a two-year joint MPA and Master of Public Health with Brown’s School of Public Health.

In January 2027, Watson will welcome its first cohort to the 16-month fully online Master of Public Policy program, designed for working professionals seeking to deepen their policy expertise and leadership skills while continuing their careers.

Students benefit from the school’s research centers, initiatives and policy labs, as well as public discussions and practitioner-led programming that connect classroom learning with current policy challenges. These opportunities bring a range of disciplinary perspectives and professional experiences into students’ education.

Degree Programs

Master of Public Affairs
Master of Public Policy

Joint Master of Public Health/Master of Public Affairs

Brown University In The World

Faculty

Slobodian Discusses AI, Democracy, and Silicon Valley in ‘The Guardian’

Quinn Slobodian, Pardee Professor of International History and author of Muskism (2026), was recently featured in a piece titled “Democracy blindsides Silicon Valley’s power players looking to transform the world with AI”, by Eduardo Porter for The Guardian, discussing the growing public backlash against artificial intelligence infrastructure and what it reveals about the relationship between technology, power, and democracy. In an article examining opposition to the rapid expansion of AI data centers across the United States, Slobodian argued that public skepticism is more than a reaction to local development projects, but part of a broader concern about who gets to shape the future of society....

Faculty

Hare Examines the Diplomatic Fallout of the Trump-Venezuela Oil Agreement

In a recent commentary for the USC Center on Public Diplomacy, Paul Webster Hare, Master Lecturer and former British ambassador to Cuba, analyzes the implications of a controversial oil agreement between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed her role after the United States’ removal of Nicolás Maduro from power on January 3, 2026. Hare argues that the deal marks a dramatic departure from decades of public diplomacy on both sides....

Faculty

Verschuren Explores Why International Defense Collaborations Often Fail

Sanne Verschuren, Assistant Professor of International Security at the Pardee School of Global Studies, has published a new article in the Journal of Strategic Studies on September 21, 2026, examining an enduring puzzle in international security: why states repeatedly pursue collaborative military technology projects despite their frequent failures. In her article,“Why interstate arms collaborations fail: The commitment-implementation paradox in the context of NATO BMD,” Verschuren argues that many multinational defense initiatives contain the very conditions that ultimately undermine their success....