Private university in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., a traditional member of the Ivy League .
It was founded in 1764 as Rhode Island College and renamed in 1804 for a benefactor, Nicholas Brown. It became coeducational in 1971 when it merged with Pembroke, a women's college founded in 1891. Today it offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in all major academic fields; its school of medicine awards the M.D. Research facilities include centres for geological, astronomical, and educational research.