The Brown Environmental Leadership Lab (BELL) combines concepts in environmental studies, ecology and leadership, with a mission of developing socially responsible leaders. At BELL, you will embark on a journey of learning and reflection while building community with fellow student environmentalists in your program.
This 11-day program will take you to Reno, Nevada and Mammoth Lakes, California. Your home base for the majority of the program will be the Sierra Nevada Aquatic Research Laboratory (SNARL). In the classroom and during outdoor labs, you will step into the shoes of a field scientist, working to better understand the causes and impacts of climate change. You will also develop resources and skills for environmental advocacy and environmental justice literacy while learning about socially responsible leadership.
During your Eastern Sierras adventure, you will visit fascinating geological features of the area on trips to Mono Lake, Panum Crater, Devil’s Postpile National Monument and Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. At each site, you will learn about field methodology for data collection. Back at SNARL, you will put your field knowledge to use during indoor and outdoor lab exercises and lessons.
Over the course of your BELL experience, you will also identify a pressing issue that you are passionate about. With support from instructors and peers, you will develop an Action Plan to apply your new leadership knowledge to this issue when you return home.
Location(s)
- Mammoth Lakes, California
Schedule
- June 29th to July 9th, 2025
Cost/Compensation
- $7,306 tuition, including room and board
Eligibility Requirements
- Students must be rising juniors or seniors and ages 16-18.
Deadline
- May 9th, 2025
Application or Entry Requirements
- A completed online application
- A 250–500 word essay responding to one of the following prompts:
- Describe an experience, accomplishment or challenge that made you grow as a student. In what ways do you hope to continue your educational and personal growth at Brown Pre-College?
- Our students come from a number of unique backgrounds and communities. Tell us something about your identity or background that has motivated or shaped your educational journey. In what ways do you hope to continue that journey at Brown Pre-College?
- An optional supplemental essay to convey anything not covered in the application that you wish to express
- A transcript and most recent grade report
- One letter of recommendation
Notifications of Decisions
- Rolling admission decisions will be sent to students as they become available beginning on Monday, January 20, 2025
Financial Aid Details
- Partial and full scholarships are available to those who demonstrate need.
- Scholarship opportunities can be found here.
Other Dates to Keep in Mind
- Application opens in mid January
Have other questions?
Brown is a nonprofit Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island and the seventh oldest higher education institution in the United States (1764). It is comprised of the College, the Graduate School, Alpert Medical School, the School of Engineering, the School of Public Health and the School of Professional Studies. The university is also affiliated with the Marine Biological Laboratory and the Rhode Island School of Design. The undergraduate school, among the most selective in the country, is known for its Open Curriculum which eliminated distribution requirements allowing students to create their own syllabus and take any course pass/fail.
