Division of Campus Life
Global Brown Center

International Undergraduate Orientation

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International Undergraduate Orientation

International Orientation (IO) is a pre-orientation program for undergraduate international students to begin learning about Brown’s campus, academic and co-curricular offerings, as well as building relationships with other international students prior to New Student Orientation.

2026 International Orientation Information: 

The 2026 International Orientation will take place Saturday, August 29 – Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Move-in for IO participants is scheduled for Saturday, August 29. 

Early Arrival – Friday, August 28:
Students with prior approval may check in early at the Residential Life Key Office between 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM. Please note: no meals or support services will be provided on this day. Mentors will host a welcome table with information about formal check-in on Saturday. Casual evening social activities may be offered.

Official Move-in – Saturday, August 29:
International Orientation officially begins with check-in at Brown Bear Terrace from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Throughout the day, students will participate in banking & cell phone fairs, shopping trips, and orientation sessions. Evening events include a welcome session, mentor introductions, dinner, and games night.

Participating in International Orientation (IO) will allow international students to explore topics that are relevant to their experience, such as life in the United States, setting up a U.S. bank account or cell phone, immigration and employment resources, and navigating academics as an international student. More importantly, IO provides the opportunity for international students to begin building community and social support networks early in their college experience.

IO is required for F-1 and J-1 visa holders. However, we recognize the diverse nature of the term "international." Students who have lived or studied abroad, as well as students with a multicultural background, having grown up in one or more countries other than their passport country are also eligible to apply!

Registration 

International Orientation registration is now open. Please here to register (Please log in with your Brown email)! The registration deadline is at 11 am EST on Friday, July 24, 2026. 

Facilitator

International Orientation is facilitated by the International Mentoring Program, a cohort of current Brown students supervised by the Global Brown Center for International Students that offers peer mentorship support to incoming international students at Brown.

Who Can Participate

Here in the Global Brown Center, we understand that “international” means many things. An international student can be an F-1/J-1 visa holder, a U.S. citizen or permanent resident who grew up or went to school outside of the United States, or a student who grew up in one or more countries outside their passport country. International Orientation is meant to support Brown students who have any of these experiences. If this sounds like a program that would be useful for you, you are welcome to register! Students who are on F-1/J-1 visas are required to attend IO.

When

The 2026 International Orientation will take place Saturday, August 29 – Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Move-in for IO participants is scheduled for Saturday, August 29. 

Schedule

We're excited to welcome you to our beautiful campus. The full detailed schedule of International Orientation 2026 will be updated in July, 2026. 

Pre-departure events: 

The Global Brown Center hosts pre-departure webinars for both incoming international students as well as parents and families. Please check back soon for more details! 

Parents and Families

The Global Brown Center offers spaces for parents and families to gather during IO. More details will be announced in May, 2026. 

The Brown general orientation will also have optional events for parents and family. Please check out more information here! 

IMP First Year Transition with Brown Sheridan Center

The Global Brown Center is collaborating with the Brown Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning to provide additional support on academic writing for first-year multilingual internationally identified students before their arrival at Brown. Here is the folder containing four fun and interactive sessions designed as resources for our incoming internationally identifying multilingual students. These sessions aim to address common questions we hear from students during their first days, weeks, and months about writing at Brown. In these sessions, you will meet our wonderful colleagues, Ann and Britt. * To access the folder, please log in using your Brown credentials.