RELS at Brown University

Intro sequences

The shortest canonical route from each entry point to a gateway course.

• 1. RELS 0010Happiness and the Pursuit of the Good Life
  2. CLPS 0010Mind, Brain and Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Approach
  3. COST 0100Introduction to Contemplative Studies
  4. COST 1082Me, Myself, and I: Exploring Senses of Self from a Multidisciplinary Perspective
  5. CPSY 0010Mind, Brain and Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Approach
  6. NEUR 0010The Brain: An Introduction to Neuroscience
  7. PHP 1880Meditation, Mindfulness and Health
  8. COST 1030The Contemplative Science of Compassion

Gateway courses

Each of these unlocks the largest share of downstream work on this map. Courses from other departments can appear here when they genuinely gate RELS coursework.

• COST 1030The Contemplative Science of Compassionopens 1 course (1 directly)
• RELS 1705BThe Contemplative Science of Compassionopens 1 course (1 directly)

Tracks

Upper-level clusters, grouped by the gateway that opens them.

The longest ladders

The deepest prerequisite chains in RELS. These are the routes that take the most semesters to climb.

• 3 courses deep, ending at RELS 1705C

  1. CLPS 0010Mind, Brain and Behavior: An Interdisciplinary Approach
  2. COST 1030The Contemplative Science of Compassion
  3. RELS 1705CTake Back Your Mind! Resisting the Attention Economy Through Critical Contemplative Practices

• 2 courses deep, ending at RELS 1442

  1. COST 0040Great Contemplative Traditions of Asia
  2. RELS 1442The History, Philosophy, and Practice of Rinzai Zen Buddhism

A suggested order for the 29 courses on the map, built from prerequisite chains and how often each course has run in fall and spring across the last 12 regular terms. It is not the department’s plan, and it is not a promise a course will run. Confirm against the department’s own advising material.

Grade medians

Teaching in Spring 2027

Instructors on RELS sections in Spring 2027, from the registrar's schedule.

• Andre Willis
• Daniel Vaca
• Gretel Rodriguez
• Harold Roth
• Jae Han
• Jason Protass
• Kera Street
• L. Hulsether
• Mark Cladis
• Michael Satlow
• Nancy Khalek
• Paul Nahme
• S. Bashir
• S. Bush
• Susan Harvey

Clubs & organizations

No clubs or organizations on record under RELS yet.

Clubs students here join