Which is better for an open curriculum, Princeton or Brown?

Brown is much more open in practice. It is one of the best-known schools in the country for curricular freedom because its Open Curriculum removes general education requirements, so students have wide latitude to choose courses across departments from the start. Brown also lets students take many classes S/NC and is especially attractive for students who want to explore broadly without a core or distribution structure guiding them.

That environment fits students who are excited by independence and comfortable building their own academic path. If you like the idea of mixing very different fields, trying classes just out of curiosity, or changing direction without feeling boxed in by requirements, Brown is the clearer match. Its academic culture is built around trust and student choice, not just a flexible major.

Princeton offers flexibility too, but it does not have an open curriculum in the same way. Students still work within distribution requirements and a more structured academic framework, even though there is room to explore and strong support for interdisciplinary study. Princeton tends to suit students who want freedom inside a system that gives more shape to their education.

That can be appealing if you want exploration, but also appreciate guardrails, especially early in college. Princeton’s model often feels better for students who like being pushed to engage across fields through requirements rather than deciding everything themselves. So if your main question is which school is better known for an open curriculum, the answer is Brown by a wide margin.