The Department of Portuguese and Brazilian Studies offers an interdisciplinary undergraduate concentration in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies as well as graduate programs in literature and culture leading to MAs's and Ph.D. degrees. Students are able to work with a distinguished faculty and to take advantage of the extensive resources on the Portuguese-speaking world at the Rockefeller, John Hay and John Carter Brown libraries. The Ph.D. program in Portuguese and Brazilian Studies has acquired a solid reputation for its comprehensive approach to the literatures and cultures of the Portuguese-speaking world. The doctoral program has maintained one of the highest admissions yields in Brown's Graduate School as well as an outstanding placement record for its Ph.D.s, despite a tight job market. 

The department extends its resources beyond the immediate university community by maintaining exchanges with Brazilian and Portuguese universities, by publishing books and four scholarly journals, and by organizing a varied program of cultural events.