Harvard University Overview

Harvard University was established in 1636. The campus covers 5,076 acres and has an undergraduate student enrollment of 6,755. It follows a semester-based academic schedule. Harvard University is ranked #2 in the 2021 edition Best Colleges. It charges $54,002 for tuition and fees.

Harvard University is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It includes 13 schools and institutes. Harvard is a private nonprofit institution founded by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1636 colonial America. According to university archives, the school was originally created to educate clergy members. Harvard was named after John Harvard, a Puritan minister who left half of his estate and his 400-book library to Harvard in 1638. Nine graduates graduated from Harvard's first commencement ceremony in 1642.

Harvard's library system is the oldest in America and has the largest private collection. Beyond books, Harvard's athletic teams compete in the Ivy League, with an annual football match-up against rival Yale. Students live on campus in residential housing. Freshmen live in the middle of campus, while upperclassmen live within 12 houses. Harvard has produced eight presidents, including John F. Kennedy and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Henry David Thoreau, Helen Keller and others are other notable Harvard alumni. Harvard has the largest endowment among all schools in the world.

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General Information

  • Type of School: Private: Coed
  • Year of its foundation: 1636
  • Religious Affiliation: None
  • Academic Calendar: Semester
  • Setting: Urban
  • 2019 Endowment: $40.9 Billion +
  • School Website