Harvard University

Harvard University is a private school founded in 1636. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 7,110 (Fall 2023) and a campus of 5,667 acres. The University operates on a semester-based academic calendar. Harvard University is ranked #3 in National Universities in the 2025 edition of Best Colleges. Tuition and fees are $61,676.

Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, Harvard University consists of 12 graduate and professional schools, an undergraduate college, and Harvard Radcliffe College. Its colleges include the top-ranked School of Business and the School of Medicine, as well as the highly ranked School of Graduate Education, the School of Engineering and Applied Science, the School of Law, and the John F. Kennedy School of Government. Harvard University is a private, not-for-profit institution founded by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the American colonies in 1636. According to Harvard's archives, the university was originally founded to train clergy. Harvard was named after the Puritan minister John Harvard, who left his library of 400 books and half of his estate to the young school in 1638. Harvard's first commencement was held in 1642 with nine graduates.

Harvard's extensive library system has the oldest collection of books in the United States and the largest academic library in the world. In addition to books, Harvard's athletic teams compete in the Ivy League and play an annual football rivalry game against rival Yale University. On-campus housing is an integral part of student life, with freshmen living in the Campus Center and upperclassmen in 12 undergraduate residence halls. Eight U.S. presidents have graduated from Harvard, including Franklin Delano Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. Other notable alumni include Henry David Thoreau and Helen Keller. Harvard also has the largest endowment in the world.