About the Institution
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation (officially The President and Fellows of Harvard College) chartered in the country. Harvard's history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world.Harvard was named after its first benefactor, John Harvard. Although it was never formally affiliated with a church, the college primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Harvard's curriculum and students became increasingly secular throughout the 18th century and by the 19th century had emerged as the central cultural establishment among Boston elites. Following the American Civil War, President Charles W. Eliot's forty year tenure (1869?1909) transformed the college and affiliated professional schools into a centralized research university, and Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. James Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College. Drew Gilpin Faust was elected the 28th president in 2007 and is the first woman to lead the university. Harvard has the largest financial endowment of any academic institution in the world, standing at $32 billion as of September 2011
Undergrad Programs / Areas offered :
Applied Mathematics
Bioengineering
Computer Science
Engineering Sciences
Anthropology
Astronomy
Celtic Languages and Literatures
Chemistry and Chemical Biology
The Classics
Comparative Literature
Earth and Planetary Sciences
East Asian Languages and Civilizations
Economics
English
Germanic Languages and Literatures
Government
History
History of Art and Architecture
History of Science
Human Evolutionary Biology
Linguistics
Mathematics
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Music
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Philosophy
Physics
Psychology
Romance Languages and Literatures
Slavic Languages and Literatures
Sociology
South Asian Studies
Statistics
Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
Visual and Environmental Studies
Undergraduate Degree Programs
Chemical and Physical Biology
Environmental Science and Public Policy
Folklore and Mythology
History and Literature
Literature
Neurobiology
Study of Religion
Social Studies
Special Concentrations
Studies of Women
Gender and Sexuality
Graduate Programs / Areas offered :
Graduate (S.M. M.E. Ph.D.)
Applied Mathematics
Applied Physics
Computer Science
Engineering Sciences Bioengineering
Engineering Sciences Electrical Engineering
Engineering Sciences Environmental Science and Engineering
Engineering Sciences Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering
Collaborative degrees through Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology