Harvard University

Overview

Founded in 1636, Harvard University location is in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is a private research university that holds the baton of being the oldest university in the United States, along with being a part of the prestigious Ivy League universities. Harvard University was founded by the Great and General Court of the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, making it the first university to be established in United States. In 1639, Harvard derived its name from John Harvard, an English clergyman who donated his library consisting of around 400 books and half his estate to the university.

In 1642, Harvard started its journey with nine graduates. In 1653, John Sassamon, a Massachusett Indian, became the first known Native American to study at Harvard. In 1782, the Harvard University Medical School was established. In the following year, it officially opened as the Medical Institution of Harvard University. In 1817, the Harvard University Law School came into existence. In 1872, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was founded. In 1879, the Harvard Annex (Radcliffe College) opened with 27 female students. In 1886, Harvard celebrated its 250th anniversary celebrated with more than 2,500 alumni and President Grover Cleveland in attendance. In 1920, the Graduate School of Education was founded. In 1936, the Graduate School of Design as well as the Graduate School of Public Administration came into existence. In 1995, Hellen Keller became the first woman to receive a Harvard honorary degree. In 2007, the Harvard University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences was established.

According to the Shiksha grading, the overall ranking of Harvard University is A++. A few Harvard majors, namely Politics, and Biology have also obtained the A++ subject rankings. Harvard has collaborated with some of the best research universities in the world through its alliances and networks including the International Alliance of Research Universities. Eight US Presidents, over 150 Nobel Prize winners, a vast number of Pulitzer Prize winners and various scholars have graduated from the university. Among all famous Harvard alumni, some of the popular Indian alumni include Ratan Tata, Kapil Sibal, and Anand Mahindra.

Academic divisions at Harvard include Arts & Sciences, Business & Management, Law, Medical, etc. As per the historic data of Harvard alumni collated from the web, some of the popular subjects and streams of study at the university are Business Administration & Management, Economics, Computer Science, Political Science & Government, and more. Additionally, the university offers several part-time courses for their international students.

Harvard boasts a diverse and inclusive student body of more than 25,000, represented by over 140 nationalities from around the world. Interestingly, about one-third of Harvard's total student population is enrolled in Harvard College, which is the university's school for undergraduates. Of these, nearly 12% of undergraduate intake are international students. Overall, 6,713 international students are a part of the Harvard community as of Fall 2023.