University in United States
Cambridge, MA, United States
University profile
Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, founded on October 28, 1636 by a vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the first college in the American colonies and is described as the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere. Alan M. Garber is its 31st President. The university enrols 24,317 undergraduate and graduate students and has more than 400,000 alumni worldwide.
Most people picture Harvard Yard in Cambridge, but the university also has campuses in the Longwood and Allston neighbourhoods of Boston. Harvard College is the undergraduate school, a close-knit liberal arts and sciences community with 7,103 students, and the 13 graduate and professional schools teach the remaining students.
The 14 schools are: Harvard College; the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences; Harvard Extension School; Harvard Business School; the School of Dental Medicine; the Graduate School of Design; Divinity School; Graduate School of Education; Kennedy School; Law School; Medical School; and the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences comprises the College, SEAS, GSAS and the Extension School. The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, successor to Radcliffe College, is an interdisciplinary centre.
At the heart of Harvard College are the Houses, residential communities where students live and learn alongside peers, faculty members and graduate students; off-campus transfer students join the Dudley Community. Students draw on library and museum collections, arts, athletics and service. Harvard museums receive 650,000 visitors a year, and more than 20 locations abroad link faculty and students to local institutions. Harvard Online has reached more than 35 million learners.
Applicants from all countries follow the same admissions and financial aid process, and international students are eligible for the same need-based aid as US students. The Harvard College graduation rate is 98%.
Harvard College meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need with grants that do not need repayment; awards are need-based, not merit-based. 55% of students receive need-based scholarships and one in four pays nothing. Families with income of $100,000 or less (typical assets) pay nothing toward billed expenses and receive a $2,000 start-up grant and a $2,000 launch grant; families with income up to $200,000 receive aid covering at least full tuition; families above that may still qualify.
International students are eligible for the same aid as American students, though not for federal funding. Apply with the CSS Profile (Harvard code 3434) and IDOC packet; US citizens and permanent residents also file the FAFSA. See Harvard College financial aid.
Harvard College Need-Based Financial Aid (Harvard College Scholarship) →
Browse the scholarships listed for Harvard University and check each award’s eligibility.
View scholarships for Harvard University →All first-year applicants, international and US, apply through the Common Application (or via QuestBridge National College Match) with the Harvard supplement of five short-answer questions of 150 words each. Required materials: SAT or ACT scores, School Report with counsellor letter and transcript, two teacher recommendations, Midyear School Report, and Final School Report for admitted students. Harvard requires the SAT or ACT; only in exceptional cases when these are inaccessible can IB, GCSE/A-Level or national leaving exam results or predictions meet the requirement. AP and other exam results are optional. Scores may be self-reported.
Restrictive Early Action: November 1 (decisions mid-December). Regular Decision: January 1. Counsellors may submit supporting materials up to a week later. Admitted students decide by May 1.
Paid online via the Common Application or by check to Harvard College Admissions, 86 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. The fee is waived for students who plan to apply for financial aid and meet an indicator of economic need.
About 12 transfer students enrol each fall. Applicants should have completed at least one and no more than two years of college coursework. Credit is assessed individually by the Registrar. International applicants follow the same process and may apply for need-based aid.
Requirements are identical to those for US applicants. English proficiency exams such as TOEFL, IELTS or Duolingo are not required but may be submitted. Applicants with a bachelor's degree are not eligible for Harvard College.
Graduate and professional admission is handled by each school, for example the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences for PhD and master's programmes.
Harvard University has three main campuses, in Cambridge, Allston and Boston, which serve as a home to students and faculty and as a hub of research and innovation.
The Cambridge campus, north of the Charles River in Massachusetts, is the University's largest in built space, with about 212 acres, 390 buildings and 16.2 million gross square feet as of FY2024. The Allston campus, across the river in Boston, covers about 358 acres with 99 buildings and 5.7 million gross square feet.
The Boston campus, also called the Longwood Medical Area, covers about 22 acres with 25 buildings and 2.9 million gross square feet. Harvard also holds land and facilities at other sites in Massachusetts and elsewhere in the United States.
The campus is defined by its brick buildings, with community gardens among and on top of them, and the University operates libraries and museums open to the public.
Study programmes offered at Harvard University.
Experiences shared by students of Harvard University.
Studied here? Share your experience to help other applicants.
Book a free consultation with our expert counsellors and take the first step towards your dream university.
Copyrights © 2026 StudyMapped. All rights reserved.
Enter your credentials to continue.
Join us and start your study abroad journey.
