City Town Info

Harvard University, Massachusetts

Overview of Harvard University

Cambridge, Massachusetts is home to Harvard. Cambridge is a medium-sized city. The school is a private, not-for-profit institution. Degrees at Harvard go up to the Doctoral degree.

Areas of Study

Students commonly pursue studies in science, medicine, mathematics, architecture and planning, family and social work, and liberal arts.

Harvard Selectivity

Prospective students are advised that admissions are not open to all; the school selects from among qualified applicants. The school attracts a lot of applicants every year, and can only accept about 9% of them (as of 2005). Three quarters of students in 2005 had SAT verbal scores of at least 700. Half of math SAT scores of accepted students fell between 700 and 790. Since a large share of students are from out-of-state, you can assume the school has broad appeal.

Faculty

Harvard has a tenure system for senior faculty. The full-time faculty at the school is well-paid, which often goes with faculty quality.

Student Body

Harvard has 25,017 enrolled students (as of 2005).

Student Life

Full-time students are the norm at the school. Harvard has a residential or campus feel. The school offers dorm rooms to a higher percentage of its students than do most colleges. Harvard offers students meal plans. The school values student athletics, and belongs to the Ivy Group.

More complete details are provided below.

Contacting Harvard

Harvard University
Massachusetts Hall
Cambridge, MA 02138
General Phone: (617) 495-1000
Admissions Phone: (617) 495-1551
Financial Aid Phone: (617) 495-1581
http://www.harvard.edu/

Harvard Programs and Degrees (2005)

Harvard awarded degrees in these major categories in 2005:

General CategoryDegreesMost Common Majors [see all]
Liberal Arts1,626economics, liberal arts and sciences, political science, English, history, social services, anthropology, history courses, ...
Business And Management1,047business, organizational behavior, managerial economics
Law711law, advanced legal research
Education And Teaching688education, urban education, teacher education, educational administration, reading teaching, educational supervision, comparative education, industrial arts teaching
Medicine688public health courses, public health, medicine, dentistry, advanced general dentistry, pre-med, advanced dentistry
Science558biology, physics, biochemistry, chemistry, call and molecular biology, biological and biomedical sciences, biostatistics, geology, ...
Family And Social Work557public administration, public policy analysis
Architecture And Planning265architecture, urban planning, landscape architecture
Religion And Philosophy232theology, ministry, religion, philosophy, theology and religious vocations
Therapy And Counseling154psychology, educational psychology, social psychology
Mathematics129applied mathematics, mathematics, statistics
Computer Science And Engineering72computer science, computer and info science, computer services management
Engineering51engineering science
Art Studies49visual and performing arts, art studies
Conservation And Resource Management25environmental studies, natural resources management
Fine Arts25art history and criticism
Music20music
Media11media studies

Number of programs and degrees for Harvard in 2005:

Degree LevelTotal
Awarded
Number of
Programs
Master's degree3,35567
Bachelor's degree1,80743
First-professional degree7864
Doctor's degree56057
Postbaccalaureate certificate2048
First-professional certificate1732
Associate's degree201
Post-master's certificate31

Harvard Student Body

In 2005, Harvard had a total enrollment of 25,017 students (21,493 full-time equivalent).

Students in the Freshman Class (2005):

GroupPercent
Men50%
Women50%
Full-Time100%
Part-Time0%

More details are available, using 2004 data:

Students By Class (2004):

GroupPercent
Undergraduate44%
Graduate47%
First Professional9%

Racial Diversity (2004):
RacePercent
White48%
Black7%
Hispanic5%
Asian13%
American Indian1%
Other Races14%
(Foreign Students)12%

Incoming (Freshman) Students by Place of Residence (2004):
(From available data sampling)

ResidencePercent
New York13%
Massachusetts13%
California13%
Foreign countries9%
New Jersey6%
Texas5%
Florida4%
Pennsylvania3%
Illinois3%
Connecticut3%
Maryland2%
Virginia2%
Ohio2%
State unknown2%
Minnesota2%
Michigan1%
Georgia1%
Colorado1%
Washington1%
North Carolina1%
Wisconsin1%
Missouri1%
Maine1%
New Hampshire1%
Oklahoma1%
Tennessee1%

Harvard Graduation, Retention, and Transfers

Retention Rates (2004):

GroupReturning From
Previous Year
Full-Time97 %

Harvard Room and Board (2005)

Harvard offers campus housing for 12,811 of its 21,493 (full-time) students.

(Please refer to our profile of Cambridge, Massachusetts for details about the area surrounding the campus.)

The school offers students a meal plan with 21 meals per week.

Harvard Admissions and Selectivity (2005)

Acceptances:

GroupApplicantsAcceptedPercent
Accepted
EnrolledPercent of
Accepted Enrolled
Total22,7152,0239%1,64081%
Men11,3491,0179%81981%
Women11,3661,0069%82182%

Standardized Test Scores:

Test25th Percentile75th Percetile
SAT Verbal700790
SAT Math700790
ACT Verbal3135
ACT Math3035
ACT Composite3034

Application Requirements:

ItemRequirement
GPArecommended
Class Rankrecommended
High School Recordrequired
College Prep Programrecommended
Recommendationsrequired
Formal Demonstration of Competencenot required
Standardized Tests (SAT and/or ACT)required
Percent of Applicants Submitting SAT99%
Percent of Applicants Submitting ACT18%
TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language)not required
Other Standardized Testsnot required

Admissions Phone Number: (617) 495-1551

Harvard Expenses and Financial Aid (2005)

Expenses and Financial Aid:

ExpenseAmount
In-state tuition and fees$ 32,097
Out-of-state tuition and fees$ 32,097
Room and board$ 9,578
Room charge$ 5,148
Board (meal plan) charge$ 4,430
Books and supplies$ 1,000
Other expenses$ 1,675

Financial Aid:
Harvard participates in Federal Title IV financial aid programs. (The school's OPE ID is 215500)

Financial Aid Phone Number: (617) 495-1581

Harvard Faculty

Harvard has a tenure system for faculty.

Salaries for full-time faculty:

Full-Time Faculty (2004):

Full-Time Faculty LevelContract LengthNumber MenAvg Salary MenNumber WomenAvg Salary Women
Professoracademic year625$166,172152$150,782
Associate professoracademic year119$95,52749$84,544
Assistant professoracademic year168$84,89599$79,432
Instructoracademic year10$61,88216$39,137
Lectureracademic year62$92,56452$80,489
All faculty totalacademic year984$138,054368$107,981

*: salaries are not displayed where there are fewer than 3 professors in the category.

Harvard Athletics

Athletic Conferences (2005):

SportConference
FootballIvy Group
BasketballIvy Group
BaseballIvy Group
TrackIvy Group

Harvard Degree Programs (2005)

ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING
Architecture (BArch, BA/BS, MArch, MA/MS, PhD)
City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning
Landscape Architecture (BS, BSLA, BLA, MSLA, MLA, PhD)

ART STUDIES
Art/Art Studies, General
Visual and Performing Arts, General

BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
Business/Commerce, General
Business/Managerial Economics
Organizational Behavior Studies

COMPUTER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
Computer Science
Computer and Information Sciences, General
Computer/Info Tech Services Administration & Management, Other

CONSERVATION AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Environmental Studies
Natural Resources Management and Policy

EDUCATION AND TEACHING
Education, General
Educational Leadership and Administration, General
Educational, Instructional, and Curriculum Supervision
International and Comparative Education
Reading Teacher Education
Teacher Education/Profess Development, Levels & Methods, Other
Technology Teacher Education/Industrial Arts Teacher Education
Urban Education and Leadership

ENGINEERING
Engineering Science

FAMILY AND SOCIAL WORK
Public Administration
Public Policy Analysis

FINE ARTS
Art History, Criticism and Conservation

LAW
Advanced Legal Research/Studies, Gen (LLM, MCL, MLI, MSL, JSD/SJD)
Law (LLB, JD)

LIBERAL ARTS
African-American/Black Studies
American History (United States)
Ancient/Classical Greek Language and Literature
Anthropology
Area Studies, Other
Asian History
Celtic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Classics/Classical Languages, Lit & Linguistics, General
Comparative Literature
East Asian Studies
Economics, General
English Language and Literature, General
English Language and Literature/Letters, Other
Foreign Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, Other
German Language and Literature
History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
History, General
History, Other
Latin Language and Literature
Liberal Arts and Sciences/Liberal Studies
Linguistics
Museology/Museum Studies
Near and Middle Eastern Studies
Political Science and Government, General
Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
Sanskrit/Classical Indian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics
Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General
Social Sciences, General
Sociology
Ural-Altaic and Central Asian Studies
Women's Studies

MATHEMATICS
Applied Mathematics
Mathematics, General
Statistics, General

MEDIA
Communication and Media Studies, Other

MEDICINE
Advanced General Dentistry (Cert, MS, PhD)
Advanced/Graduate Dentistry and Oral Sciences, Other
Dentistry (DDS, DMD)
Medicine (MD)
Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies
Public Health, General (MPH, DPH)
Public Health, Other

MUSIC
Music, General

RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
Divinity/Ministry (BD, MDiv)
Philosophy
Religion/Religious Studies
Theology and Religious Vocations, Other
Theology/Theological Studies

SCIENCE
Astronomy
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other
Atomic/Molecular Physics
Biochemistry
Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other
Biology/Biological Sciences, General
Biophysics
Biostatistics
Cell/Cellular Biology and Histology
Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology
Chemistry, General
Evolutionary Biology
Geology/Earth Science, General
Geophysics and Seismology
Immunology
Medical Microbiology and Bacteriology
Neurobiology and Neurophysiology
Pathology/Experimental Pathology
Physics, General
Virology

THERAPY AND COUNSELING
Educational Psychology
Psychology, General
Social Psychology

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Harvard Highlights

(Details are provided further down on this page.)

What Sets Harvard Apart:

CategoryTrophy 
Salaries of full-time faculty
(vs. all colleges)
Top 1%Harvard Salaries of full-time faculty
Student SAT scores
(vs. all colleges)
Top 1%Harvard Student SAT scores
Selectivity (based on % of applicants accepted)
(vs. all colleges)
Top 1%Harvard Selectivity (based on % of applicants accepted)
% of students from other states
(vs. all colleges)
Top 1%Harvard % of students from other states
Number of degree programs
(vs. all colleges)
Top 1%Harvard Number of degree programs
Number of students
(vs. all colleges)
Top 2%Harvard Number of students
% of degrees in law
(vs. colleges of similar size)
Top 4%Harvard % of degrees in law
Faculty/student ratio (full-time)
(vs. colleges of similar size)
Top 4%Harvard Faculty/student ratio (full-time)
% of degrees in religion and philosophy
(vs. colleges of similar size)
Top 5%Harvard % of degrees in religion and philosophy
Dorm rooms per full-time student
(vs. all colleges)
Top 9%Harvard Dorm rooms per full-time student
% of accepted students who choose to enroll
(vs. colleges with similar degree levels)
Top 12%Harvard % of accepted students who choose to enroll
% of degrees in mathematics
(vs. all colleges)
Top 15%Harvard % of degrees in mathematics
% of degrees in family and social work
(vs. all colleges)
Top 16%Harvard % of degrees in family and social work
% of degrees in science
(vs. colleges with similar degree levels)
Top 16%Harvard % of degrees in science
% of degrees in architecture and planning
(vs. all colleges)
Top 18%Harvard % of degrees in architecture and planning
% of degrees in medicine
(vs. all colleges)
Top 18%Harvard % of degrees in medicine
% of degrees in liberal arts
(vs. colleges with similar degree levels)
Top 19%Harvard % of degrees in liberal arts
Male % of student body
(vs. all colleges)
Top 19%Harvard Male % of student body
Degrees concentrated in limited number of degree programs
(vs. all colleges)
Top 20%Harvard Degrees concentrated in limited number of degree programs
Explanation of the Highlights categories

Notable:
Grants credits for AP courses
Career counseling
Career placement services
Student employment services
On-campus day care
Remedial classes for students
Option to study abroad
Offers campus housing
Offers part-time study
On-campus library
Offers campus housing
Offers a board (meal) plan
Tenure system for quality teaching
Has ROTC (army, navy, air force)
NCAA athletic conference member

Link to This Resource Page

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