Harvard University

Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. It is also the first and oldest corporation in North America.

Initially called "New College" or "the college at New Towne", the institution was named Harvard College on March 13, 1639, after a young clergyman named John Harvard—a graduate of England's Emmanuel College, Cambridge (a college of the University of Cambridge) and St Olave's Grammar School, Orpington in the UK—who bequeathed the College his library of four hundred books and £779 (which was half of his estate). The earliest known official reference to Harvard as a "university" occurs in the new Massachusetts Constitution of 1780.

During his 40-year tenure as Harvard president (1869-1909), Charles William Eliot radically transformed Harvard into the pattern of the modern research university. Eliot's reforms included elective courses, small classes, and entrance examinations. The Harvard model influenced American education nationally, at both college and secondary levels. Eliot also was responsible for publication of the now-famous "Harvard Classics", a collection of "great books" from multiple disciplines published by P. F. Collier and Sons beginning in 1909 that offered a college education "in fifteen minutes a day of reading"; the collection soon became known as "Dr. Eliot's Five-Foot Shelf". During his unprecedentedly influential presidency, Eliot, a prolific book and magazine writer and widely traveled speaker in the pre-radio age, became so widely recognized a public figure that by his death in 1926 his name (and, not coincidentally, Harvard's) had become synonymous with the universal aspirations of American higher education.

Harvard University Faculties Below is a listing of admissions offices for the following programs: Undergraduate Graduate programs Professional Education programs Continuing Education Summer School Programs UNDERGRADUATE PROGRAM (Harvard College) Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Financial Aid Information about undergraduate admissions policies, application procedures and campus tours including: Admissions and Financial Aid FAQ Campus tours Harvard College Financial Aid Office International admissions Online applications Transfer admissions Visiting Undergraduate Student Program Undergraduate degree concentrations Undergraduate course catalog Undergraduate Student Handbook GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL SCHOOLS
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Humanities, natural sciences, computer sciences, and social sciences Graduate admissions Harvard Business School Business administration, management MBA Program admissions Doctoral Program admissions Executive education Graduate School of Design Architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning Graduate admissions Executive education Harvard Divinity School Theology, world religions, ministerial studies Graduate admissions School of Dental Medicine Oral surgery, oral medicine, restorative dentistry DMD admissions Advanced Graduate Education admissions Graduate School of Education Education, educational practice, human development Graduate admissions Professional education	John F. Kennedy School of Government Public policy and administration, political economy Graduate admissions Executive education Harvard Law School Programs including constitutional, criminal, and international law; corporate finance General admissions information JD Program Masters and Doctoral Programs Program on Negotiation Harvard Medical School General medicine and medical specialties; medical research Graduate admissions Continuing Medical Education Harvard School of Public Health Public health policy, epidemiology, nutrition, population and international health Graduate admissions Continuing Professional Education American Repertory Theatre Institute for Advanced Theatre Training A two-year, five-semester professional training program that includes a three-month residency at the Moscow Art Theatre School in Russia
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Harvard Extension School Online and campus courses open to students with various backgrounds and experience. Degree and certificate programs and English courses also available.	Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement Non-credit enrichment courses for members of the retirement community
SUMMER PROGRAMS
Harvard Summer School Four- and eight-week courses open to all students. Programs include study abroad and English courses.	Harvard Summer Secondary School Program A college program for high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Crimson Summer Academy A special program for high school students from Boston and Cambridge