Harvard CollegeFacts & Information

Harvard, founded in 1636, is a private, Ivy League institution. Its undergraduate college has no established freshman program. Students sample courses at the beginning of each semester and create their own study plan with an academic advisor. At the undergraduate level, Harvard promotes close collaboration between students and faculty on coursework and research. Its popular Freshman Seminar Program enables small groups of first-year students to work intimately with faculty on any of 130 different topics. Nearly all Harvard undergraduates live on campus for the first year in dormitories and later in Houses led by senior faculty members. Harvard's historic 380-acre campus is located in Cambridge, across the Charles River from Boston.