20 Facts About Harvard

1.

Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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2.

Harvard has three main campuses:the 209-acre Cambridge campus centered on Harvard Yard; an adjoining campus immediately across Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston; and the medical campus in Boston's Longwood Medical Area.

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3.

Harvard Library is the world's largest academic library system, comprising 79 individual libraries holding about 20.

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4.

Harvard's founding was authorized by the Massachusetts colonial legislature, "dreading to leave an illiterate ministry to the churches, when our present ministers shall lie in the dust"; though never formally affiliated with any denomination, in its early years Harvard College primarily trained Congregational clergy.

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5.

Harvard was established in 1636 in the colonial, pre-Revolutionary era by vote of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony.

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6.

In 1816, Harvard launched new programs in the study of French and Spanish with George Ticknor as first professor for these language programs.

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7.

Since 1971, Harvard had controlled essentially all aspects of undergraduate admission, instruction, and housing for Radcliffe women; in 1999, Radcliffe was formally merged into Harvard.

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8.

Radcliffe College emerged as the female counterpart of Harvard College, becoming one of the most prominent schools for women in the United States.

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9.

In 1900, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities.

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10.

Several Harvard-affiliated hospitals and research institutes are in Longwood, including Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, Joslin Diabetes Center, and the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering.

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11.

Harvard has the largest university endowment in the world, valued at about $41.

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12.

Harvard is a large, highly residential research universityoffering 50 undergraduate majors, 134 graduate degrees, and 32 professional degrees.

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13.

Harvard is a founding member of the Association of American Universities and a preeminent research university with "very high" research activity and comprehensive doctoral programs across the arts, sciences, engineering, and medicine according to the Carnegie Classification.

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14.

When QS and Times Higher Education collaborated to publish the Times Higher Education–QS World University Rankings from 2004 to 2009, Harvard held the top spot every year and continued to hold first place on THE World Reputation Rankings ever since it was released in 2011.

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15.

Harvard University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.

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16.

Additionally, having made significant investments in its engineering school in recent years, Harvard was ranked third worldwide for Engineering and Technology in 2019 by Times Higher Education.

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17.

Harvard College competes in the NCAA Division I Ivy League conference.

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18.

Over more than three and a half centuries, Harvard alumni have contributed creatively and significantly to society, the arts and sciences, business, and national and international affairs.

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19.

Harvard's alumni include eight U S presidents, 188 living billionaires, 79 Nobel laureates, 7 Fields Medal winners, 9 Turing Award laureates, 369 Rhodes Scholars, 252 Marshall Scholars, and 13 Mitchell Scholars.

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20.

Harvard permits filming on its property only rarely, so most scenes set at Harvard are in fact shot elsewhere.

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