Harvard University Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with about 6,700 undergraduate students and about 15,250 post graduate students. Established in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, clergyman John Harvard, Harvard is the United States' oldest institution of higher learning, and its history, influence, and wealth have made it one of the world's most prestigious universities. The Harvard Corporation is its first chartered corporation. Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregational and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, and
Harvard University Corbusier, housing the film archive, the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, specializing in the cultural history and civilizations of the Western Hemisphere, and the Semitic Museum featuring artifacts from excavations in the Middle East. Among overall rankings, the "Academic Ranking of World Universities" ("ARWU") has ranked Harvard as the world's best university every year since it was first released. When QS and "Times Higher Education (THE)" were published in partnership as the "THE-QS World University Rankings" during 20042009, Harvard had held the top spot every year, so has it on "THE World Reputation Rankings" ever since it was released