Harvard University: Statistics
Updated:
| Position | Category |
|---|---|
| #1 of 14,131 | In the World |
| #1 of 2,597 | In North America |
| #1 of 2,496 | In the United States |
| #1 of 88 | In Massachusetts |
| #1 of 5 | In Cambridge |
| #1 of 6,793 | For Medicine |
| Top1-3 | For 90 other topics |
Quick Review
- Acceptance rate
- 4%
- Undergraduates
- 8,844
- Graduates
- 21,415
- Male:Female Ratio
- 45:55
- Control
- Private
not-for-profit - Highest Degree
- Doctor's degree
- Website
- www.harvard.edu
Harvard University Acceptance rate and admissions statistics
Harvard University has an acceptance rate of 4% and is among the top 1% of the most difficult universities to gain admission to in the United States. The university reports the admission statistics without distinguishing between local and international students.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acceptance Rate | 4% | 4% | 4% |
| Applicants | 54,008 | 25,613 | 28,372 |
| Admissions | 1,970 | 920 | 1,050 |
| Freshmen enrolled full time | 1,647 | 767 | 880 |
1,603 students enrolled in some distance education courses.
7,584 enrolled exclusively in distance education.
SAT scores
Among admitted applicants
892 or 54%
submitted SAT
25% of them
had 1510
or below
75% of them
had 1580
or below
Typical SAT scores of first-years in Harvard University are 1510-1580 (middle 50% range).
ACT scores
Among admitted applicants
321 or 19%
submitted ACT
25% of them
had 34
or below
75% of them
had 36
or below
Typical ACT scores of first-years in Harvard University are 34-36 (middle 50% range).
Admissions requirements
| Recommendations | Required |
|---|---|
| SAT/ACT | Required |
| Secondary school record | Required |
| College-preparatory program | Considered but not required |
| Formal demonstration of competencies | Considered but not required |
| Other Tests | Considered but not required |
| Secondary school GPA | Considered but not required |
| Secondary school rank | Considered but not required |
| TOEFL | Considered but not required |
Enrollment demographics by race or ethnicity
| White | 9826 (33%) |
|---|---|
| Nonresident Alien | 8013 (27%) |
| Asian | 4682 (15%) |
| Hispanic | 2770 (9%) |
| Black or African American | 1880 (6%) |
| Race or Ethnicity unknown | 1667 (6%) |
| Two or more races | 1328 (4%) |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | 36 (0.1%) |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 23 (0.1%) |
Costs per year: Tuition, Housing, Fees
The average net cost to attend Harvard University is $17,525 per year, calculated as the sum of the average cost of tuition, room and board, books, and supplies, reduced by the amount of average financial aid received.
The final cost of attendance varies for each student based on household income, residency, program, and other factors.
Average costs by household income
| <$30K | $8,697 |
|---|---|
| $30-48K | $2,991 |
| $48-75K | $2,091 |
| $75-110K | $9,941 |
| $110K+ | $53,337 |
Tuition and fees
| Undergraduates | Graduates | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition in-district | $56,550 | $55,656 |
| Tuition in-state | $56,550 | $55,656 |
| Tuition out-of-state | $56,550 | $55,656 |
| Fee in-district | $5,126 | $1,592 |
| Fee in-state | $5,126 | $1,592 |
| Fee out-of-state | $5,126 | $1,592 |
Room and board costs
| Dormitory capacity | 14,290 |
|---|---|
| Combined charge for room and board | $21,190 |
| Room charge | $12,922 |
| Meal charge | $8,268 |
Harvard University majors
Harvard University has granted 1,912 bachelor's degrees across 48 programs, 5,771 master's across 101 programs, and 1,549 doctorate degrees across 77 programs. Below is a table with majors that lead to degrees at Harvard University.
| Major | Bachelor | Master | Doctoral |
|---|---|---|---|
| Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other | 1,010 | 13 | |
| Law | 622 | ||
| Econometrics and Quantitative Economics | 242 | 106 | 57 |
| Public Health, General | 351 | 5 | |
| Learning Sciences | 293 | ||
| Educational Evaluation and Research | 288 | ||
| Computer Science | 184 | 59 | 23 |
| Public Administration | 263 | ||
| Political Science and Government, General | 139 | 73 | 20 |
| Business Administration and Management, General | 225 | ||
| Advanced Legal Research & Studies, General | 171 | 11 | |
| Engineering Science | 40 | 114 | 28 |
| Medicine | 182 | ||
| Sustainability Studies | 182 | ||
| Social Sciences, General | 163 | ||
| Public Policy Analysis, General | 156 | ||
| Applied Mathematics, General | 128 | 19 | 7 |
| Educational & Instructional Technology | 143 | ||
| Research Methodology and Quantitative Methods | 139 | ||
| Epidemiology | 103 | 31 | |
| Environmental Studies | 19 | 105 | 1 |
| Finance, General | 121 | ||
| Organizational Behavior Studies | 115 | ||
| History, General | 58 | 45 | 11 |
| Architectural and Building Sciences & Technology | 106 | ||
| Physics, General | 49 | 24 | 29 |
| Psychology, General | 92 | ||
| Neuroscience | 88 | ||
| Experimental Psychology | 69 | 7 | 10 |
| Systems Science and Theory | 82 | ||
| Chemistry, General | 28 | 29 | 24 |
| History and Philosophy of Science and Technology | 53 | 16 | 11 |
| Statistics, General | 46 | 27 | 6 |
| Creative Writing | 76 | ||
| English Language and Literature, General | 40 | 28 | 6 |
| Evolutionary Biology | 73 | 1 | |
| Theology & Theological Studies | 74 | ||
| Bioethics & Medical Ethics | 73 | ||
| Cell & Cellular and Molecular Biology | 50 | 7 | 12 |
| International Relations and Affairs | 69 | ||
| Computer Engineering, General | 60 | ||
| Mathematics, General | 48 | 5 | 6 |
| Museology & Museum Studies | 57 | ||
| Biomedical Sciences, General | 56 | ||
| Divinity & Ministry | 55 | ||
| Sociology, General | 39 | 4 | 10 |
| Medical Informatics | 43 | 9 | |
| Biostatistics | 42 | 8 | |
| Natural Sciences | 46 | ||
| Anthropology, General | 15 | 21 | 9 |
| Computer and Information Sciences, General | 42 | ||
| Biology & Biological Sciences, General | 31 | 8 | |
| Biotechnology | 36 | 3 | |
| East Asian Studies | 5 | 21 | 10 |
| Medical Science & Scientist | 35 | ||
| Developmental Biology and Embryology | 32 | 2 | |
| Computer Software Engineering | 33 | ||
| Dentistry | 33 | ||
| Engineering Design | 33 | ||
| Mechanical Engineering | 33 | ||
| Art History, Criticism and Conservation | 18 | 7 | 7 |
| Business & Commerce, General | 32 | ||
| Religion & Religious Studies | 2 | 18 | 11 |
| History, Other | 30 | ||
| Philosophy | 20 | 6 | 4 |
| Engineering Physics & Applied Physics | 8 | 21 | |
| Digital Arts | 28 | ||
| Journalism | 28 | ||
| Infectious Disease and Global Health | 27 | ||
| Near and Middle Eastern Studies | 4 | 16 | 5 |
| Health Services Administration | 24 | ||
| Health & Health Care Administration & Management | 24 | ||
| Neurobiology and Anatomy | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | 5 | 7 | 12 |
| Planetary Astronomy and Science | 6 | 7 | 10 |
| Linguistics | 12 | 5 | 5 |
| Comparative Literature | 8 | 4 | 9 |
| Information Science & Studies | 21 | ||
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | 20 | 1 | |
| Humanities & Humanistic Studies | 20 | ||
| Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering | 13 | 6 | |
| Environmental Health | 19 | ||
| Systematic Biology & Biological Systematics | 5 | 13 | |
| Health Communication | 17 | ||
| Biochemistry | 2 | 14 | |
| Computational Biology | 16 | ||
| Mathematics Teacher Education | 16 | ||
| Oral Biology and Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology | 16 | ||
| Architecture | 2 | 13 | |
| Chemical Physics | 11 | 2 | |
| Classics and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | 10 | 3 | |
| Russian, Central European, East European and Eurasian Studies | 13 | ||
| Educational Psychology | 12 | ||
| International Public Health & International Health | 12 | ||
| Music, General | 4 | 8 | |
| Urban Studies & Affairs | 12 | ||
| Education, General | 10 | 1 | |
| Immunology | 11 | ||
| Virology | 11 | ||
| Astronomy and Astrophysics, Other | 8 | 2 | |
| Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Other | 4 | 6 | |
| Cultural Studies & Critical Theory and Analysis | 10 | ||
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 10 | ||
| Biophysics | 1 | 8 | |
| Celtic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics | 4 | 5 | |
| Chemistry, Other | 9 | ||
| Drama and Dramatics & Theatre Arts, General | 9 | ||
| Education Policy Analysis | 9 | ||
| Multicultural Education | 8 | ||
| Women's Studies | 8 | ||
| African-American & Black Studies | 2 | 5 | |
| Dental Clinical Sciences, General | 6 | ||
| Applied Statistics, General | 5 | ||
| Astrophysics | 5 | ||
| German Language and Literature | 2 | 3 | |
| American & United States Studies & Civilization | 4 | ||
| Film & Cinema & Media Studies | 1 | 3 | |
| Slavic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics, General | 4 | ||
| Business & Managerial Economics | 3 | ||
| Health Policy Analysis | 3 | ||
| Legal Studies | 3 | ||
| Operations Research | 3 | ||
| Ancient Studies & Civilization | 2 | ||
| Classical, Ancient Mediterranean, and Near Eastern Studies and Archaeology | 2 | ||
| Genome Sciences & Genomics | 2 | ||
| Liberal Arts and Sciences & Liberal Studies | 2 | ||
| Physical and Biological Anthropology | 2 | ||
| Public Health, Other | 2 | ||
| Public Policy Analysis, Other | 2 | ||
| South Asian Studies | 1 | 1 | |
| Theology and Religious Vocations, Other | 2 | ||
| Astronomy | 1 | ||
| Behavioral Sciences | 1 | ||
| Bioinformatics | 1 | ||
| City & Urban, Community, and Regional Planning | 1 | ||
| Computer and Information Systems Security & Auditing & Information Assurance | 1 | ||
| Dental Public Health and Education | 1 | ||
| Design and Applied Arts, Other | 1 | ||
| Folklore Studies | 1 | ||
| Microbiology and Immunology | 1 | ||
| Music Performance, General | 1 | ||
| Political Science and Government, Other | 1 | ||
| Research and Development Management | 1 | ||
| Ural-Altaic and Central Asian Studies | 1 | ||
| Grand Total | 1,912 | 5,771 | 1,549 |
Harvard University has a graduation rate of 98%, which is among the 2% highest for universities in the US.
| Total | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Graduation rate | 98% | 97% | 99% |
| |||
Publications & Citations
Harvard University is a world-class research university with 690,984 scientific papers published and 45,464,289 citations received. The research profile covers a range of fields, including Medicine, Biology, Chemistry, Genetics, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Pathology, Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Psychology, and Engineering.
Publication / Citation count by topic
Annual publication & citation counts
| Year | Publications | Citations |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 5504 | 183317 |
| 1994 | 5856 | 200356 |
| 1995 | 6370 | 221835 |
| 1996 | 6851 | 242832 |
| 1997 | 7390 | 273521 |
| 1998 | 8043 | 320102 |
| 1999 | 8391 | 360367 |
| 2000 | 8864 | 410530 |
| 2001 | 8775 | 450650 |
| 2002 | 9930 | 509226 |
| 2003 | 10309 | 577424 |
| 2004 | 11374 | 631854 |
| 2005 | 11817 | 702539 |
| 2006 | 13191 | 787510 |
| 2007 | 13695 | 871382 |
| 2008 | 14882 | 961045 |
| 2009 | 15697 | 1061951 |
| 2010 | 17105 | 1168493 |
| 2011 | 18697 | 1291767 |
| 2012 | 19591 | 1426032 |
| 2013 | 20871 | 1537251 |
| 2014 | 21986 | 1643657 |
| 2015 | 22957 | 1719848 |
| 2016 | 24605 | 1781281 |
| 2017 | 26364 | 1902802 |
| 2018 | 27776 | 2040558 |
| 2019 | 29966 | 2267191 |
| 2020 | 35278 | 2758288 |
| 2021 | 34858 | 3070974 |
| 2022 | 32596 | 2967345 |
| 2023 | 34171 | 3038285 |
| 2024 | 31212 | 2988831 |
| 2025 | 27474 | 2689734 |
Harvard University alumni
-
Barack Obama
- Enrolled in Harvard University
- 1988-1991 graduated with Juris Doctor in law
- Occupations
- academiccommunity organizermemoiristpolitical writerpodcaster
- Biography
-
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president. Obama previously served as a U.S. senator representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 and as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004.
-
John F. Kennedy
- Enrolled in Harvard University
- 1936-1940 graduated with Bachelor of Arts in international relations
- Occupations
- anti-communistwriternaval officerstatespersonpolitician
- Biography
-
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the youngest person elected president at 43 years. Kennedy served at the height of the Cold War, and the majority of his foreign policy concerned relations with the Soviet Union and Cuba. A member of the Democratic Party, Kennedy represented Massachusetts in both houses of the United States Congress before his presidency.
-
Bill Gates
- Enrolled in Harvard University
- Studied in 1973-1975
- Occupations
- computer scientistprogrammerinvestorentrepreneur
- Biography
-
William Henry Gates III is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend Paul Allen. Gates became the world's then-youngest billionaire in 1987, at age 31. This followed Microsoft's initial public offering in the previous year and subsequent stock increase. Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's wealthiest person for 18 out of 24 years between 1995 and 2017, including 13 years consecutively from 1995 to 2007. Gates became the first centibillionaire in 1999, when his net worth briefly surpassed US$100 billion. According to Forbes, as of May 2025, his net worth stood at US$115.1 billion, making him the thirteenth-richest individual in the world.
-
Robert Oppenheimer
- Occupations
- physicistuniversity teacherengineerscientistresearcher
- Biography
-
J. Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist who served as the director of the Manhattan Project's Los Alamos Laboratory during World War II. He is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in overseeing the development of the first nuclear weapons.
General info
| Alternative names | HU |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1636 |
| Motto | Veritas |
| Colors | crimson |
| Academic calendar | September to August (September - January; January-June; June-August) |
| Total FTE staff | 19,791 |
| Carnegie classification | Doctoral Universities: Very High Research Activity |
Location and contacts
| Address | Massachusetts Hall Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138 United States |
|---|---|
| City population | 118,000 |
| Phone | 6174951000 |