Education and Scholarships
Harvard University Programs, Opportunities and Campus Life
Harvard University is the oldest higher education institution in the United States and one of the most internationally visible. This guide looks past the name at the structure: what is taught, where research happens, and what student life is really like.
Structure: one university, many schools
Harvard was founded in 1636 and is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River from Boston. Unlike universities with a single large faculty, Harvard is organised into largely self-governing schools.
Harvard College is the undergraduate college. Graduate students study in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and in professional schools that include business, law, medicine, public health, education, engineering and applied sciences, government, design and divinity. Each school runs its own admissions process, deadlines and funding model.
That structure matters for applicants. Applying to Harvard is really applying to a specific school or programme, and the requirements differ sharply between them.
Undergraduate programs and the liberal arts model
Undergraduates are admitted to Harvard College without declaring a major, then choose a concentration - biology, economics, computer science, history, government, engineering and many others - during their first two years.
The curriculum combines a general education requirement across several fields with concentration coursework and electives that may be taken across the university. Students may also apply to joint or secondary fields that combine two disciplines.
Class sizes range from large introductory lectures to small seminars, and the college places emphasis on writing and on small-group teaching in the first two years.
Graduate study and research opportunities
For graduate students, the practical questions are supervisor, laboratory or centre, and funding. Harvard’s research base spans medicine and public health, artificial intelligence and computer science, climate and sustainability, social policy, and the humanities.
Research opportunities for undergraduates also exist in significant numbers: students work in laboratories, assist on policy research, and take part in summer research programmes, many of which are paid or funded. For international students, this is one of the more valuable features of the university, because it provides work experience inside a US research environment.
Professional schools offer their own research centres, clinics and fieldwork. Programmes in public health, government and education in particular are built around applied work with outside partners.
Campus life
Undergraduates live in dormitories in their first year and then in one of the residential Houses, which act as smaller communities with their own dining halls, tutors and traditions. Graduate students live in university housing, in nearby apartments, or in shared houses across Cambridge and Somerville.
Student life is dense: hundreds of organisations covering publications, performance, politics, religious life, athletics and cultural associations. The Harvard International Office supports students on visas with advising, orientation and social programmes.
Living costs in the Boston area are high, and the climate is a real adjustment for students from Nepal - cold, snowy winters followed by humid summers. Many international students find the first winter the hardest part of the move.
Admissions and financial aid
Harvard College admission is highly selective and considers academic achievement, essays, recommendations and personal context. Applicants from Nepal are assessed on the same criteria as everyone else, and no particular school background is required.
Harvard states that its undergraduate financial aid is need-based and that international students are eligible for the same consideration as US students. At graduate level, funding is programme-specific: doctoral programmes commonly offer full funding with a stipend, while master’s programmes in professional schools often require self-funding or external scholarships.
Because testing policies, deadlines and financial aid rules change, applicants should confirm every requirement on the relevant school’s official website before submitting anything.
Frequently asked questions
How many schools does Harvard University have?
Harvard comprises Harvard College and a set of graduate and professional schools, including the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and schools of business, law, medicine, public health, education, engineering, government, design and divinity. Each has its own admissions process.
Can international students get financial aid at Harvard?
Harvard describes its undergraduate aid as need-based and states that international students are eligible for the same programme as US students. Graduate funding depends on the individual programme.
What is campus life like at Harvard?
Undergraduates live in dormitories and then residential Houses, with hundreds of student organisations, and graduate students live on or near campus. Winters in Cambridge are cold and living costs are high compared with most cities.
Do I need a specific undergraduate major to apply?
No. On the liberal arts model, students are admitted without a declared major and choose a concentration during their first two years.
This article is general information about Nepal. Requirements, dates and prices change - always confirm the current position with the relevant official source.