Harvard University Office of News and Public Affairs

Harvard at a Glance

Established
1636

Faculty
About 1,900 faculty members and more than 10,000 academic appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals

Students
Harvard College — About 6,700
Graduate and professional students — About 12,300
Total — About 20,000

School color
crimson

Living alumni
More than 300,000, over 250,000 in the U.S., nearly 50,000 in some 190 other countries

Nobel Laureates
43 current and former faculty members

Motto
Veritas
(Latin for "truth")

Real estate holdings
4,947 acres

Library collection
Nearly 16 million volumes

Faculties, schools, and an institute
Harvard University is made up of 10 principal academic units — nine faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study. The nine faculties oversee schools and divisions that offer courses and award academic degrees.

Undergraduate cost
2008-09 academic year
Tuition — $32,557
Total including room, board, student service fees — $47,215

Financial aid
2008-09 academic year
Nearly $40,000 average total aid package

University Professors
20 ‘individuals of distinction’

President Drew Faust

Harvard University President
Drew Faust

University income
Fiscal Year 2007
$3,210,506,000

University expenses
Fiscal Year 2007
$3,170,650,000

Endowment
Fiscal Year 2008
$36.9 billion

Harvard seal Harvard Veritas shield with leaves circling a red shield with open books, each book has letters on it and together they spell Veritas

Naming Harvard
The name Harvard comes from the college's first benefactor, the young minister John Harvard of Charlestown. Upon his death in 1638, he left half his estate to the institution established in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

More Information
These numbers come from many sources, including the Harvard University Fact Book and the Annual Financial Report to the Board of Overseers of Harvard College. The Frequently Asked Question about numbers and statistics links to additional sources.