Where the Students Are

At each Commencement, Harvard confers 6,500 or so degrees, on everyone from College students who have navigated their undergraduate years to...

At each Commencement, Harvard confers 6,500 or so degrees, on everyone from College students who have navigated their undergraduate years to those who have mastered architecture, medicine, law, or business. But the Univeristy consists, famously, of separate “tubs” devoted to distinct kinds of teaching and research. As if one could not tell from the relative amount of noise the graduates make or the flurries of totems they wield in Tercentenary Theatre (toothbrushes, school books, sharks, condom balloons, currency), Harvard’s schools vary widely in enrollment. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, acting as College and Graduate School, accounts for about half of the University’s student body. Dental Medicine is the smallest school. Taken as a whole, the Extension School ranks right in the middle.

Illustrated chart by Stephen Anderson

Most popular

Harvard Faculty Group Proposes Limits on A Grades

The grade inflation measure requires a full faculty vote, expected in the spring.

Harvard Students, Alumni to Compete at the 2026 Olympics

Six Crimson athletes are headed to the XXV Winter Games in Milano Cortina 

Why Men Are Falling Behind in Education, Employment, and Health

Can new approaches to education address a growing gender gap?

Explore More From Current Issue

Historic church steeple framed by bare tree branches against a clear sky.

Harvard’s Financial Challenges Lead to Difficult Choices

The University faces the consequences of the Trump administration—and its own bureaucracy.

A bald man in a black shirt with two book covers beside him, one titled "The Magicians" and the other "The Bright Sword."

Novelist Lev Grossman on Why Fantasy Isn’t About Escapism

The Magicians author discusses his influences, from Harvard to King Arthur to Tolkien.

Cover of "Harvard's Best" featuring a woman in a red and black gown holding a sword.

A Forgotten Harvard Anthem

Published the year the Titanic sank, “Harvard’s Best” is a quizzical ode to the University.