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Facts & History

Overview, quick facts, and history

Year Founded

1847 (as Lawrence Scientific School)

The formation of the Lawrence Scientific School at Harvard University in 1847, 30 years before Edison announced his invention of the phonograph, marked Harvard's first major effort to provide a formal, advanced education in science and engineering. The School was named for Massachusetts industrialist and entrepreneur Abbott Lawrence, who donated $50,000 (an unprecedented sum at the time) to create the institution.

Dean

Cherry A. Murray
Dean, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
John A. Elizabeth S. A. Armstrong Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Administration

 Academic Programs

 Undergraduate Concentrations

Graduate Programs

Graduate students may work towards a Master of Science, Master of Engineering, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in one of four subjects—Applied Mathematics, Applied Physics, Computer Science, and Engineering Sciences—or graduate with a Ph.D. in the Science, Technology & Management program (with Harvard Business School).

Those students earning a degree in Engineering Sciences can specialize in one of the following areas:  Bioengineering, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Sciences and Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering.

In keeping with the interdisciplinary nature of modern research, we do not have traditional academic departments and do not award degrees by specific research area.

Faculty & Research

Faculty FTEs

  • Tenured: 47.5
  • Associate/Assistant Professors: 19.0
  • Professor of the Practice: 1.25
  • Lecturers, Visitors: 6.58
  • Total: 74.33 (equivalent to 80 participating faculty)
  • Total Participating: Over 100 (from areas including physics, chemistry, business, and biology)

Faculty By Broad Areas (individuals may be in more than one area)

  • Applied Mathematics: 26
  • Applied Physical Sciences and Engineering: 54
    • Including Applied Physics; Environmental Sciences and Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering
  • Chemical and Biological Sciences and Engineering: 21
  • Computer Science and Electrical Engineering: 51

Primary Research Areas

Faculty Research Area Directory (PDF)

Awards

14 members of our current faculty, including those in administrative positions, are members of the National Academy of Engineering (with 19 total memberships across the entire University), and eight are members of the National Academy of Sciences. Other major honors and awards include: Harvard College Professorships; McArthur Genius Award; Guggenheim fellowship; and Alpha Iota Prizes for Excellence in Teaching.

Information on rankings

Impact

According to the Times Higher Education Supplement, Harvard ranked # 1 among institutions in engineering based on impact (Data from Thomson Scientific’s Essential Science Indicators, 1 January 1997–31 October 2007): Papers: 1067 (papers); 12,788 (citations); 11.99 (citations per paper). In terms of citation impact, Harvard ranked second nationally in the category of Engineering and Computer Science in a 2002 analysis by ISI (for 1998-2002 data).

More statistics on research impact

Milestones

From the invention of baking powder to the development of one of the first electromechanical computers to the first flight of a robotic fly, engineers and applied scientists at Harvard have and are continuing to make major contributions to the field. 

Students

Undergraduate Enrollment (2008-2009)

366 Undergraduate Students (Note: All Harvard undergraduates are enrolled in Harvard College.)

By Gender

  • Women: 129 (32%)
  • Men: 237 (68%)

By Degree

  • Applied Mathematics: 157 Total (83 Male/74 Female)
  • Computer Science: 95 Total (79 Male/16 Female)
  • Engineering Sciences: 114 Total (75 Male/39 Female)

By Ethnicity

  • African American: 17
  • Hispanic: 17
  • Asian: 85
  • Foreign National: 68

Graduate Enrollment (2008-2009)

  • Total graduate engineering enrollment: 383
  • Master's degree full-time: 30
  • Master's degree part-time: 10
  • Ph.D. full-time: 343
  • Ph.D. part-time: 0

Students by Degree & Degree Area (2009)

Note: Numbers are approximate (depending on time of declaration of field).

  • Applied Mathematics: 21
  • Applied Physics: 119
  • Computer Science: 76
  • Engineering Sciences: 160
  1. Biomedical Engineering and Biomechanics: 49
  2. Electrical Engineering: 57
  3. Environmental Sciences and Engineering: 16
  4. Mechanical Engineering and Solid and Fluid Mechanics: 27
  5. Engineering and Physical Biology: 1
  6. Collaborative Applied Science Programs: 3

Student Demographics (2008-2009)

  • Percent of men enrolled full-time: 74.0%
  • Percent of women enrolled full-time: 26.0%
  • Percent of minorities enrolled full-time: 13.9%
  • Percent of international students enrolled full-time: 46.1%
  • Percent of men enrolled part-time: 90.0%
  • Percent of women enrolled part-time: 10.0%
  • Percent of minorities enrolled part-time: 10%
  • Percent of international students enrolled part-time: 10%

2008 Graduates

  • Total graduates: 97
  • Total number of master's graduates: 69
  • Percent international master's graduates: 40.6%
  • Percent minority master's graduates: 14.5%
  • Percent female master's graduates: 20.3%
  • Total number of Ph.D. graduates: 28
  • Percent international Ph.D. graduates: 39.3%
  • Percent minority Ph.D. graduates: 21.4%
  • Percent female Ph.D. garduates: 21.4%

Campus

 Our campus is located on the main Harvard University campus just north of historic Harvard Yard and bounded to the east by Oxford Street. To the west, across an oak-filled quadrangle, is the Harvard Law School.

We are situated among the buildings housing the University's Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Planetary Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics departments.

Our world-class facilities provide over 400,000 square feet of interconnected labs, classrooms, clusters, and offices designed to encourage researchers and students to cross boundaries and collaborate.

Primary buildings include: Maxwell Dworkin, Pierce Hall, Cruft Laboratory, Gordon McKay Laboratory of Applied Science, the Engineering Sciences Laboratory, and 60 Oxford Street. (The first three of these facilities are interconnected.)

Buildings

40 Oxford Street

Bioengineering; Environmental Sciences & Engineering; Microbiology; Scientific Machine Shop.

60 Oxford Street (3rd and 4th floors)

Bioengineering; Applied Sciences.
(Note that the first two floors are occupied by University Information Systems and the building is highly secured. Harvard ID and/or a prior appointment is necessary to gain access.)

Cruft Hall

Applied Physics; Physics. Bridge links to LISE and Pierce.

Gordon McKay Laboratory of Applied Science

9 Oxford Street
Applied Physics; Mechanical Engineering. Links directly to LISE and the Science Center (underground).

The Laboratory for Integrated Science and Engineering (LISE)

This facility, shared with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, houses collaborations in the areas of nanoscale science and nanoscale systems research. Links to Cruft, McKay Laboratory, the Harvard Science Center.

Maxwell Dworkin

33 Oxford Street
Computer Science; Electrical Engineering; Social Center and Café. Bridge to Pierce Hall.

Northwest Building

FAS operated building supporting interdisciplinary research facilities and classrooms.

Pierce Hall

29 Oxford Street
Dean’s Office; SEAS Administration; Academic Office; Library; Applied Mathematics; Bioengineering; Environmental Sciences & Engineering; Mechanical Engineering. [Mail; Kitchen]. Bridge to Maxwell Dworkin.

Alumni 

Over 6,000 affiliated graduates

Financials

  • Endowment: $771 million (estimated, end of FY 2009)
  • Sponsored research (end of FY 2009)
    •  $34.7 million - federal agencies

      ($655 thousand per faculty member - top 10 among U.S. engineering schools)

    • $5.8 million - non-federal sources
    • $3.4 million - gifts restricted to faculty research
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