Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. It was founded in 1636 and is the oldest institution of higher education in the United States. Harvard was established by the Massachusetts colonial legislature and named after its first benefactor, John Harvard, who left his library and half his estate to the university upon his death.

Harvard University has several campuses in the Boston metropolitan area, with its main campus situated in Cambridge. The university has 12 degree-granting schools, including Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the Law School, the Business School, the Medical School, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The university also has a number of research centers, museums, and libraries, including the Harvard University Library system, which is the largest academic library system in the world.

Harvard University is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, and its programs have received accreditation from a number of other organizations, including the American Bar Association, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Harvard is consistently ranked as one of the top universities in the world and is currently ranked second in the world by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and third in the world by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. The university has produced a large number of distinguished alumni, including eight U.S. presidents, 158 Nobel laureates, and over 30 foreign heads of state. Its faculty includes numerous Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur Fellows, and National Academy of Sciences members, among other prestigious accolades. Overall, Harvard is known for its academic excellence, world-class faculty, and notable alumni.