 Houghton Library, which serves Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences | |
| Established | 1890; 135 years ago (1890) |
|---|---|
Parent institution | Harvard University |
| Endowment | $17.5 billion (2019) |
| Budget | $1.6 billion (2019) |
| Dean | Hopi Hoekstra (2023 - present) |
Academic staff | 1,221 (2019) |
| Undergraduates | 6,800 |
| Postgraduates | 4,500 |
| Location | ,, U.S. 42°22′27.15″N71°06′59.62″W / 42.3742083°N 71.1165611°W /42.3742083; -71.1165611 |
| Schools | |
| Website | Official website |
  Location in Massachusetts | |
TheHarvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) is a faculty atHarvard University. It administers the undergraduateHarvard College, theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences, theSchool of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and theDivision of Continuing Education.
WhileHarvard College traces its origins to 1636, the body called the Faculty of Arts and Sciences only came into existence in the late nineteenth century. From 1820 until 1872, Harvard University consisted of the college and three professional schools (inlaw,medicine, anddivinity). The governing boards established a Graduate Department in 1872 to administer and recommend candidates for the degrees ofMaster of Arts,Master of Science,Doctor of Philosophy, andDoctor of Science. In 1890, the governing boards merged separate faculties of the Lawrence Scientific School and the College into a single Faculty of Arts and Sciences. The Graduate Department later became theGraduate School of Arts and Sciences.
TheLawrence Scientific School opened in 1847 and marked Harvard's first major effort to offer a formal program in science and engineering. In 1948, the School merged with the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics in FAS to form the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences. In 2007, the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences formally became the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.[1] On June 3, 2015, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences was renamed theHarvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, following a $400 million gift by Harvard Business School alumnusJohn A. Paulson.[2]
As of Fall 2019, FAS comprised 1221 total faculty, including 719tenured and tenure-track professors as well as 502 other professors, lecturers, preceptors, and visiting faculty in some 30 academic departments in the arts and humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, and the engineering and applied sciences.[3] There are approximately 6,800 undergraduates (Harvard College) and 4,500 graduate students (Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Science). The Harvard Division of Continuing Education has 795 admitted undergraduate students and 3,100 admitted graduate students.[4] Furthermore the Harvard Division of Continuing Education welcomes more than 30,000 students annually in its open enrollment courses. In 2019, FAS had a budget of $1.6 billion and a revenue of $1.6 billion.[3] As of 2019, the FAS endowment had a market value of $17.5 billion.[3] Harvard's total endowment stands at $40.9 billion.[5]
In 2023, following a $300 million unrestricted donation by hedge fund managerKenneth Griffin, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences was renamedKenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS).[6][7]
The faculty was headed by interim deanEmma Dench until August 1, 2023, whenHopi Hoekstra became Dean of FAS.[8]
On July 10, 2025, Faculty of Arts and Sciences internally announced that it would shutter Harvard College's diversity office and replace it with an Office for Academic Culture and Community.[9][10]
FAS consists of the following divisions:
In addition, FAS includes 35 research centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs, eleven museums, and numerous libraries.[12]
Thedean of FAS serves as the chief administrative and academic officer, responsible to thepresident andprovost ofHarvard University for all aspects of the division's operations, including budgets, planning, support services, faculty appointments, curricula, student affairs, and fundraising. The dean is appointed by the president with the approval of the university's two governing boards, theHarvard Corporation and theHarvard Board of Overseers, and serves at the pleasure of the president. The dean of FAS is invariably drawn from the ranks of the tenured faculty in the division.
The deans ofHarvard College, GSAS, SEAS, and DCE report to the dean of FAS, as do various academic deans, administrative deans (including those responsible for finance, development, faculty personnel policy, undergraduate admissions and financial aid), and the directors of various research centers and institutes.
From 2018 to 2023, the FAS was headed byClaudine Gay. Following Gay's ascension to president of the university,Hopi Hoekstra was announced to become the new dean of FAS beginning August 1st, 2023.
| Arts and Sciences |
| ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business | |||||||||||||||
| Design | |||||||||||||||
| Divinity |
| ||||||||||||||
| Education | |||||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||||
| Law | |||||||||||||||
| Medicine | |||||||||||||||
| Public Health | |||||||||||||||
| Museums and arboretum | |||||||||||||||
| Cambridge campus | |||||||||||||||
| Centers and institutes | |||||||||||||||
| People | |||||||||||||||
| Athletics |
| ||||||||||||||
| Miscellaneous | |||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
