Harvard University as One of the Prestigious Institutions through Ages

Harvard University regarded to be one of the oldest educational establishments in America since the year of its foundation – 1636. At the very beginning, the name of the institution was “New College”, while the main purpose was to educate clergy in particular. And here is our short essay on History of Harvard University.

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However, with some time, in 1639, the university`s name changed. It was named after the Rev. John Harvard – Harvard University. The deal is that Harvard bequeathed a great amount of his estate, alongside with the entire library of his to the school after death. This was a significant reason for an institution to honor this person and take his name.

At the time of colonial era, the curriculum of Harvard University was mainly focused on rote learning by repeated drilling methods. This style of learning was applicable to those existing typical teaching ways of that time. Despite the fact that the university had a small faculty, all professors there has a great reputation of being the most learned and intelligent people of that era. In 1782, students got a chance to learn medicine at university.

If speaking about the construction and architecture, some buildings people can see now on the university grounds originate from the 18^th century. For instance, Massachusetts Hall was constructed in 1720, while Wadsworth House in 1726. All these buildings are of impressive magnificence. Of course, due to the ages, some of the original 17^th-century buildings did not survive. However, their location on the territory on the university is marked with brass markers.

With the time passing, Harvard added some new additional programs to the curriculum, namely, it was law in 1816 and divinity in 1817. During the 19^th century, Harvard celebrated its bicentennial birthday. It was the time when President Josiah Quincy publicly displayed and presented the school’s new shield with the motto “Veritas”. The shield was officially adopted by a school in 1843. Quincy, the 15^th Harvard`s president, was on his position between the years of 1829 and 1845. During this time, some new teaching methods developed. Students were free to choose to study what they want being provided with a greater variety of classes.

1910 was the year when Harvard adopted its new school color – crimson. This happened when two Harvard students of the rowing team gave crimson scarves to everyone in the team in order to see them in the crowd more easily. This is how the idea of a new school color appeared.

During the 20^th century, education was mainly focused on applied learning. President A. Lawrence Lowell was working hard on a new system of “concentration and distribution”, the aim of which was to help students with the choice of the field they want to study in, in order to provide them with more sufficient and productive learning process. This was also the time when scholarships and honor programs were prioritized.

The 21^st century has brought many changes to Harvard University. Harvard offers a lot of opportunities for students and amazing learning processes. Currently, many students, including the foreign ones, are choosing Harvard University as a place to gain their higher education.