Harvard University

In the years since Harvard Medical School was founded in 1782, HMS has continued to innovate and influence medical education. Students today are divided into five academic societies, which offer mentoring and advising and enable team-based learning under faculty supervision. Students interested in a biomedical research career can apply to the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology program.

Following the annual White Coat Ceremony for the entering class, most HMS students pursue the Pathways program, in which they study core scientific concepts and build clinical skills early before beginning principal clinical experiences in the second year. In preclerkship courses, there are no traditional letter grades – students are graded either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Students study at the medical school campus in Boston’s Longwood Medical Area, and can complete clinicals at affiliated institutions throughout the city. Medical students may also opt for joint degrees, like an M.D./Ph.D. and M.D./MBA, and can cross-register in courses at other schools within the university, including the highly ranked Law School and Business School.

Despite the grueling course load, HMS makes sure its students have some fun through events and social groups, like the HMS Chamber Music Society, along with a variety of extracurricular organizations focused on service, identity and more.

Medical and dental students who wish to live on campus share a residence hall. Among the more than 10,000 living alumni of Harvard Medical School are the first Surgeon General of the U.S. Army Joseph Lovell and surgeon and former U.S. Senator Bill Frist.