Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Encyclopedia
The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences (also known as FAS) is the largest of the seven faculties that constitute Harvard University
.
Headquartered principally in Cambridge
, Massachusetts
and centered in the historic Harvard Yard
, FAS is the only division of the university responsible for both undergraduate and graduate education. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is responsible for the courses offered at Harvard College
, the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
, and the Harvard Extension School
. It is currently headed by Dean
Michael D. Smith, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering within FAS.
As of October 2003, FAS comprised approximately 700 tenure
d professors, untenured associate professors and assistant professors, and an additional 300 part-time lecturers in some 30 academic departments and programs in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, the applied sciences and engineering. There are 6,500 full-time undergraduates (Harvard College
) and 3,500 graduate students (Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
). The Harvard Division of Continuing Education
welcomes about 20,000 students annually in its open enrollment courses; its admitted degree programs include about 1,000 undergraduates and 550 graduate students. In fiscal year 2003, FAS has an operating budget of $698 million and revenue of $800 million. As of June 2003, the FAS endowment had a market value of $8 billion. Harvard's total endowment now stands at $34.9 billion.
FAS consists of the following degree granting colleges, schools, and divisions:
In addition, FAS includes 35 research centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs, and eleven museums. The Harvard College Library, which is also part of FAS, consists of eleven major libraries, including the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, and holds some 9 million volumes.
The dean
of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is the chief administrative and academic officer of FAS, responsible to the president
and provost
of Harvard 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, the Harvard Corporation
and the Harvard 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 current dean, Michael D. Smith, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, assumed the position in July 2007. The deans of GSAS, SEAS, Harvard College
, and Continuing Education 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.
, medicine
, and divinity
), with the later additions of the Dental School, the Lawrence Scientific School, and the Bussey School of Agriculture. The Governing Boards established a Graduate Department in 1872 to administer and recommend candidates for the degrees of master of arts
, master of science
, Doctor of Philosophy
, and Doctor 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, a deliberative body responsible for instructing and recommending candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts, Doctor of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. The Graduate Department became the Graduate School of Harvard University. In 1905, the name changed to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Lawrence Scientific School opened in 1847 and marked Harvard's first major effort to provide a systematic program in engineering and the physical sciences. In 1905, the Lawrence Scientific School became the Graduate School of Engineering. In 1948, the School merged with the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics in FAS to form the Division of Applied Sciences. In 2007, the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences formally became the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Headquartered principally in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and centered in the historic Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard
Harvard Yard is a grassy area of about , adjacent to Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that constitutes the oldest part and the center of the campus of Harvard University...
, FAS is the only division of the university responsible for both undergraduate and graduate education. The Faculty of Arts and Sciences is responsible for the courses offered at Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the academic unit responsible for many post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University...
, and the Harvard Extension School
Harvard Extension School
Harvard University Extension School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of the thirteen degree-granting schools of Harvard University and is part of the Division of Continuing Education.-Origins:...
. It is currently headed by Dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
Michael D. Smith, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering within FAS.
As of October 2003, FAS comprised approximately 700 tenure
Tenure
Tenure commonly refers to life tenure in a job and specifically to a senior academic's contractual right not to have his or her position terminated without just cause.-19th century:...
d professors, untenured associate professors and assistant professors, and an additional 300 part-time lecturers in some 30 academic departments and programs in the humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, the applied sciences and engineering. There are 6,500 full-time undergraduates (Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
) and 3,500 graduate students (Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the academic unit responsible for many post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University...
). The Harvard Division of Continuing Education
Harvard Division of Continuing Education
The Division of Continuing Education is a part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University responsible for various undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs that enroll approximately 20,000 students each year. The division has an open enrollment policy , and tuition on a per...
welcomes about 20,000 students annually in its open enrollment courses; its admitted degree programs include about 1,000 undergraduates and 550 graduate students. In fiscal year 2003, FAS has an operating budget of $698 million and revenue of $800 million. As of June 2003, the FAS endowment had a market value of $8 billion. Harvard's total endowment now stands at $34.9 billion.
Organization
FAS consists of the following degree granting colleges, schools, and divisions:
- Harvard CollegeHarvard CollegeHarvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
(established 1636) - The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS)Harvard Graduate School of Arts and SciencesThe Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the academic unit responsible for many post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University...
(established 1890) - The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS)Harvard School of Engineering and Applied SciencesThe Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science , a school within Harvard University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences , serves as the connector and integrator of Harvard's teaching and research efforts in engineering, applied sciences, and technology.Engineering and applied sciences at Harvard...
(established 1950) - The Division of Continuing Education and University Extension SchoolHarvard Division of Continuing EducationThe Division of Continuing Education is a part of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University responsible for various undergraduate, graduate, and non-degree programs that enroll approximately 20,000 students each year. The division has an open enrollment policy , and tuition on a per...
(Harvard Summer School established 1871; Harvard Extension School established 1909)
- Commonly the FAS is broken down only into the College, the GSAS, and the Extension School. This is because the SEAS does not award earned degrees. Undergraduate concentrators and masters and doctoral students in the engineering and applied science departments instead receive their degrees from the College and GSAS, respectively.
In addition, FAS includes 35 research centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs, and eleven museums. The Harvard College Library, which is also part of FAS, consists of eleven major libraries, including the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, and holds some 9 million volumes.
The dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is the chief administrative and academic officer of FAS, responsible to the president
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
and provost
Provost (education)
A provost is the senior academic administrator at many institutions of higher education in the United States, Canada and Australia, the equivalent of a pro-vice-chancellor at some institutions in the United Kingdom and Ireland....
of Harvard 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, the Harvard Corporation
President and Fellows of Harvard College
The President and Fellows of Harvard College is the more fundamental of Harvard University's two governing boards...
and the Harvard Board of Overseers
Harvard Board of Overseers
The Harvard Board of Overseers is one of Harvard University's two governing boards...
, 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 current dean, Michael D. Smith, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, assumed the position in July 2007. The deans of GSAS, SEAS, Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
, and Continuing Education 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.
History
While Harvard traces its origins to 1636, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences only came into existence in the late nineteenth century. From 1820 until 1872, Harvard consisted of the College and the three professional schools (in lawHarvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
, medicine
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
, and divinity
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University, located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. The School's mission is to train and educate its students either in the academic study of religion, or for the practice of a religious ministry or other public...
), with the later additions of the Dental School, the Lawrence Scientific School, and the Bussey School of Agriculture. The Governing Boards established a Graduate Department in 1872 to administer and recommend candidates for the degrees of master of arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, master of science
Master of Science
A Master of Science is a postgraduate academic master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is typically studied for in the sciences including the social sciences.-Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay:...
, Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, and Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
. In 1890, the Governing Boards merged separate faculties of the Lawrence Scientific School and the College into a single Faculty of Arts and Sciences, a deliberative body responsible for instructing and recommending candidates for the degrees of Master of Arts, Doctor of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy. The Graduate Department became the Graduate School of Harvard University. In 1905, the name changed to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Lawrence Scientific School opened in 1847 and marked Harvard's first major effort to provide a systematic program in engineering and the physical sciences. In 1905, the Lawrence Scientific School became the Graduate School of Engineering. In 1948, the School merged with the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics in FAS to form the Division of Applied Sciences. In 2007, the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences formally became the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences.