Harvard is the oldest and the most prestigious institution of higher learning in the country, founded 16 years after the arrival of the Pilgrims at Plymouth. Starting with nine students and one master, it now serves an enrollment of more than 18,000 degree candidates, including undergraduates and students in 10 graduate and professional schools. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in one or more courses in the Harvard Extension School. Over 14,000 people work at Harvard, including more than 2,000 faculty. There are also 7,000 faculty appointments in affiliated teaching hospitals. Seven US presidents graduated here. Its faculty have produced nearly 40 Nobel laureates.
Although many of its early graduates became ministers in Puritan congregations throughout New England, the College was never formally affiliated with a specific religious denomination.
