About
Radcliffe

Harvard Radcliffe Institute is one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary research and exploration.
The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University—known as Harvard Radcliffe Institute—is one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary exploration. We bring students, scholars, artists, and practitioners together to pursue curiosity-driven research, expand human understanding, and grapple with questions that demand insight from across disciplines.
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Dean Brown-Nagin's Welcome


History, Mission, and Values
In the late 19th century, an era in which women were barred from attending Harvard, a group of educators came together to help qualified women scholars to access instruction by Harvard faculty. This effort eventually led to the founding of Radcliffe College.
It was not until 1999 that Radcliffe would officially merge with Harvard University, and today's Harvard Radcliffe Institute would be established.
Although Radcliffe ceased to be a women’s college in 1999, its history and values are alive and well. Indeed, Radcliffe College’s legacy is at the heart of the Institute’s work today.
The Harvard Radcliffe Institute is unique among the many distinguished schools of Harvard: interdisciplinary by design and animated by an institutional legacy of promoting inclusion.
Read the Institute's Founding Mission Explore Radcliffe’s History: From College to Institute
Our Work: Featured Areas of Inquiry
Who We Are
Harvard Radcliffe Institute is an interdisciplinary community of students, scholars, researchers, practitioners, artists, and others committed to pursuing curiosity-driven research, expanding human understanding, and grappling with questions that demand insight from across disciplines.
