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College and Career Awareness

College & Career Awareness

Studies show that when young people participate in programs and activities that help them envision themselves in future college plans and high-earning careers, the more likely they are to enroll and succeed in college. Harvard is committed to working with schools and organizations to provide opportunities and resources to local youth that help provide pathways for post high school success.

Programs & resources

Program spotlights

Crimson Summer Academy fetes 20 years of ‘life-changing experiences’

More than 200 current students, alumni, and staff celebrated the 20th anniversary of Harvard’s Crimson Summer Academy.
Learn more about Crimson Summer Academy

Celebrating more than 25 years of summer youth employment

With responsibilities that ranged from creating promotional content for University outreach efforts, to assisting with laboratory experiments, 43 Cambridge and Boston teens gained valuable work experience and exposure to a…
Learn more about summer youth employment

Middle schoolers cheer on Harvard women’s basketball during Education Day 2025

More than 600 sixth graders from 10 local public schools filled Harvard’s historic Lavietes Pavilion last Friday to cheer on Harvard women’s basketball in their game against Stony Brook University.…
Learn more about education day

Building college awareness among Boston’s youth

As part of a University-wide effort to support local Boston and Cambridge youth programming that builds college and career awareness, Harvard hosted middle and high school students through several campus…
Learn more about building college awareness

Elementary programs

Summer explorations at the Harvard Ed Portal

Open to Allston-Brighton residents, weekly programs in July and August include the Science of Cooking, anatomy of animals, drama, and more

Learn more about summer explorations

Youth mentoring with Harvard undergraduates

Weekly one-on-one and group meetings at the Harvard Ed Portal with local Allston-Brighton youth focused on academic support and enrichment

Learn more about youth mentoring

Family-friendly athletics events

From Fall Fest to Community Days, families and local youth can enjoy various Harvard Crimson sporting events throughout the year

Learn more about athletic events

Harvard Museum of Natural History: K-12 classes

The Harvard Museum of Natural History brings the museum to the classroom through frameworks-oriented programs taught by museum educators.

Learn more about the classes

Peabody Museum: K-12 programs

The Peabody Museum offers a wide variety of K-12 Programs that encourage students to use observation and inquiry skills to form new perspectives on cultures.

Learn more about the program

Free admission to Harvard Museums

Harvard Art Museums is free to all visitors; Harvard Museum of Natural History and Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology is free to Massachusetts residents on Sunday mornings (year-round) and Wednesday afternoons (September–May)

Learn more about these free events

Middle school programs

Education day with Harvard athletics

6th Grade Cambridge and Boston Public School are invited to attend a Harvard Athletic Event and meet with student-athletes. In 2023, 700 students attended a Harvard Women’s Hockey game.

Learn more about education day

Project Teach campus visits

7th Grade Boston and Cambridge Public School middle schoolers meet with undergraduates, attend short lectures, then enjoy lunch and a campus tour.

Learn more about the campus visits

STEM engagement with Boston Public Schools

8th Grade Boston Public School students spend Pi Day at the Science and Engineering Complex doing hands-on engineering projects and interacting with undergraduate and graduate students studying STEM at Harvard.

Learn more about STEM engagement
Two young students in a museum

Harvard Museum of Natural History: K-12 programs

The Harvard Museum of Natural History brings the museum to the classroom through frameworks-oriented programs taught by museum educators. Middle school programs include: Under Our Feet: The Geology of New England, Climate Change, and Human Origins.

Learn more about the program

A man in front of a column of hieroglyphics

Peabody Museum: K-12 programs

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology offers a wide variety of K-12 Programs that encourage students to use observation and inquiry skills to form new perspectives on cultures. Middle school programs include: Magnificent Maya, Virtual Aztec and Maya Leaders, Virtual Mesopotamian Monuments, and Foragers to Farmers.

Learn more about the program

High school: discovering college and career pathways

College and career resource fair

A day which brings together Boston Public School & Cambridge Rindge & Latin School students to learn about post-secondary schools, technical training programs, and organizations that support first-generation & minority students to attend college.

Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)

SYEP provides valuable work experience to students. SYEP has been instrumental in helping local teenagers develop strong work habits, establish networks, and receive exposure to possible career paths by working in Harvard offices and labs.

Read more
Harvard Art Museums' graduate student teacher program

This collaboration with the Cambridge Rindge & Latin School explores approaches to gallery teaching for high school students, building multi-visit partnerships with high school teachers, using visual art at a tool for teaching, and more.

Read more

High school: focusing on college and career readiness

College application day

Harvard University’s Public School Partnerships (PSP) team offers expertise and resources that support curriculum goals and guide students toward academic success. In the Fall of 2022, PSP organized a College Application Day.

Learn more about the initiative

Science research mentoring program

The Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian (CfA) provides students from Cambridge Rindge & Latin School the opportunity to work on a year-long independent research project in astrophysics.

Learn more about the program

Marine science internship programs

Cambridge Rindge & Latin School high schoolers receive hands-on lab experience and explore career paths available in marine science, through internships in labs across Harvard and throughout the region.

Learn more about the internship
Students in hospital gowns practicing medicine on a dummy

Harvard Medical School summer programs

HMS MEDscience Summer Programs offer innovative, immersive medical science programs for local high school students curious and passionate about science, healthcare, and related STEM fields.

Learn more about the HMS program

High School Lab Skills, Summer 2023
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High school lab pathways

High School Lab Pathways aims to familiarize students with diverse career opportunities in STEM fields through a partnership between the Harvard Ed Portal and Harvard’s Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology. Designed to offer practical experience, the program not only enhances science literacy but also equips students with foundational life science, laboratory, and workforce competencies.

Learn more about the pathways

Student enrichment programs

College application resources

Online tools