Administrative Records

These collections trace the development of the curriculum through the documentation of academic and teaching requirements, the hiring of instructors, and the establishment of policies regarding classroom discipline.

Charter of 1650. Harvard University. Transcription of Charter text.

Laws and statutes of Harvard, 1655-1890.

Commencement Theses, Quaestiones, and Orders of Exercises, 1642-1818.

Early Faculty Minutes, 1725-1806. These early minutes predate the existence of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (established in 1890) and were taken at meetings of what was then simply called "the Faculty," including the Harvard College President, professors and tutors, and occasionally the Librarian, the Steward, and other officers.

Early Records of the Steward, 1649-1812.

Harvard University Corporation records: minutes, 1643-1989.

Records of the Board of Overseers: minutes, 1707-1932.

Records of the Faculty relating to disorders, 1768-ca. 1880s.

Harvard College Records (1636-1750) . Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, vols. 15, 16, 31, 49, 50.  Boston: The Colonial Society, 1925-1975. These volumes contain transcriptions of early Harvard College records. A comprehensive index found in Volume 16 may be searched for relevant keywords, e.g. Apparatus, Degrees, Lectures, Library and subject areas such as Astronomy and Theology.  See volume 15, volume 16, volume 31, volume 49, and volume 50. All volumes are available online.

Index to University records, 1636-1870 and Sibley's private journal, 1847-1882. A name and subject card index to official University records including Overseers’ records, Corporation records, and Faculty minutes. Examples of curriculum-related subject headings include: “Degrees,” “Laws,” “Tutors,” “Professors,” “Studies.” Available online.

Library Records