The idea of elective courses took shape. Harvard became, and remains, a top national university. Virtually all of the full-time faculty hold doctorates. Many are considered leaders in their discipline, and a few have won Nobel prizes. A campus in Boston is home to the law school and the various health-related graduate schools.
Architecture ranges from Georgian brick buildings on the main quadrangle to modern structures.
The library is one of the largest and most prestigious in the world. The University Museum includes the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, the Botanical Museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology, and the Mineralogical Museum. Various types of art exhibits can be found at the Fogg and Sackler museums and at the Carpenter Center for Visual Arts. Admission to undergraduate studies is very competitive, with only about 15 percent of the applicants being accepted. Almost all students ranked in the top tenth of their high school class, and many were valedictorians or National Merit Scholars.