Honoring the Class of 2021

Forever ’21

Highlighting the accomplishments and celebrating the bright futures of Harvard’s Class of 2021

Learn about the virtual ceremony and each School’s celebration

Whether you missed the ceremony or just want to watch the jubilation all over again, you can explore this year's virtual ceremony with our video playlist.

Watch the ceremony

Explore the ceremonies

Ruth Simmons urges graduates to fight for equality and inclusion

Ruth Simmons, one of the nation’s top higher education leaders and president of Prairie View A&M University, called on Harvard and its graduating Class of 2021 to fight to close the chasm of inequality that recent years have illustrated still exists in America.

Harvard President Bacow delivers 2021 Baccalaureate speech

President Larry Bacow offered poignant reflections during the Baccalaureate Service honoring the Harvard College Class of 2021.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Harvard to recognize seven with 2021 honorary degrees

Seven honorary degrees will be awarded to Frances Hamilton Arnold, Martin Baron, Arlie Russell Hochschild, Salman Amin Khan, Margaret Hilary Marshall, Anna Deveare Smith, and Sebastião Salgado.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Harvard honors new military officers in ROTC commissioning ceremony

Eleven undergraduates and one student at Harvard’s Extension School will commission as officers in the military during Commencement week.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Basketball star Jeremy Lin gets candid

NBA star and activist Jeremy Lin ’10 spoke to graduating seniors about how he’s come to see his identity as a barrier-breaking Asian American in a new light.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Harvard awards 7,640 degrees, certificates over 2020-21 academic year

At the ceremony honoring the Class of 2021, the University awarded a total of 7,640 degrees and certificates.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

A student wearing a brightly colored dress stands on the Harvard campus

Harvard Graduate School of Education graduate

Shahara Jackson

A successful educator on her own, Shahara Jackson came to Harvard with the goal of becoming a transformational superintendent.

Learn more about Shahara

A student wearing a mask stands by a brick building

Harvard Chan School Graduate

Lawson Ung

Lawson Ung studied eye disease and social determinants of where it’s most common.

Learn more about Lawson

Harvard Graduate school of arts and sciences graduate

Hannah Sim

To better share her knowledge of quantum, Hannah Sim writes articles for the general public, sharing her knowledge through open-source software codes, podcasts, and YouTube.

Learn more about Hannah

Back to the start

From acceptance to move-in day to housing day, look back at the Class of 2021’s early years at Harvard.

Drew Faust with some first year students

The convocation ceremony

President Faust urges the Class of 2021 to connect with classmates and embrace diversity.

The convocation ceremony

Nearly 40,000 apply to College Class of ’21

Prior to the start of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, fewer than 20,000 students applied for admission.

Prior to the start of the Harvard Financial Aid Initiative, fewer than 20,000 students applied for admission.

The Class of ’21 arrives, with boxes

A busy move-in day as the first-years settle into Yard dorms.

A busy move-in day as the first-years settle into Yard dorms.

Housing day for the class of ’21

A nor’easter didn't stop first-year students from playing in the Yard after learning which House they'll live in.

A nor’easter didn't stop first-year students from playing in the Yard after learning which House they'll live in.

White Coat Day 2017

The HMS/HSDM Class of 2021 received their white coats and met each other and faculty during their orientation to medical and dental school.

A woman puts on her new medical white coat

The HMS/HSDM Class of 2021 received their white coats and met each other and faculty during their orientation to medical and dental school.

Meet the Class of 2021

Learn more about these grads’ journeys to Harvard, what they explored while they were here, and where they’re headed next.

Read the profiles

Beyond the ceremonies

Celebrations are smaller, but no less meaningful in a quieter Yard

Capturing the moments of celebration as Harvard recognizes the Class of 2021.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Notable Commencements

University archivist Megan Sniffin-Marinoff, who is retiring after almost 20 years at Harvard, shares notable Commencements and Harvard University Archives’ role in preserving each year’s ceremony.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

The cap (and gown) on a most unusual senior year — Harvard Gazette

Harvard Class of ’21 reflects on experiences, gains, and losses during a challenging pandemic year.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Celebrating plant graduation class of 2021

Plant graduation season, an annual rite of passage at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, is an occasion for pomp and circumstance as well as a reminder of our connections to nature and the power of plants.

Harvard University theses, dissertations, and prize papers

Trace intellectual trends and currents across time, learning from Harvard's best and brightest in this collection at the Harvard University Archives.

Notable moments from Harvard’s 2020-21 academic year

As life returns more to normal, there is so much to reflect on and to celebrate as we look back.

Read more on The Harvard Gazette

Harvard Extension School graduate

Brett Dennis-Duke

Brett Dennis-Duke designed a course of study she calls “medical anthropology” which pieced together the philosophical and theoretical connections between social justice and health care.

Learn more about Brett

Harvard College graduate

Eli Langley

“If there is one thing I can impart to anybody, it’s that it’s worth fighting to change things. People who come after you may never know your name, but they can benefit from the work that you do. It is worth it.”

Learn more about Eli

Harvard Engineering School Graduate

Daniela Villafuerte

When Daniela Villafuerte wasn’t dancing with hip hop, jazz, and ballet troupes or performing in the Harvard-Radcliffe Dramatic Club production of “West Side Story” she was developing a prototype of a device that can track a person’s respiratory rate, heart rate, and oxygen saturation, all through non-contact methods.

Learn more about Daniela

Grand finale

Take a look at some of the the final projects, theses, dissertations, and awards from members of the Class of 2021.

Larisa Owusu

Larisa Owusu’s thesis, “Iconic Market Women: The Unsung Heroines of Post-Colonial Ghana (1960s-1990s)” was an attempt, she says, to highlight the role that market women played and continue to play in redefining Ghana’s post-colonial development.

Mojib Ghaznawi

Harvard Kennedy School student Mojib Ghaznawi coauthored a Policy Analysis Exercise final thesis, exploring State Department staff retention trends.

Jenna Lang

Jenna Lang studied the psychology of communication for her thesis. She says, “This project allowed me to explore how emotion impacts how we perceive news and how much we want to share it.”

Marwah Aman

For her capstone project, SEAS student Marwah Aman developed an accessibility device that reconstructs a physical 3D model of the user’s surroundings.

Onisha Etkins

The dissertation by Harvard Chan School student Onisha Etkins considers intersectional approaches for understanding the impacts of racism on mental health, including migration history and contact with the criminal legal system.

Jonas LaPier

For his capstone project, LaPier developed prediction maps that indicate where heavy metal contamination of well water is more likely.

Sahil Lauji

Sahil Lauji was selected to participate in the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows program run by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Constance Gist

Constance Gist will be honored with the Intellectual Contribution Award for Education Policy and Management (EPM) at HGSE’s Virtual Commencement.

Rawan Alhawamdeh

For her DCE capstone project, Rawan Alhawamdeh researched and developed an evidence-based-therapy approach to treating ASD, ADHD, and giftedness.