Life in Boston
Harvard Medical School is the home for the Division of Medical Sciences and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The Longwood area is across the Charles River from Cambridge where the main Harvard campus is found. The two cities offer a geographically compact, rich and varied academic and cultural environment.
Intellectual Hub
There are forty-three colleges and universities in the metropolitan area, which sponsor a multitude of cultural and intellectual activities, all easily accessible via public transportation. The Medical School is in close proximity to MIT, the natural science departments at Harvard in Cambridge, Boston University School of Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine. This creates an unusual concentration of scientific research that draws visiting scientists from around the world.
The main Harvard campus in Cambridge supports a wide variety of facilities for athletics and graduate student activities. Students have access to all the libraries of Harvard University, which is the largest university library system in the world. A free shuttle bus links the area with MIT and Harvard Square in Cambridge.
The Longwood Medical Area
On our side of the river, is the Longwood Medical Area where the Medical School is located. Adjacent to the medical school is the Countway Medical Library which is one of the most complete biomedical research collections in the country. There are also the research laboratories of seven affiliated hospitals and institutes listed below:
- Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
- Joslin Diabetes Center
- Dana Farber Cancer Institute
- Children’s Hospital
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital
- Harvard School of Dental Medicine
- Harvard School of Public Health
The Tosteson Medical Education Center houses the office of the Division of Medical Sciences, a graduate student lounge, and a computer room. Computers are also available in other areas of the Tosteson Medical Education Center, in many laboratories, and at the Countway Medical Library.
Housing
Many students live near the Medical School, or in neighboring Brookline. Others find affordable housing elsewhere in Boston or in Cambridge. Harvard University provides dormitories for married students and graduate students in Cambridge. University housing is also available for single students in Vanderbilt Hall at the Medical School. Vanderbilt Hall also houses some athletic facilities and a branch of the University Health Services.
Things to Do
- In addition to a long list of renowned institutions such as the Museum of Science and the Museum of Fine Arts; Boston itself is a museum, with hundreds of historical sites, an exciting range of architectural styles, and ethnically diverse neighborhoods offering an international flavor.
- Sports fans can follow the Patriots, Bruins, Celtics, or the Red Sox. Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox, is only a short walk from Harvard Medical School.
- The Charles River offers an afternoon of sailing, kayaking, or windsurfing.
- A network of parks known as the "Emerald Necklace" winds from Kenmore Square, through Olmsted Park, past Jamaica Pond, to the 265-acre Arnold Arboretum, which is both a city park and a Harvard research facility.
- Walden Pond and the Great Meadows Wildlife Refuge in Concord are within biking distance.
- There are many beaches around the coast and on Cape Cod. Ample and affordable skiing, hiking, and camping are available in the Berkshires, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. All are accessible in day trips.
- Faneuil Hall, located near the waterfront and famous North End, is one of the first urban historic shopping districts where you’ll find an assortment of shops and restaurants.
- For over 130 years, the Swan Boats have been a part of the Boston experience. They grace the waters of the Boston Public Garden, the first botanical garden in the United States. Famed in the stories Make Way for Ducklings and The Trumpet of the Swan, the Swan Boats are the only boats of their kind in the world.
- The vibrant Boston theater scene includes more than a dozen performance venues in the Downtown Boston Theatre District, where you can enjoy top productions ranging from popular Broadway-type musical shows to avant-garde experimental productions, along with opera, dance, comedy shows, and everything in between.
For Further Information:
Boston.com and Boston Online
City of Cambridge
City of Boston