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History of the Division of Medical Sciences

Historic photo of the Harvard Medical School quad buildings

The turn of the nineteenth century saw a noticeable need to train people towards the goal of eliminating diseases through the area of medical research.  To join in the pursuit of this goal, Harvard University established the Division of Medical Sciences in 1908, a collaboration between the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and the Medical School to train medical students in specific areas of research.

On the fortieth anniversary marking the establishment of DMS, Chairman Edwin J. Cohn created a pamphlet for the occasion.  In the brief, yet detailed work, he recounted the faculty through the years, the degrees awarded to students along with their thesis titles, and excerpts from various reports discussing the status of the division.

We invite you to download all or portions of this charming historic work and to step back into the yesteryears of the division as it looked back on its first forty years.   

Full book (large download)

By Section:

Foreword

Chairmen of the Division

Faculty of the Division

Degrees Awarded

Reports on the Division:

October 13, 1936

October 27, 1945

October 28, 1947

November 16, 1948