# Student Activities

**Source**: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/why-harvard/student-activities
**Parent**: https://college.harvard.edu/admissions/apply

## Overview

Expand Your Mind. Explore Your Passion.

Your education doesn't stop at the classroom door. Student activities are a vital part of the Harvard experience, complementing your studies and creating opportunities for friendship and self-discovery.

## Athletics

[Harvard Athletics](http://www.gocrimson.com/landing/index) offers forty-two Division I intercollegiate varsity teams for women and men — more than any other Division I college — as well as numerous club and intramural sports and recreational activities. More than eighty percent of our students participate athletics of some kind.

**Crimson Pride**

Harvard is home to 42 Division I intercollegiate sports teams - more than any other college in the country.

- **Varsity teams** include baseball, basketball, crew, cross-country, fencing, field hockey, football, golf, ice hockey, lacrosse, rugby, sailing, skiing, soccer, softball, squash, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, water polo, wrestling.
- **Club teams** include aikido, archery, badminton, ballroom dance, basketball, bodybuilding, bowling, boxing, cheerleading, cycling, fencing, figure skating, hapkido, juggling, jujitsu, kendo, lacrosse, polo, rugby, Shaolin kempo, Shotokan karate, skiing, soccer, table tennis, tae kwon do, tai chi/kung fu, tennis, ultimate Frisbee, volleyball, and wushu.

[Go to gocrimson.com](http://www.gocrimson.com/landing/index)

## Student Organizations

Join one of seven orchestras. Tour the world in an a cappella group. Write for the only daily student newspaper on the Associated Press wire.

### Here is a sampling of our more than 450 student organizations:

- #### Music

  Join an orchestra, chamber music ensemble, the [Harvard University Band](https://harvardband.org), jazz combo, concert band, choral group, gospel choir, or glee club.
- #### Visual Arts

  Take workshops in printmaking, ceramics, drawing, painting, pottery, photography, sculpture, or filmmaking.
- #### Media and journalism

  Work on a student newspaper, political publication, humor magazine, ethnic publication, student-run radio or television program, or the yearbook.
- #### Public Service

  Provide after-school tutoring, lead youth summer camps, or join in everything from refugee projects to health awareness campaigns and adult education programs.
- #### International and multicultural

  Explore our more than fifty cultural, ethnic, and international organizations. One of the most anticipated celebrations each year is “Cultural Rhythms,” a festival showcasing student performances and ethnic cuisine from more than thirty clubs and organizations.
- #### Drama and dance

  Take credit and non-credit courses in acting, directing, playwriting, dramaturgy, and design at the [Loeb Drama Center](http://www.americanrepertorytheater.org/venue/loeb-drama-center); be part of drama productions at Farkas Hall, our newly dedicated theater; or participate in non-credit classes in dance, choreography, and improvisation at the [Harvard College Dance Center](http://ofa.fas.harvard.edu/dance/). Harvard has more than sixty student productions a year and more than twenty student dance companies.
- #### Political and pre-professional

  Join student government, speech, debate, political, pre-professional, or special-interest groups.
- #### Faith, identity, and culture

  Explore religious, BGLTQ, or cultural groups to find students whose interests and background match your own.

## Join ROTC

### Join ROTC

Serve your country and gain valuable leadership experience through the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). ROTC is an officially recognized student activity, and your military service counts as public service. To join ROTC at Harvard, cross-register with one of the three service programs:

[### Number of Armed Services Veterans at Harvard on the Rise](https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2024/11/number-of-armed-services-veterans-at-harvard-on-the-rise/)

## Leadership & Service

Giving back to communities and serving actively in government are ideals that are fundamental to Harvard’s mission. Whether you have political aspirations, seek a career in nonprofit or non-governmental work, or simply enjoy service for the sake of service, we have activities and organizations that support your goals to serve those around you.

- #### Learn political leadership

  The [Institute of Politics (IOP)](http://www.iop.harvard.edu/) at the Harvard Kennedy School connects students with political leaders and seasoned civil servants. Harvard undergraduates have access to the Institute's [John F. Kennedy Jr. Forum](https://iop.harvard.edu/jfk-jr-forum), one of the world’s premier arenas for political speech, discussion, and debate.

  The IOP also offers:

  - Paid summer internships
  - A nonpartisan quarterly journal written and run entirely by undergraduates
  - A women’s leadership initiative
  - A unique nationwide survey of youth attitudes toward politics and public service, every aspect of which involves Harvard students
- #### Give back through community service

  Join the many students who give back to Harvard and the surrounding communities through a variety of public service programs.

  The [Phillips Brooks House Association](http://pbha.org/) coordinates many programs, and students direct more than 120 service initiatives in Greater Boston—from mentoring local youth and providing literacy tutoring to local adults, to promoting environmental sustainability and running a homeless shelter.
- #### Become a Presidential Public Service Fellow

  For those dedicated to community initiatives, Harvard offers a [Presidential Public Service Fellowship](https://service.harvard.edu/), which supports students who choose to spend a summer doing government, community service, non-governmental organization, or non-profit work, or who develop their own innovative projects that serve the common good.