#  Life & Community 

 



##  Life & Community at Harvard 

This section provides information and resources to support international students and scholars when they arrive at Harvard and throughout their time here.



 

 

 

       ![Multicolored chairs are arranged in Harvard Yard](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-05/GettyImages-174921932.jpg?itok=VcHY844H) 

 

 



 

 



 

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##  Learn About Life & Community Resources at Harvard 

 



  [### Welcome to Harvard Guide 

 ](/life-community/welcome-guide)This guide will help you accomplish the tasks necessary to establish yourself in the Boston/Cambridge area.



 

   ![Brick and iron gates against a blue sky](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Harvard%20Gates%20Getty.jpg?itok=6yMNjxRJ) 

 

 

 

  [### Financial Accounts and Personal IDs 

 ](/life-community/financials-personal-id)Learn the basics of setting up a bank account, getting your Massachusetts and Harvard IDs, and more.



 

   ![A person enters their PIN number at an ATM](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/ATM.jpg?itok=_th8Obb2) 

 

 

 

  [### Housing 

 ](/life-community/housing)Learn about different options for housing in the Boston/Cambridge area.



 

   ![People sitting in a grassy courtyard outside a modern six-story brick residential building](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/HUH%201.jpg?itok=medlCdrN) 

 

 

 

  [### Healthcare & Insurance 

 ](/life-community/healthcare)It is crucial that you learn about the differences between the medical care system in your own country and the medical care system in the United States.



 

   ![A doctor in a white coat straps a blood pressure cuff around a patient's arm in a doctor's office](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-06/Doctor%27s%20office_resized.jpg?itok=Zm7GynvH) 

 

 

 

  [### Host Program 

 ](/life-community/host-program)Since 1962, the Host Program has provided an opportunity for connection and friendship between Harvard international graduate students who are new to the United States and residents who live in the Boston area.



 

   ![Four people stand shoulder to shoulder between two historic red-brick buildings](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Host%20Program_Nancy%20Israel%202nd%20photo_Walking%20Tour%20Nov%202022.jpg?itok=TrU6e07x) 

 

 

 

  [### Family Resources 

 ](/life-community/family-resources)This information is designed for spouses, partners, and children accompanying international graduate students and scholars to Harvard.



 

   ![A statue of a duck from the story "Make Way for Ducklings" with her ducklings walking behind her in the Boston Public Garden](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Ducklings_Boston%20Public%20Garden.jpg?itok=oOGD3xGl) 

 

 

 

  [### Campus Resources 

 ](/life-community/campus-resources)Access information you may need to get settled around the University, and take advantage of the resources that Harvard has to offer.



 

   ![Looking down on a street lined with historic brick buildings under a mostly clear sky](/sites/g/files/omnuum10411/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/2026-05/Harvard%20Mass%20Ave%20Getty.jpg?itok=wHXo2S8I)