哈佛大学共出过8位美国总统和数十位诺贝尔、普利策奖获得者。此外，还培养了一大批知名的学术创始人、世界级的学术带头人、文学家、思想家，如诺伯特·德纳、拉尔夫·爱默生、亨利·梭罗、亨利·詹姆斯、查尔斯·皮尔士、罗伯特·弗罗斯特、威廉·詹姆斯、杰罗姆·布鲁纳、乔治·梅奥等；著名外交家、美国前国务卿亨利·基辛格也出自哈佛。
近代中国，也有许多科学家、作家、学者曾就读于哈佛大学，如胡刚复、竺可桢、杨杏佛、赵元任、陈寅恪、林语堂、梁实秋、梁思成、江泽涵等。
而马克·扎克伯格和比尔·盖茨则是该校久负盛名的辍学生。 国家元首 ALUMNUS/AYEAR DEGREE GRANTEDTITLETshering Tobgay2004Prime Minister of BhutanTsakhiagiin Elbegdorj2002President of MongoliaFelipe Calderón Hinojosa2000President of MexicoBarack Obama 1991President of the United StatesJosé María Figueres Olsen1991President of Costa RicaJamil Mahuad1989President of EcuadorEduardo Rodriguez1988President of BoliviaMasako Owada1985Crown Princess of JapanBan Ki-Moon1984Secretary-General of the United NationsSir Donald Tsang1982Chief Executive & President, Executive Council, Hong KongMa Ying-jeou1981President of TaiwanJuan Manuel Santos1981President of ColombiaLee Hsien Loong1980Prime Minister, SingaporeAnnette Lu1978Vice President of the Republic of ChinaSebastian Pinera1976President of ChileJohn Roberts1976; 1979Chief Justice of the United StatesGeorge W. Bush, Jr.1975President of the United StatesBenazir Bhutto1973Prime Minister of PakistanEllen Johnson-Sirleaf1971President of LiberiaAl Gore1969Vice President of the United StatesMiguel de la Madrid1965President of MexicoWilliam Rehnquist1950Chief Justice of the United StatesPierre Trudeau1945Prime Minister of CanadaAndreas Papandreou1943Prime Minister of GreeceJohn F. Kennedy1940President of the United StatesFan S. Noli1912Prime Minister of AlbaniaFranklin Delano Roosevelt1904President of the United StatesWilliam Lyon Mackenzie King1898Prime Minister of CanadaTheodore Roosevelt1880President of the United StatesRutherford B. Hayes1845President of the United StatesJohn Quincy Adams1787President of the United StatesJohn Adams1755President of the United States普利策奖得主 RECIPIENTYEAR PRIZE AWARDEDCATEGORYStephen Greenblatt2012NonfictionCaroline Elkins2006NonfictionGeraldine Brooks2006FictionSamantha Power2003NonfictionJorie Graham*1996PoetryBert Hölldobler1991NonfictionEdward O. Wilson1991NonfictionLaurel Thatcher Ulrich*1991HistoryDavid Donald1988BiographyBernard Bailyn1987HistoryThomas K. McCraw1985HistoryBernard Rands*1984MusicPaul E. Starr1984NonfictionEdward O. Wilson1979NonfictionWalter Jackson Bate1978BiographyAlfred Chandler Jr.1978HistoryJohn E. Mack1977BiographyDonald Martino*1974MusicRobert Coles1973NonfictionMario Davidosky*1971MusicBernard Bailyn1968HistoryGeorge F. Kennan1968BiographyLeon Kirchner1967MusicBernard Malamud1967FictionPerry Miller***1966HistoryHoward Mumford Jones1965NonfictionWalter Jackson Bate1964BiographyDavid Donald*1961BiographyWalter Piston1961MusicSamuel Eliot Morison**1960BiographyArchibald MacLeish1959DramaArchibald MacLeish1953PoetryOscar Handlin1952HistoryWalter Piston1948MusicArthur M. Schlesinger Jr.1946HistoryRobert Frost1943PoetrySamuel Eliot Morison1943BiographyPaul Herman Buck1938HistoryRalph Barton Perry1936BiographyRobert Hillyer1934PoetryArchibald MacLeish*1933PoetryFrederick J. Turner1933HistoryEdward Channing1926HistoryHarvey Cushing1926BiographyMark A. DeWolfe Howe1925BiographyCharles McIlwain1924HistoryHenry Adams1919Biography
