Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard is an educational institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of the semiautonomous components of Harvard University. It is heir to the name and buildings of Radcliffe College, but unlike that historical institution, its focus is directed not at undergraduate education but postgraduate research.

The Insitute came into being by the agreement of October 1, 1999, under which Radcliffe College finally merged formally into Harvard University. However, long before this date the focus of Radcliffe had already begun to shift, as undergraduate women had for a half-century taken their classes at Harvard, and for a quarter-century lived integrated in dorms with Harvard men.

Among the Institute's most well-known features are the Schlesinger Library for American studies (with a special focus on Women's history), and the Bunting Fellowship Program, both of which date back to Radcliffe College days.

Since January 1, 2000, the first Dean of the Radcliffe Insitute for Advanced Study is Drew Gilpin Faust.