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In the US, almost all college students live away from home on college campus in dormitories. It is the first experience for most young men and women preparing to be adults and learning to live and interact with people other than their family members. It is a vital and important life experience leading to many life long bonds.

At Harvard this dormitory experience goes one step further. The Harvard dormitories beginning in the second year for students are called “House”. Each “House” functions literally like a small city with its own kitchen, library, recreation, sports and other facilities in addition to living quarters. While entering freshmen live together in a cluster of freshmen dormitories, each freshman must choose his/her roommates and one of the Houses to live for the next three years at the end of their freshman stay. Each house has a master who together with his/her spouse functions as the head of the House in the spirit of “local parents” or the mayor of the small city. The master is usually a faculty member of the university who are assisted by a number of resident senior tutors usually junior faculty members and  proctors on each floor of the house mostly graduate students pursuing their ph.d degrees. A large number of nonresident tutors, again faculty members, who participate in the various events of the house, such as lunches and dinners, seminars, etc. Thus, the House functions as a city of scholars, each with its own distinct name and character as defined by the House Master and the residents. Residents of the Houses can further form smaller groups of similar interest. For example, a “French table” is a group of students in the House who will only speak French when they dine together each day. Tutors, proctors, and non-resident faculty members specializing in French studies are invited to dine together at the table. In short, the Houses are designed to enrich further the learning experiences of the students during the three years they and their friends are in residence there. Here is a link to a recent article on the various Houses. http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/photo-journal/more-than-a-residence-the-houses-of-harvard/

For those of you familiar with the Oxford-Cambridge system of British elite universities, Harvard Houses are like Colleges in Cambridge or Oxford.

Note added 10/24/12 for another view http://alumni.harvard.edu/events/harvard-house-renewal-project-visit-to-scale-quincy-house-model