Neil deGrasse Tyson attended a college in Cambridge.
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge , Massachusetts , established in 1636 , whose history , influence , and wealth have made it one of the world 's most prestigious universities . The university is organized into eleven separate academic units -- ten faculties and the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study -- with campuses throughout the Boston metropolitan area : its 209 acre main campus is centered on Harvard Yard in Cambridge , approximately 3 mi northwest of Boston ; the business school and athletics facilities , including Harvard Stadium , are located across the Charles River in the Allston neighborhood of Boston and the medical , dental , and public health schools are in the Longwood Medical Area . Neil deGrasse Tyson . After graduating from the Bronx High School of Science , where he was editor-in-chief of the Physical Science Journal , he completed a bachelor 's degree in physics at Harvard University in 1980 . After receiving a master 's degree in astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin in 1983 , he earned his master 's ( 1989 ) and doctorate ( 1991 ) in astrophysics at Columbia University .