Harvard Model United Nations

History

HMUN was founded in 1955 by Harvard undergraduates and has run every year since. It is the high-school counterpart to Harvard's later college conference, Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN), and to the international-rotating Harvard World Model UN (WorldMUN).

Both HMUN and its sister conferences are organized by the Harvard International Relations Council (IRC), an undergraduate organization. Secretariat positions are competitive and widely seen as one of the most demanding MUN leadership roles a U.S. undergraduate can hold.

Format and committees

HMUN runs a mix of large General Assembly (GA) bodies, mid-sized ECOSOC and specialized agencies, and smaller historical, regional, and crisis committees. Crisis committees at HMUN are known for fast pacing, frequent backroom mechanics, and detailed background guides.

GA committees follow standard parliamentary procedure with moderated and unmoderated caucuses, working papers, and draft resolutions. Specialized and crisis bodies often deviate from the standard ROP — read the conference's procedure guide before arriving.

Who attends

HMUN attracts a strong international delegation pool, with significant turnout from East Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Europe in addition to the U.S. competitive circuit. Many top U.S. travel teams put HMUN on their core schedule.

Because HMUN is invitational and large, schools commonly send delegations of 10–25 students. Solo delegates and small clubs do attend, but the conference is built around school-level travel teams.

What makes it distinct

Three things set HMUN apart on the U.S. high-school circuit: the depth of background guides (often 30+ pages with detailed primary-source references), the procedural seriousness of the chairs, and the visibility of awards within college-admissions and post-conference recruitment networks.

The conference's age and continuity mean its alumni network is unusually large — many career diplomats, academics, and policy professionals had HMUN as one of their first international-affairs experiences.

How to prepare

• Read the background guide twice — once for substance, once for the chair's specific procedural preferences.
• Write a position paper that cites primary sources (treaties, UN documents, official statements). HMUN chairs notice.
• Prepare for crisis-style pacing even in non-crisis committees — moderated caucuses move quickly.