About Us

Founded in 1892, the Debate Council is one of the oldest and proudest intercollegiate policy debate programs in the nation. Committed to excellence in both competitive and educational achievement, Harvard Debate has won the National Debate Tournament (NDT) seven times, most recently in 2016, and finished second five times, since the tournament was first held in 1947. The NDT records show that Harvard Debate has been invited to attend the tournament every year since 1954 – a record of consistency unmatched by any other school. In recent years, Harvard Debaters have won every major national policy debate invitational. For two years in a row, in 2016 and 2017, Harvard won the Rex Copeland Award for the Top First Round At-Large Team at the NDT awarded to the team with the best individual record in the regular season.