The 29-year-old singer will be at the university this afternoon to accept the Peter J. Gomez Humanitarian Award.
The Harvard Foundation says Rihanna's contributions to woman and children made her a strong candidate for this year's award.
She has built a state-of-the-art oncology and new cle-air medicine center to help diagnose and treat breast cancer in Barbados.
The institution also said Rihanna's scholarship program helps girls and children in the Carribean come to the U.S. for college, giving impoverished students access to an education.