After more than a year of planning in conjunction with the Harvard University Press, a group of Harvard students has established the first book publishing firm in the United States run entirely by students.

John Whitman '76, editorial chairman of the non-profit firm, to be known as the Undergraduate Press, said yesterday the press will release three books by next fall.

John Chesley '78, business and promotion manager of the press, said yesterday its purpose is to give practical experience to students who are interested in the publishing profession and attention to "young writers who generally haven't been published."

Whitman said the firm will receive partial funding from the University Press. Chesley said he plans to solicit financial backing from "a number of people in the communications field."

The press has sent news releases to about 500 college publications across the country to attract publicity and solicit "manuscripts that interest young college students," Elizabeth Bounds '77, managing editor of the press, said yesterday.

Whitman said the press intends to publish an anthology of undergraduate fiction, a book on French gestures by Laurence C. Wylie, C. Douglas Dillon Professor of the Civilization of France, and Rick Stafford, a photographer for the University News Office, and a guide for job-hunting entitled, "Is There Life After Harvard?"

Executives of Harper & Row, Dell Publishing, the Godine Press and the Harvard University Press have received positions on the firm's Board of Founders.

Bounds said she hoped these professionals will "lend a certain credibility to our organization by their association with us."

Whitman said the press, which presently has 18 active members, plans a spring competition to attract more interested students.